America, we have a long way to go.

Really, West Virginia? REALLY?!

I know it's supposed to be funny. I know I'm supposed to be laughing... but I'm not.
I understand there are certainly plenty of people in West Virginia (and the rest of America) who don't think this way, but the fact that there are at least three that could be found and interviewed that could be that unbelievably ignorant is simply astonishing.

People wonder why I get so worked up when I hear about this underling in Hillary's campaign or that goonie in McCain's campaign referring to Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama" or accidentally referring to him as "Barack Osama", and that video is a great example.

I assure you, I understand that Hussein is, in fact, his middle name. I know that. That's not the issue. The issue is that they are saying these things the way they are, knowing full well that these very people are listening. They are doing it with the intention of stirring up the people who can't see past a name like Hussein. They are playing up his status as "the other" because they want all of the people out there who can't see past race or religion or the sound of a name to be afraid of him. Do we hear the name "John Sidney McCain III" being thrown around? Do we hear people talking about "Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton"? No. Why is that? It's because Obama is different, and different is apparently scary.

To be honest, I'm just sick to death of politicians trying to use fear as a tool to manipulate the American people. They make us afraid that terrorists loom at every turn so they can attempt to further erode our civil liberties. People are stopped and detained or searched or harassed for no good reason because they look suspicious or different (anymore they may as well mean the same thing, so take your pick.) We've been fed so much nonsense that has been "for our safety" that I'm having a hard time believing this isn't just all some sort of horrible nightmare. I mean, we had the government telling us that in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack on US soil, we should all have duct tape and saran wrap at the ready in order to seal off our homes. How utterly ridiculous is that?

And yet, for some reason, it's still working. People are still buying in to these fearmongering, power-hungry politicians. People are afraid to vote for Barack Obama because he looks different, he has a different sounding name, he might be a *gasp* MUSLIM (which, as we all know, is synonymous with "terrorist".) People actually believe all of this.

So that's why, even though this video should be funny, it's really hard to laugh. That's why, sometimes, I'm ashamed of the leaders of this country and the people who put them in their positions of power. A lot of people blew up at Michelle Obama for her comments which seemed to say she had been ashamed of America all her life. I wasn't exactly a fan of the comments either, but I can certainly understand feeling ashamed, very ashamed, of some of the things that go on in this country by the hand of our politicians.

Ignorance and fear are two things that we should all strive to erase. They should not become the primary weapons of the very people who are meant to lead this nation.

(For the record, the comment I am talking about begins at :15 into the video, and apparently whoever posted it decided to do a little bit of audio editing and took out the word "really" from "... for the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country ...")