OsMaN_93
Here to help
Thank you, Colin Powell
Tuesday October 21, 2008
During a recent campaign stop, a woman in the audience told Senator McCain that she didn't trust Senator Obama because "he's an Arab." McCain attemped to correct her with the response, "No, ma'am, he is a decent family man, a citizen..." While probably unintentional, he offensively implied that being an Arab is incompatible with, the opposite of, being a respectable person.
This week, former Secretary of State Colin Powell came out in support of Senator Obama's bid for the presidency. In his comments with "Meet the Press" (reported by CNN), Powell corrected the rumors that Obama is a Muslim, and criticized the ignorant comments and responses from within his own political party and the media.
Powell offered his own direct response to these charges. Acknowledging that Obama is in fact a Christian, Powell asked further, "What if he is [a Muslim]? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? No, that's not America."
Powell went on to relate the story of a mother whom he had seen mourning her son at Arlington Cemetery. Powell saw a photo of her in a magazine, and was moved by the scene: the mother resting her head on her son's headstone, the display of the fallen soldier's awards, including a Purple Heart award for service in Iraq. The fallen soldier's name: Kareem Khan, a 20-year-old New Jersey-born Muslim.
Powell's comments are a welcome public reminder that Muslims are part of the United States cultural mosaic, a faith community that faces the same challenges and joys, and the same care for their homeland, as any other. Flippant comments and ignorant stereotypes have no place in the public discourse.
