By Megan Grauer

So it is safe to say that I am infuriated with the people in this country. That’s right, all those Joe Six-Packs out there, I’m calling you out.

A girl I went to high school with (in one of the most diverse places you’ll find) recently told me that she was not going to vote for Barack Obama because, “He is a Muslim, and he only just converted to Christianity, and it was on the news.” WOW. Please read it again. Yes, she really said that.

I could not believe my ears. I was flabbergasted. What kind of news is she watching, and where can I find it? I had to ask several times, and in many different ways, “Are you serious?” The answer, sadly, was yes, she was. And after my repetitive questioning, she told me to “look up the facts.” Later on, she also stated “He’s worried about Iraq, but back at home he has more murders than Iraq” and “He’s gonna strap bombs to us,” and my personal favorite, “I told you I don’t like his ideas-he’s fake and he’s in a reality world.”

Now, where does she think “back home” is? I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Strap bombs to us? Now is this all four billion of us living on the earth? Or perhaps just the Americans? Maybe just the Republicans? And is there anywhere else to live but a “reality world?” If so, what? And where? And given that there is an alternative, do I want the president of my country to be anywhere else but a reality world?

I guess I have to “look up the facts.” Hmm…

This is my problem with America. First of all, Obama is not, I repeat, is not, and never was of the Muslim faith. Obama was born in Hawaii (the UNITED STATES) and his mother was a white Christian woman from Kansas! His father (whom Obama only saw a couple times in his life) was not Arab, Islamic or Muslim, he was AFRICAN AMERICAN from Kenya, Africa.

Now, my even bigger problem with these so called “patriots” is that even if Barack Obama WAS a Muslim who had just recently converted to Christianity, why can’t he be president? Is there something wrong with people who are Muslim? I find it odd that the patriots who are “country first” will so quickly disregard a little thing I like to call the Constitution. That’s right, the good ol’ Bill of Rights which says that we have the freedom of religion in this country and we are safe from persecution for our beliefs.

It’s sad, honestly. People who live in fear of everything that is different from them. People who can look at a person’s name and decide that because their LAST name rhymes with “Osama” (Osama Bin Laden’s FIRST name) or because their MIDDLE name is “Hussein” (Saddam Hussein’s LAST name) they must be a terrorist, or they must be a part of what terrorists stand for.

These intolerant, ignorant human beings who dare call themselves American, when what they stand for is everything against the principles that America was built upon.

The worst part is that when confronted with the truth, these people think they know something that we don’t. I asked this person who made the statements if she knew that McCain had stated that Obama was not a Muslim or an Arab and that his campaign doesn’t associate with those ideas or people who spread them. She acted like somehow, she had some supreme knowledge that neither I, nor McCain was aware of.

Now again, if all these statements were true, and Obama really was the devil’s spawn, being a Muslim and strapping bombs to us, why would the gallant McCain even stand on the same stage as him, shake his hand and say he is a good man with good family values? Something isn’t right here.

Later, she stated that my reaction to what she said was “scary.” My reaction was scary to her? The only scary thing here, folks, is that someone who is smart enough to know better, decides to live with ignorant beliefs and doesn’t even care about the truth.

It’s people like this, these “average Americans,” that cause hate, intolerance and ultimately, violence. It is people like this who incite gay bashings and race-driven crimes. It’s disgusting, disgraceful and insulting to those of us who are informed citizens and those of us who are not prejudice, and most of all, those of us who see and treat this country like what it is supposed to be: FREE and EQUAL.

Megan Grauer is a freshman undecided major. You may e-mail her at [email protected].