Last week, when Barack Obama won the election, checking my friends’ Facebook status messages became a source of entertainment.
Minutes after broadcasters announced the election results, tons of people logged onto the site to voice their elation or air their discontent. From my vantage point, there were more happy than not. But the ones who weren’t happy were livid.
Some were ecstatic: One person said she was proud of her country for the first time in eight years. Another said he was glad to experience one of the most profound moments in American history. And yet another said a weight had been lifted, that finally he could be happy.
But other people weren’t as joyful. Some messages even trudged into an arena of ignorance and hatred.
Some people said they were moving to Canada or Mexico. “The next four years will be hell,” one person declared. Many mentioned Obama’s inability to wear a flag pin as a sign for what to expect.
“How could you have voted for a man who turned his back on the flag?” one message said.
A few people talked about Obama’s tax hikes on the wealthy: “Go ahead, Obama, tax the (expletive) out of my family,” one said. “Thanks idiots, America is now going to be a socialist country,” said another.
And Armageddon or Bible references were rife. “God help us” messages sprouted up like kernels on a corncob. In fact, the number of messages indicating Obama was either the Antichrist or that his victory was a sign of the end were quite out of proportion. These people can’t be serious, I thought. But information on their profiles demonstrated they might be: Many of their interests included Jesus, the Bible, church and God.
So maybe they were serious. But I just don’t get it.
One woman's message said Obama must want women to go to hell because women who have abortions go to hell and Obama supports abortions. And one man's message quoted an REM song: "This is the end of the world as we know it." <br/>And these people somehow are on my friends list.And these people somehow are on my friends list.
And these people somehow are on my friends list.
It’s really frightening. Religion not only has infiltrated politics but also intellect. Some people seem to have forfeited rational and intelligent thought because of obscure texts written several centuries ago. I look around and think this can’t be real.
But it is real. It is clear many people believe Obama’s win will accelerate the deterioration of American values and damage the state of the nation. And I simply cannot understand how a person can let propaganda and a fairy tale (religion) impact his or her views to such a drastic degree.
Of course, religion doesn’t trip everyone up – there are exceptions. But the ones who can’t shelve religion when making serious rational decisions really give God a bad name. And, though the minority, enough people exist who warp religion and sound bites aired on TV to make me uncomfortable.
The other day my uncle asked my mom whom her kids voted for. He and my aunt are part of a crazy camp that believe Obama is the Antichrist. My mom told him I voted for Obama. He asked her if I’d read up on the candidates before voting, insinuating I was the idiot.
Because, after all, Republicans make the best decisions. Just look at the economy. Or health care. Or the money spent on the war. Oh wait… Never mind.
To make matters worse, my stepfather is a hardcore conservative nationalist who loves Ronald Reagan, hates gays and blacks and thinks I’m a tree-hugging communist. So that’s fun. Can’t wait till Thanksgiving.