Please recommend this story, and like we did with Campbell's CNN story, let these golden words of Powell be heard far and wide
Please digg the original post on this issue
After Campbell brought up this brave question on CNN, a question that all Muslims have been asking in America to themselves, to their friends, but not making a big deal of, because we want to think "yes, we understand the political situation about Muslims being potentially politically caustic, and yet hoping that others would ask for us.
And Campbell did, and now this brave man, probably one of the few respectable and upright individuals who served in the Bush Administration has spoke up for all Muslims. He did Campbell one better, by touching the souls and hearts of all fair-minded Americans.
"Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is?"
And so Powell made the right conscionable decision, the decision to go against his own party, and support the RIGHT candidate, not the politically expedient choice of supporting his party's candidate. But he did not just make an endorsement, he explained his decision, in a way that every American can understand.
And not only did he explain his decision, this honorable man spoke for the millions of Muslims, troubled by the "Muslim smear"-- the millions, a majority of whom will be voting for Obama not due to Obama's faith but his policies, the millions who have been wondering, "what if he is [a Muslim]?"
Thus, we cannot let this moment get away, we cannot let these profound statements of Colin Powell get washed away in the rhetoric, and the giddiness or despair surrounding it(depending on which side of the Presidential election one is). Because endorsement will hopefully help a few troubled hearts reconcile with Obama, but the endorsement of millions of Muslims by Powell helps millions of troubled hearts find a little peace, that there are men in this country who are willing to speak the truth. Upright men in this country, who stand up to their own parties or to their own affiliated groups, and stand up and say that "no sir, you cannot get away with this". Stand up and say "what if he is [a Muslim]?"
I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
And then Powell doesn't stop at this. He is not running for an election, he doesn't have any ulterior motivations to talk about Muslims, he is free to speak his heart. And he talks about Muslims, who are not only Americans, but like McCain, served their nation. And when McCain's surrogates or his party smear Muslims, they are smearing the troops, that they so loudly claim to support:
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
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Transcript: Link here