Geography Haiku (with blog)

Learn geography.
Kenya ain't Arabia.
Get yourself a clue.

I'm trying to keep a level head about things. I've read several blogs and comments from Obama supporters who basically are acting as though he descended to Earth on a cloud. I can understand these feelings on some level. It is a great symbolic triumph for this country now that we have our first black President. I can understand why many African Americans (and other minorities) feel inspired by this. And of course, anybody who has any empathy for minorities in this country would no doubt feel inspired as well. I'll admit that I've caught a bit of that as well, and I'm starting to feel - dare I say it? - hopeful about the future of this country. I certainly haven't felt that way in a long time. And whenever I hear him talk, I finally feel like my President is a guy who "gets it". Check out his speech on the separation of church and state (you have to get past the guy at the beginning though):



Still, while I don't consider myself a cynic, I am a bit cynical when it comes to politics. Obama is not going to live up to some of the expectations that have been placed on him. It's good to be excited and hopeful, but let's not go overboard, eh?

Anyway, then there's the other side - the people who will be disappointed if he doesn't turn this into an Orwellian dystopia. In today's paper, one letter writer wrote that Obama is "clearly a Marxist." Clearly. Isn't it funny how the socialists and communists aren't supporting him? I mean, if it's so clear, then wouldn't he be their guy? The thing is, I only know the bare minimum about Marxism, but I'm feeling like I'm a Marxism scholar when it comes to these people. They use it as a buzzword to get people all riled up - despite the fact that they don't even have a clue as to what it means.

Another person wrote about he's not qualified to be President because he's an Arab and he attended that Muslim school when he was young. Dear Helios - how can a person in this day and age, in the flippin' INFORMATION AGE be this exceedingly ignorant? He's an Arab? Arabia is the same thing as Kenya? I'm guessing that I'm Turkish then, and my wife is of Chinese descent. I mean - why not? Apparently, geography is some sort of elitist subject, and anybody who tries to be accurate regarding where a person's ancestry comes from is out of touch with "real America".

And let's just take it as a given that we shouldn't have a problem with a President who's an Arab - or a Muslim even. Honestly, I'd have an easier time with a moderate Muslim than a fundamentalist Christian.

So, I guess if I'm going to fall too far into one trap or another, I'd rather go with the hopeful than the hopeless.