Got one of those forwarded emails the other day encouraging me to "be afraid, be very afraid" of the world as it is now -- and is changing minute by minute. This one, by Lou Pritchett, had a long list of things that "scare" him about Barack Obama. Some items were plainly off the wall, but some were very interesting -- with some insights into what is so troubling to certain segments of the population (Lou represents the successful corporate white guy who has lost a lot of pull via retirement).
The following entry seemed most revealing to me:
"You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American."
This, to me, is a more "upscale" version of the position of the "birthers," those who still insist that Obama was born abroad and not eligible to be President. Lou seems to say that anyone born in "vacation islands" out in the Pacific, who's lived in a Muslim country, who has near relatives in Africa, can't be a real 'Merican.
Taking it one step further, I think what's "scaring" this segment of the population is that the power structure is changing -- to include a much broader group of people. More and more individuals who don't "look like me" ("me" could be Lou or, well, just me!) are taking over.
Troubling!
The quote also leads me to suggest a weakness of the US in today's world -- our insularity -- where we see little purpose in learning about or learning from other cultures. But that's for another day. YOUR THOUGHTS WELCOME!
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