This political election shows the world that we as a country are growing up. For the first time in history we are having an election where it isn't just 4 white men going against eachother in groups of two. This time we have two presidential candidates that are making history in their own right. We have a bi-racial American running for office in Senator Barack Obama and we also have the oldest man running in Senator John McCain. Just think about it... When in our country's history has this occured? Never. But with every election there are some rumors that must go around and this election has indeed had its share of rumors.
For starters, there was a rumor going around a few months ago that the Ku Klux Klan had donated money to Barack Obama's campaign because they didn't want Hilary Clinton, a woman, as a significant political candidate. I don't know about other schools but this rumor caused a lot of talk at mine. You see, I attend Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia and my friends and I are very political, not in mindset but in our conversations, eventhough none of us can actually vote. But, this news, or rumor, as according to my knowledge it is indeed a rumor, led to a two week long discussion of the KKK and their history of racism, and how it now seems that their prejudice towards women is far greater than their prejudice towards people of African heritage.
Now for a more personal route of conversation. My grandfather is a very old man and as most old men are, he is very set in his ways, which until recently included racisism and a high note of prejudice towards any people other than white, any religion other than Southern Baptist, and any such women who held higher power than men. But recently he has taken a complete 180 degree turn and has announced to his entire family that he is voting for Senator Obama. This sparks wonderment in my mind and in turn also makes me truly thankful for this historical election because honestly, if something can happen that changed my Grandfather's outlook than it is truly great.
Snopes has already debunked that one:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/kkk.asp
In fact, here's a giant list of rumors and outright lies about Obama that have been debunked:
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=obama&getit=Go&sp-a=00062d45-sp0000...
And to be fair, here's a list of McCain rumors that have been, well, for the most part, proven true:
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=McCain&getit=Go&sp-a=00062d45-sp000...
I didn't sort the results. I simply searched for Obama and got all kinds of nasty rumors that were invented about him and proven false, and when I searched for McCain, I got all kinds of nasty rumors that were proven true...and one positive rumor that was proven to be an outright lie. It's interesting, and I think, telling.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I didn't think it was true anyway. It does make for a great conversation though when you think about it. I mean what would've happend if it was true? It would change our whole idea of society, or at least make us think a bit more.
As far as McCain goes, I never had any respect for him. The fact that he picked a person like Sarah Palin as his running mate just makes me dislike him even more. She has no International Relations experience whatsoever and frankly Jerry Springer would've been a better choice.