Election Thoughts

These are just a couple points I found interesting to consider.

In some of my previous posts I’ve mentioned some of the racist comments I’ve heard about the election and Sen. Obama since arriving in rural Illinois.  However, a theme present in a lot of them is fear about what his election could mean.  By this I mean fear that African Americans will march on Washington and be handed free lunches now that ‘one of their own’ is in charge, or fear that he is in cahoots with evil dictators and will sell out America, or that Obama won’t salute the flag/put his hand on the Bible/, etc.

This has made me uneasy at times, but in talking with my Aunt Maria yesterday she pointed out that a lot of this fear may come from a discomfort that many Americans feel with our nation’s history of race relations.  I think as someone who was alive during some of the uglier moments in the 20th century she brings a perspective that I could never have, but essentially she posited that for many people, there may be a guilt/shame/unsettledness with the way minorities have been treated at times in US history, and they simply don’t know what to think about the idea of a minority as the big kahuna (notice the Hawaii reference?).  This may not apply generally, but it’s got to be a factor on some level.

The second is about one-issue Jewish who’s primary concern is Israel.  It appears that there is a significant number of such Americans who plan to vote for the candidate they feel will best protect and support Israel.  I understand that the emotional factors here have to be enormous, plus the facts that many of those voters have family there, Israel is a country that needs American support constantly and (I’m under the impression) is a place where it can be difficult to ever feel truly safe (the way Americans expect to feel daily and the only thing I knew in my life before September 2001).

However one of my Jewish friends recently told me that this line of thinking frustrates him.  In a nutshell he pointed out that either candidate will work to keep Israel safe from its aggressive neighbors, and that he can’t stand that his family members in America who believe that while Obama is a better candidate for America, McCain would be better for Israel, and thus they plan to vote Republican.  In his view, it is borderline treasonous to be an American citizen, yet in our elections vote for politicians based on who has the interests of another country best at heart.

Some food for thought.