Ten months after releasing his original, official, long-form birth certificate, the clogosphere is still buzzing with various conspiracy theories regarding President Obama's citizenship. Why? Since some folks still have a bad case of selective memory, here's a little CNN reminder from April 2011:
Senator John McCain's was born at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone. His eligibility to run for the White House in 2008 was never questioned. Mitt Romney's father, who ran for the Republican nomination in 1968, was born to American parents living in the Mormon colonies in Mexico.
Are there racial and religious undertones to the 2012 Presidential Election? Sadly, even when presented with a new truth, people will continue to believe what they want to believe. Read More...
Indeed, how does Donald Trump, who embarrassed the country by hitching his political wagon to the Birther Movement, still receive serious media attention from ALL the major news outlets?
Despite being raised in an "atmosphere of privilege", humbled by Polio when he was 39 years old, F.D.R. had "it". Dwight D. Eisenhower also had "it". While it's difficult to pinpoint the exact moment Ike learned about "it", a tour of a Nazi Concentration Camp certainly contributed to his own personal awakening of what "it" meant for the future of humanity.
Henry Dunant. Mohandas Gandhi. Martin Luther King. César Chávez. Richard Nixon became aware of "it" after Watergate. Jimmy Carter was judged for having too much "it". George H.W. Bush was only a one term President because he forgot about the importance of "it". Desmond Tutu. Tenzin Gyatso. Aung San Suu Kyi. Part of the message of the New Testament of the Bible is dedicated to the spiritual idea of "it". In 2008, it was clear that Senator John McCain (a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years) and then Senator Barack Obama (an educated black man born in America) both had "it". So, what is "it"? ἐμπάθεια. Einfühlung.Empathy. It's an important human quality which separates a mere politician from a leader. In the view of this Blogger, Mitt Romney doesn't have "it". Indeed, Mitt will never have "it". And for this reason alone, this Blogger believes the former Massachusetts' Governor will not, but more importantly should not, be elected President.
It remains to be seen whether or not the country is prepared for Mitt to be IT.
Romney Update: $374,327.62 for 9 Political Speeches = "Not Very Much"? Read More... Empathy? Envy? Even Newt Gingrich didn't try to play hide the tax banana with his K-Street money in the Caymen Islands.
Empathy Update: (2/1/12) "I am fed up with politicians in either party dividing Americans against each other. I am running to be the president of all the American people and I am concerned about all the American people." ~ Newt Gingrich
Romney says he’s not concerned about the poor? Read More...
In fairness to the candidate, running for the highest office is a grueling experience. It's difficult to keep ones own mouth and mind on the same sheet of political music. With that said, once again, because Mitt Romney has never worried about keeping a roof over his head, for this reason alone, he'll never be able to connect with average Americans struggling from paycheck to paycheck. And finally, how many of Romney's five sons have served in uniform? It's one thing to beat the drums of war, it's quite another to actually send ones own son or daughter into harm's way. Just ask Vice President Joe Biden.
It sometimes depends on where a person is standing. IF you peel away the rhetorical onion, freedom is the RIGHT to peacefully live ones own life FREE from religious or political fear. Not the fear of the unknown, which will always be a part of our own humanity, but the RIGHT to search for and perhaps discover for ourselves our own individual truth. Read More... Life without fear. This may be the reason why the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of expression, was 1st. From the seeds of this one simple idea, all the other freedoms enjoyed by Americans followed... While the United States cannot solve all the world's problems, at the very least, as a country & as a people, Americans must never compromise their values & ideals for liberty and freedom. It's from this light... all hope shines.
...perspective...
"As we debate how the United States can best influence the course of the Arab Spring, can’t we all agree that the most obvious thing we can do is stand as an example of a nation that holds an individual’s human rights as superior to the will of the majority or the wishes of government?" ~ Senator John McCain May 11, 2011 The Washington Post Photo of Senator John McCain taken by Peter Rimar in San Antonio, Texas (January 2007). The Fall of the Berlin Wall:The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989 (Paperback)
