Everybody,I totally apologize for such a slow repl...

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010473.post-58666832535096467172008-03-03T14:02:00.000-08:002008-03-03T14:02:00.000-08:002008-03-03T14:02:00.000-08:00Everybody,I totally apologize for such a slow repl...Everybody, I totally apologize for such a slow reply to your comments. Hamstergate appears to be almost over. Now the boys want a snake. I don't think so! Anyway... Jameil, They had one Ohio voter on 60 minutes last night and he was saying how he likes Obama but he'd heard he was a Muslim and didn't know the National Anthem. So, the emails and pictures are working. It's so disappointing. The other thing I got to thinking about is how some people probably think it's okay to say they won't vote for him if he's Muslim, but what they're REALLY thinking is that they won't vote for him because he's black. 1969, I agree with Jameil too. And really, black folks don't need to say anything against Islam since many of our slave ancestors were Muslim in Africa. But we're trained to forget that past. Randi, The way the media works is vicious. They just want drama, gossip and innuendo. Forget about actually educating people on the real stories that are happening. Jali, To even have an "us vs them' attitude is the opposite of what our actual spiritual practice should be. But individuals have a way of corrupting things and trying to make themselves feel better and superior. That's not how it should be. I look at the Golden Rule and how it can be found in every major religion...so how could it be that if you are not my religion, you're doomed to hell? The minute someone starts thinking that, they're wrong. Jen, You didn't write a novel! :) Thanks for sharing about that. I haven't read that but it sounds excellent. I think many of us would come to the same conclusion the three mothers did. Good for them for coming together to try to create a model of unity. Nick, But if all religions come from the same source, to say that the others are wrong would basically be dissing your own faith. They really all are the same spiritual concepts, but the social laws change to fit the needs of the society. I always tell folks that if Mohammad could've explained the science of how there were parasites in pigs, he would've. But folks were primarily uneducated and how can you explain parasites when microscopes haven't even been invented? So Mohammad makes a social law saying, "Don't eat pork!" Religion is very practical, even if we don't always realize it. NYC/CR, Exactly. I 100% agree with you! But there's a lot of people out there who think otherwise and have no problem saying so. Haute in LA, It's weird how even though it's been said a million times now that he's not a Muslim, some folks still believe it. I think we've just seen way too much negative media about Islam and it's hard to counteract that. A good place to start reading up on the Baha'i Faith is http://www.bahai.org -- there's a lot of great info there. The library might have some books too. Heart, I think all the time about how enriched our world is by all the diverse experiences that the world's religions bring. I remember back in my early twenties I went to the Parliament of the World's Religions because it was being held in Chicago. It was SO exciting and interesting to see everyone from all the different backgrounds all together in one place. Very moving, indeed. Neil, Obama is very popular despite the best efforts of the scare tactics. But I think the fact that the scare tactics are even used at all says something about how far we still have to go as a society. We've come a long way but we've still got lots of changing to do. Phillipe, It would be VERY nice to live in a "democracy that was a little more democratic". Journalists are absolutely beholden to corporate interests. You can't bite the hand that feeds you. I heard about the blackout in Alabama of the 60 minutes story about Karl Rove's tactics against the Alabama governor. I mean, if we're living in a country where the TV stations follow commands and decide to not show a program because people in power don't want it to happen, well, there's nothing democratic about that at all...which is why we're all supposed to go distract ourselves by shopping. Cloudscome, I'd been thinking about this since I first got that email months ago, but with last week's increase in "Obama's a Muslim" type of hype, I really got so angry about it. I'm glad I wrote what I was feeling down. It's therapeutic for me! Miriam That Muslim fear is played out in our national press so frequently and it's so offensive. I think people forget how folks didn't just come to the New World because they were adventurous. Christians wanted to leave Europe so they could have religious freedom. But it seems like it's human nature to forget about your own oppression and then turn around and be prejudiced against someone else. Gunfighter, I hope it won't work. But I suppose we'll all know in a couple of days whether it did or not. Haute in LA, They're really pressing the snake thing. AAGH! :) Thanks for asking though.Los Angelistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17794296990587989214noreply@blogger.com