Campbell Of Course

You might think I’m writing about Campbell’s Soup based upon the article title, but you would be jumping to conclusions. Today’s topic is about an article posted by CNN’s Campbell Brown. Yes, the former Today Show weekend anchor and weekday fill in who has since joined forces with CNN’s decidedly leftish approach to news reporting (not saying NBC was much better…). Our current Presidential election has brought many new issues which have been misconstrued, misreported, and just generally opinion based “factoids” which have interfered with the campaign process. Primarily, we have seen stories and emails focused upon Obama and his heritage, his color, and his faith.

One of the biggest issues revolves around his faith and heritage. Campbell decided that with about three weeks to go before Election Day, it was finally the time to put the proverbial foot down and squash all the rumors. “Of course, Barack Obama is a Christian. Of course, Obama is an American. Of course Obama is not a Muslim. Of course, Obama is not an Arab.” These are the simple four statements made by Campbell in her editorial in an effort to cure the ills created by common misconceptions regarding our likely next President.

She even goes on to mention that even “if you are semi-informed” you know that Obama is of course an American… seriously, ONLY semi-informed? Last time I checked, grade school civics classes specifically taught that to become President of the United States, you must be a natural-BORN citizen. So, unless I have missed some monumental amendment to our Constitution, OF COURSE Barack Obama is an American. Semi-informed… let’s hope that she meant being a conscious and sane individual.

Another issue that I have with Campbell’s article is the use of the term “of course”… hence the title of this article. In her article, she is trying to minimize any potentially bad connotation that being Muslim, or being an Arab, may have in our country today. Sure, there are stereotypes surrounding both the nationality and the religion. Deserved or not, it’s there. If she is trying to portray that there isn’t anything wrong with either, why is she intent on stating that OF COURSE Barack Obama is a Christian and OF COURSE Barack Obama is an American and not an Arab?

While specifically trying to squash an issue, she is exactly part of the problem. Someone is simply American or Christian, not OF COURSE they are. To imply anything different automatically creates division and distaste of the opposite. “Of course” usually implies a thought of “duh”. Basically Campbell is telling her listeners and readers that “Duh, are you stupid? Of course Obama is just like you and me. He’s American and a nice Christian man. He’s not one of those scary Arabic Muslim types…” Yeah, I made that up, it’s not a direct quote from her, but I’m sure if you are “semi-informed” you can read between the lines.

She did ask a question that should be given more attention however. She asked, “Should it matter if he were Muslim or an Arab?” She failed to tackle the issue but answered with a simple “it shouldn’t matter” comment. Should it matter? I definitely think so. The liberal left is vehemently opposed to the conservative nature of the Republican Party because of their closeness to the Christian church. They believe the “Bible thumping”, so called “end of the world” harbingers are led by an irrational need to follow their God into destroying the world. If the Liberals believe that, then what are they to think of the Muslim faith and the Arabic community that believes in such things as “honor killings?”

OF COURSE it matters, duh! Faith and spirituality are intertwined within someone. They cannot be separated and removed from a decision. Let’s face it, we are human and we allow our emotions and faith (or lack thereof) to alter our decision making process. If someone comes along who believes in a religion we perceive as either radical or in stark contrast to our country’s values, then OF COURSE it matters. Campbell, while trying to appear unbiased and intellectual has failed to offer a valid and constructive argument against what she is proposing as non-harmful or as a non-event other than simply saying, “It shouldn’t matter” and “Of course.” Nice try, but go back to the drawing board and give us something of substance.

Citation: http://www.cnn.com/