Find the truthful statement:
a) Mikey from the Life cereal commercials died after mixing Pop Rocks and soda
b) AIDS was created by the CIA
c) If you take LSD seven times, you’re automatically deemed legally insane
d) The yellow dye in Mountain Dew, in excess, can make a man sterile
e) Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen (any maybe buried in Disneyland)
f) A baby born on an airplane is given free air travel for life
g) Barack Obama is a radical Muslim that won’t say the Pledge of Allegiance and was sworn into office on a copy of the Qur’an
Tough choice, right?
Apparently, for some media outlets and e-mail spammers, it’s not. The mud-slinging has officially begun, and Obama seems to be getting hit with some truly ridiculous allegations, of which if they were true, would they really be that bad?
Let’s break it down…
First and foremost, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being Muslim. Obama’s religious diversity (if he is even Muslim, which I don’t think he actually is, but it’s hard to find the truth out there) should be praised. Religious freedom is one of our basic rights (and is the foundation of why our forefathers left for America in the first place). The religion of our president should be a non-issue, but unfortunately it is.
Which leads into calling Obama a “radical” Muslim.
You know what I think is “radical?” I think the people that propagate the slander and accusations that get thrown around during political campaigns are “radical.”
My beef with the Pledge of Allegiance: the majority of American’s haven’t said the Pledge of Allegiance since they were in high school (at best). And if I’m a relatively fair representation of the population, then most of us sat around while they heard someone over a loudspeaker recite it. And most of the time, teachers didn’t even enforce that people stand for it, let alone place their hand over their heart.
Want to know a disturbing statistic? The New York Times once published that only 33% of Americans can correctly identify the Bill of Rights.
Perhaps if they could correctly identify the Bill of Rights, they’d see that forced recitation of the Pledge, with its mention of “one nation, under God” could be seen as a violation of one’s first Amendment rights.
On to the Qur’an (or perhaps not, as it seems that swearing in on the Qur’an is what all this commotion is about).
If the Qur’an was, in fact used, then I’m guessing it’s because Obama wanted it that way. And if the purpose of swearing into office on a Bible is that you’re taking an oath upon which, should you act surreptitiously, you vow to be struck down by God, wouldn’t it make sense for someone to take that oath to the God they believe in?
So someone chooses to take an oath to the God they believe in as opposed to one they don’t? Isn’t the point of an oath that you’re doing so for something you believe in? What is the problem, then?
(Personally, if I were ever sworn into anything, I’d want to do so on my signed copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night or Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground, but that’s just me…)
I suggest that, like every other foolishly perpetuated rumor, we take this (as well as all future urban legends that are sure to come out of this 2008 Presidential Campaign) with a grain of salt. I’m sure we’ll soon be hearing about McCain’s affair with someone while he was a POW (or something equally ridiculous).
While I wish that everyone would, on both sides of the political fence, would let these absurd rumors die, I know that’s unlikely. In turn, I will instead hope that smear campaigns against each candidate will be equally ridiculous and equally debunked.
In the mean time, I’m off to go say “Bloody Mary” while spinning in circles, hoping that I can conjure up a spirit. After all, I read it online and heard it from friends, so it must be true, right?
Jackie for AMP3 New York City Public Relations Firm
Updated by Danielle Oct 30 2017
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