The Democratic Primary

Having some time on my hands in Dakar, I have put some thought into the complexities of the Democratic primary and what it means for the US society as a whole, in terms of progression. There are so many implications, let me start with one.

The name calling and slandering of Barack Obama has been quite ridiculous, but I am also a bit disappointed in how Obama has reacted to some of it. For example, that Obama's middle name is Hussein, is a non-issue. So what? Also, what if Obama were Muslim? Would that make him less qualified to lead the United States? Obviously, it would make him unelectable, religion is a hurdle even tougher to overcome than race or gender, and the day the US elects an Islamic president is not shortly forthcoming. All that aside, Obama has missed the perfect opportunity to stand up for the change he stands behind. Why not ask outright, what is slanderous about being a Muslim? Why be afraid to be called Islamic, or to have a picture taken in traditional Somali dress? There is nothing wrong with either of these things, and those that say that there is are clearly bigots. The best defense to such "attacks" is to ignore them, discrediting those who would believe that either being Islamic or dressing like one is somehow undesirable or unacceptable. Obama has missed his chance to that, and thereby given validity to the racist attacks.

In general, the US would be better served by changing and integrating Islamic culture as it has with other cultures in the past than trying to separate and thereby discriminating against Muslims and all Islam.

Welcome to 2008...

From now on I plan to write my thoughts here, because I have failed in keeping a notebook that doesn't get waterlogged or lost, or kept, and so I have them all in place. We'll see what happens. If Enrique Dans can do it so can I.