Were We Listening?

Today's Huffington Post asks this question. It goes on to make some excellent points. Our President was speaking to the Arab world. How closely were the American people listening? We would like to ask a great deal of Islam. How ready are we to open our minds, and recognize their needs too? Can we bring ourselves to appreciate, as Mr. Obama obviously does, just what the true teachings of Islam are, rather than what so many of us have come to think is true after observing the actions of the radical fringe? Terrorists do not represent those teachings. They have developed in their own minds, something quite foreign to the teachings of the Koran. Mr. Obama quoted the Koran in his speech, "Whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind."

To my way of thinking, that quote and its obvious difference to what the radical terrorist believes is all too similar to the anti-abortionist terrorist in our country who blinds himself to the fact that killing those who work in abortion clinics is just as evil as he considers those he has killed to be.

Mr. Obama also pointed out that our country was NOT founded on Christianity. It was founded on freedom of all people to practice all faiths. - "Out of many, one" - Christians are supposed to believe they should "Do unto others..." We find this teaching in the Bible and in the Talmud as well.

Can the vast majority of the American people manage to put aside their prejudices built on misconception of the Arab world? And, indeed, can the Arab people put aside the same sort of prejudices and misconceptions of us? I believe that our President is doing his darndest to bring this about. I pray that both the West and the Arab World are listening.


Meantime, the toll of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and so many other places continues to climb. Please consider joining the Blog Blast for Peace.

Later - Same Day

Well, I thought OK, now I can write about it. But maybe I can't. It is still pretty overwhelming.

He said, "We have chosen HOPE over fear." Yes, please God.

He said, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off..." and get on with it.
That sounded so good to me.

He told the bad guys, "Your people will judge you on what you build, not what you destroy."
Couldn't have said it better than that.

He said, "What is required of us is a new era of responsibility." (Gee, I hope Mr. Bush was listening.) That is so precisely what we need to recognize. What Congress needs to recognize.

Yes, I wrote down some of the things he said. I couldn't see too clearly what I was doing, I was too teary eyed.

What a day this is!

Election Day Is Almost Here

Still undecided? I really don't understand that, but at this point I won't even try.


If you still have doubts, please follow this link to my friend, the Pagan Sphinx. You will find a rather impressive list of Republicans who are supporting Barack Obama.
It might give you food for thought.