Forwarded Emails

So this morning I had a forwarded email from a former student. I guess I was in her address book and she clicked everyone. Normally I just insta-delete these and then email the person to ask they do not forward. Sometimes I feel compelled to explain the absurdity of believing anything in these emails, much less forwarding them.

Well this particular one was about Obama. So out of curiosity, I scrolled quickly. And I saw the word "Hitler". I stopped. I read. This email started by talking about how Obama has all sorts of charisma that has led him to have celebrity status. Then it said that Hitler had a lot of charisma too and that turned out disastrous. It then listed by bullet-points where Obama supposedly stands on issues and referred to the website Snopes to verify these "facts".

Oh wow. Needless to say I responded.

Anyone who takes emails like this as factual and allows it to influence their decision should really take the time to go the candidates' respective sites and see where they stand on the issues. Snopes is an un-educated person's way of checking facts. Take the time to do real research. Personally, I don't think it is the government's responsibility to push Christian moral beliefs on the people of a free nation by making them unlawful. The church should fill that gap by building relationships with people and having credibility with them to point them to the right choices. So look at the things that mean the most to you. In these times, the economy and foreign policy should rank up there. Just to retort a few of the points below: If you read where he stands, Obama assures a $1000 tax break for the middle class and an increase on high income families. His "universal" healthcare will only be available to those who have no option of healthcare. If a person can get it, but refuses to, they won't be eligible. To pay for it, he plans for a corporation tax. He wants to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Since announcing this, the Bush administration has begun trickling the idea of this to take away the steam of Obama's proposal. As for the other points, well there's never going to be a perfect candidate. I disagree on some of his points, yes. I even started out a Bush supporter but his policies haven't worked and it is time for a change of perspective. Even Senatory McCain has flip-flopped many "Bush support" statements to separate himself. I'm not trying to sway your opinion; just asking that you make an informed decision. Forwarded emails are never a good source for ANY information.

So far I got two responses. One was "please remove me from your list." I quickly apologized and relayed that I didn't want to be on it either. The second pointed out a typo and that I shouldn't make statements about education when I have typos. I responded jovially and thanked him for catching the typo. He wrote back and agreed that Snopes is horrible. We'll see what else comes in today...