Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The root of Obama's liberalism is not growing up in Kenya. Growing up poor and a minority in a multicultural society is enough to do it all by itself.

Mike Huckabee's misspeak attributing Obama's liberalism to his growing up in mao mao Kenya was not only  inaccurate and a thoughtless pander to his right wing audience, he  misunderstands the reason so many are liberal. They have empathy for those who do not mirror their own image.or personal circumstances.

It is being able to walk in others' shoes that often differentiates some liberals from some conservatives.  Life experiences have much to do with one's world view and empathy for others. Take it from one who knows. I grew up in the most xenophobic, isolated, racist community one could ever imagine: Muskogee, Oklahoma in the 1950's.  Most of my friends may have moved away to Texas or other nearby states, but they  have not changed their viewpoints very much since childhood.  Vestiges of that mentality apparently still exist in Oklahoma.

I often laugh that I have empathy for the plight of  minorities because I was a minority in an overwhelming majority community.  I attribute that to the reason  I  turned out to be more liberal in my political views than my friends.  I was a Presbyterian in a Southern Baptist town.  The rest of us non Baptists had a tacit understanding that we understood what it was to be different...and the handful of Jews, Catholics,  Episcopalians,Presbyterians and Methodists had an unspoken bond. My life led me to live and study abroad and I had frequent interface with Muslims in the Balkans for over 50 years.  No doubt these experiences have shaped my own political viewpoints and a belief that others not like us can be good people, too, and their views do not always threaten our way of life.

The birther movement is certainly fueled by Pres. Obama's comes very exotic background...exotic because he has had experiences many others have not.  He never touched a foot in Kenya until he was a young man..nor ever did his mother ever. He  spent his middle school years in Indonesia and his high school years in multi racial, multi cultural Hawaii.  His mother's' life and even the modest lifestyle when he lived with his White grand parents certainly gave him an understanding of what it means to struggle financially.

Obama spent his early adulthood trying to understand  and find his unorthodox  identity and he accepted that he was an African American.  No wonder he is more liberal than those whose lives  have been insular and who are part of a majority religion and race , and have a world view  shared  with whom they almost exclusively associate.

 Oklahomans approved a ballot issue outlawing Sharia law and some in Tennessee are attempting now to pass other anti Muslim legislation.  Tennessee and Oklahoma share similar accents and cultural backgrounds. Many of Eastern Oklahoma settlers were transplants from the Southeastern US.  I am not at all surprised that both Oklahoma and Tennessee have been the first in advocating anti Muslim actions.  Both have citizens willing to trounce on the rights of Muslims, torching mosques and/or passing laws that demonstrate ignorance of other cultures, even to the point of restricting Muslims' rights to practice their religion.

What I do not understand is how some Americans who profess to defend our Constitution regarding  so many other issues do not grasp the essence of the Amendments protecting the rights of all to practice their religions or  to understand that the supremacy of federal laws trump any religious laws. True conservatism ought to be about supporting the basic fundamentals of the Constitution, not radically interpreting  them to fit personal piques.  But what do I know. I am just a liberal...or maybe I am the true conservative who would like to defend the basic  principles of the document that protects   minorities from being overwhelmed by  an absolute majority

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