Go Ahead And Hate President Obama

It is totally okay with me if you do not like President Obama and you would never vote for him. No, I'm serious. While I think the world would be a better place if everyone agreed with me, I do accept the world as it is. So, it's okay with me if you don't like the President.

However.

It's not okay if you dislike the President because he's a "Muslim who's going to impose Sharia law". First off, he's totally not a Muslim. You really think Michelle would have married a Muslim? Really? But even if he was a Muslim (which he is not), that doesn't mean he could impose Sharia law. Hell, it doesn't even mean that he would want to - some Muslims believe in the separation of church and state, just like some Christians do.

It's not okay if you hate the President because he doesn't look like you. Or because he lived in Indonesia. Or because his father was from Kenya. Go read some children's books about accepting differences. Accept and Value Each Person (Learning to Get Along) is a good place to start.

It's also not okay if you dislike President Obama because he's "going to take your guns away". Um, the President has done jack shit about guns, actually. The Brady Campaign (James Brady, Republican, shot with Reagan, wants more gun control) gave him a fucking F. All he ever says is that he wants to enforce the laws we have, which is also what the NRA says.

And it's not okay if you hate the President because "he hates America". Yeah, that's why he took a stressful job, moved his family 1200 miles and took a pay cut. That's why he's subjected himself and his family to vicious death threats and hate campaigns, because he wants to serve a country he hates.

Maybe he hates the America you imagine - the one where people of color and gay people don't expect equality, the one where rape/domestic violence/sexual abuse victims keep their mouths shut, the one where it's totally okay for two people doing the same job to get paid differently based on skin color or gender, the one where people who aren't Christians don't count, the one where immigrants are ashamed of their heritage, the one where birth control use is shameful, the one where it is assumed and accepted that people outside the norm should be bullied.  You want our President to love that America?

Or do you think he hates America because he wants everyone in it to have health care? Or because his wife wants us to be healthier? In my experience, people who hate you don't care about your health.

Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck LIE. They do. Go to factcheck.org. Please. It's non-partisan. Fox and MSNBC are slanted (although when MSNBC calls for people to interview, they don't only look for one side), I'll grant you. But facts are not slanted. Find out the facts, especially on the issues that personally affect you, and then decide who you're going to hate.