Trust, Not Change

I grew up in a rural and suburban place in a very red state. Distrust of people from big cities was a common thing. These folks didn't like "city slickers." They were very suspicious of people from New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. I think it was a deep seated resentment because of their own insecurity about their level of sophistication. They feel inferior because they come from a small place (they shouldn't) and they resent those who do not. People are afraid of people who are different. The big city and city people can be a scary place for those who are unfamiliar.

After moving to the city and living in cities for 10 years now, I found this fear totally irrational. Good people come from cities too. Their struggles and challenges are not much different. Their values are not much different. In fact. They are the same. They all believe in some version of the American Dream. This anti-snobbery is the new snobbery in this nation. I'm here to tell you that it's wrong for the McCain/Palin campaign to capitalize on and play lip service to these insecurities and it should be condemned.

I also find it unsettling that people from my part of the country want to support a candidate just because they are more comfortable with them on a personal level. The election should be about merit and about who has the best plan to tackle the problems we face as a nation. I don't want the guy who I'd have a beer with running the free world. I want the guy who's the smartest, brightest, and most inspiring leader to lead us into the future. A Harvard education is a good thing. Graduating with honors is a good thing. No, it's a GREAT thing. 

Having said that, I don't want an "average hockey mom" to be our Vice President. No offense to hockey moms. Yet, this is the second most important job in the world. For example, if you had to have a major surgery, would you want it performed by an "average" doctor? What if you found out that he had graduated 4th from the bottom of his class (McCain)? Heck no. You'd want the best, brightest, and most skilled doctor. Not knowing what the "Bush doctrine" means in a interview or that Fannie Mae is a private company is a pretty serious inadequacy for a major candidate. Wake up people. There's a reason why they aren't allowing Palin to take questions from the media. It's because she doesn't know anything. She's clueless! There's no excuse for this. And we're going to trust Sarah Palin to lead our nation if McCain is unable? They must think we're stupid! C'mon folks!

I think a candidate should also be measured by how they run their campaign. If we want to talk trust, we could talk about McCain's campaign ads. Even Rove said they were dishonest in an interview with Fox News. Rove admitting a campaign ad is dishonest?! Now THAT'S a statement. Should we trust a candidate who issues outright lies in their campaign?

Some people I know don't trust Obama because he's different. When asked, they can't say why. They just say, "I just don't trust him." (These people are all white by the way.) This is pure xenophobia. It's an irrational fear of people who appear foreign. Please people. See past the fear. Make a brave choice. You can do it.

Remember folks. Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor. For the Republicans, especially Guliani, to belittle Obama for his charitable work after law school was despicable. They failed to even mention his 8 years in the state senate or over 1000 days in the US Senate.

There was another lawyer and progressive thinker from Illinois who was criticized during his campaign for not having enough experience. His name was Abraham Lincoln.