Head Strong: Dangerous times again, as hatred flows By Michael Smerconish - Inquirer
Sun, Sep. 20, 2009
A first-of-his-kind president is suspected by some of conspiring with anti-Christians. He is treated inhospitably in classrooms and associated with communism on posters. He is accused of awarding government jobs to radicals.
Sound familiar?
snipIt's impossible to read this without wondering about the present.
Protesters marched on Washington carrying signs that read "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy," "Impeach the Muslim Marxist," and "We came unarmed . . . this time." A member of Congress shouted down the president and raked in more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions in the days that followed. Cable TV's hottest personality just called the commander-in-chief a "racist" with a "deep-seated hatred for white people."
Kashner reminds us that some Dallas schoolchildren booed Kennedy's name in classrooms, and others in a fourth-grade class cheered when told of his assassination. Today, some found it objectionable that the president would speak to children about personal responsibility in a school setting on the grounds of potential indoctrination. A swastika was painted on a sign outside the district office of Georgia Congressman David Scott last month. And don't forget the Obama-as-Joker posters - emblazoned with the word "socialism" - that began popping up this summer.
The vast majority of the president's harsh critics are rightfully concerned about the size of government. But there's also little doubt that some of the vehemence directed at the president is racially motivated. It can't be proven, and it can't be quantified. But logic dictates that if the protests are driven entirely by worries over the expanded reach of government and increased federal deficit, there would have been signs of similar agitation during the Bush administration.
full article:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20090920_Head_Strong__Dangerous_times_again__as_hatred_flows.html