The line was long, but it kept moving, and although the sun was warm, the air was finally cooler than it had been for so many hot weeks. Thousands of us were entering the outdoor arena by the Mississippi River to hear the president and the first lady. We passed a small group from the opposing political party with their banners. Well enough. But one sign bothered me: \u201cMr. Obama, this is a Christian nation.\u201d You see, I am a Christian, and I was headed in the opposite direction. And the president and first lady are Christians, as were many of the thousands being protested.<\/p>\n
And \u201cI am a Sikh,\u201d I say, since the August 5 shooting at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee, WI, where six were murdered and three more wounded.<\/p>\n
Howard Fineman, editorial director of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, in his blog, \u201cWhy Obama-Romney Debate Will (Continue to) Be Vicious,\u201d gave a list of some of the reasons this has become the most abrasive, personally accusatory presidential campaign in modern times. He said that \u201cRace and religion are sure to surface as corrosive forces.\u201d That is so true!<\/p>\n
While campaign strategists daily try to get back \u201con message,\u201d I find the issues have a very basic core. Whatever surfaces, underneath are systemic, interconnected issues of domination and oppression. We need not label or avoid, but talk about them. For example, these mid-August days:<\/p>\n
A Pennsylvania judge upholds voter suppression laws: Keep the right to vote in the hands of a few and exclude mostly people of color, the aged, and those with disabilities.<\/p>\n