Misinformed

I just got the following e-mail from a good friend:

Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.

As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.

So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.

I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.

If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.

In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter Battle Captain TF Wasatch American Soldier

The e-mail had obviously been forwarded several times and people had added statements like "FYI - This is a local person"; "This comes from two of my trusted and dearest friends so I am considering it accurate"; and "I thought this was very interesting and am taking the opportunity to pass this on to you in hopes you will continue to forward this on to people you know. This stuff makes me crazy!"

I quickly went to snopes.com (here's a link) and found out that the incident was not only mis-reported but had been retracted by CPT Porter. Additionally, Snopes received letters from several other soldiers giving opposing accounts, and the Department of Defense concurred. Regarding this e-mail, I think the third comment above said it best: "This stuff makes me crazy!"

Why, in this election year, are we so inclined to believe a third or fourth generation e-mail (from someone we've never met) maligning the character of the man who could well be the next President of the United States, yet we won't take the just a moment to research the truth? What gets me is that this is the kind of crap that so many "thoughtful conservatives" I know readily eat up. It's as if they're grasping for a reason not to vote for the Democrat. "I'd totally vote for him but oooh...he hates the troops...his middle name is Hussein...Obama rhymes with Osama..." Seriously, what the hell? These arguments are every bit as ridiculous as all the age jokes that we hear about McCain. But does this have ANYTHING to do with foreign policy? The economy? Immigration? The energy crisis? Civil Rights? Global warming? The country's dependence on imported oil? NO. Nothing whatsoever.

These idiotic attacks are played to the lowest common denominator. The authors assume that we, as Americans, are incapable of analyzing the issues and making an informed decision based on a candidate's positions, so we need little "swiftboat" jabs to help us elect the candidate their candidate. What's most infuriating about the whole thing is that we play right into it! When we blindly buy into this kind of baloney, we BECOME the lowest common denominator.

No wonder Will was voted off So You Think You Can Dance last week. We're a country of sheep...willing to eat anything that gets dumped in our laps, no matter how repugnant. Yeah, I'm embarrassed for us all.