something on obama

My editor asked me to attend an event at the US embassy. The embassy invited a professor of journalism to talk about the significance of the Internet at the 2008 US Elections.

As expected, I was late for the 8:30 in the morning affair. I came in the event a few minutes after the open forum had started. The topic was really interesting and I've learned new things about political campaign strategies. But then, since there wasn't any local peg, my editor didn't ask me to write any story at all.

Anyway, I was reading the portfolio of the candidates that were given to us during the event. As I am fascinated with Barack Obama's candidacy, I opened the magazine and read his biography first.

I must admit, I've heard a lot of stories about him, as he was featured in Time magazine, coverages from New York Times, and a few more stories from missionaries and friends who are going to vote.

One of the main contentions my friends have is that he makes it appear that he is a Christian when in turn, he is actually a Muslim. Now I don't know how true this allegation could be, but the mere idea that they wouldn't vote for him because he is a Muslim already raises an eyebrow.

Maybe I'm just liberated, as one of them would often refer me, or maybe I'm just being nice, but I really don't like the idea of discrimination because of religion. Religion, I think, should not be the measure for a person to be deserving in a position, especially with regard to the Muslim religion.

I'd like to quote what United Nations Secretary-General Bak Ki Moon said in his message for the Asian Conference on Religions for Peace. He said, "It is man who created war in the name of religion."

Because of this war against terrorism, people have started looking down on the Islam religion, that terrorism is a product of extremist religion, that it is the Islam religion that cultivates this extreme methods. However, they do not recognize the idea of ideology, that terrorism in its sense is actually a protest against the world power.

Now, on this point, Obama says the US should keep it's stand in the global power seat and yet he advocates for the end of the war in Middle East and resort to diplomatic settlements.

At one point, it seems quite ironic, to keep power and yet settle with those that are against you're being there. Then again, no one could very well achieve it unless he would actually know why there are these protests, make them feel that you understand them, and convince them to meet at a certain level, exactly the same element of synthesis Karl Marx discussed in his conflict theory.

My parents would have killed me by now if they would hear I have to say about this election such that they are being fed by the allegations against Obama. Quite honestly, I have much more to say but just to clarify, I'm not exactly pro-Obama. I'd like to think, thank God I'm not an American to be thinking who to vote. But yes, this elections is still quite interesting.