What is the truth?

I was in a toy store a couple of weeks ago with my family, when I overheard a conversation between the clerk and a couple of the customers...Basically, the little chat revolved around which candidate was best. It being a VERY small and fairly conservative town, the answer for all parties was "McCain". OK, I have no problem with that. I do, however, have a problem when the reasons given to support one candidate are based on ignorance and racism.

Seriously. I had to walk out of the store, or risk getting involved in a confrontation. I heard one lady "whisper" (you know - the one that is designed to be heard as far as possible, while making it appear that it's a secret?) that she heard that Obama recently said he was a poor man. Well, she goes on, he has millions of dollars, and he says he's poor?!? Just more lies...at which point the man next to her pretty much commented that he won't vote for the black sonofabitch. There was more, but it aggravates me just thinking about it all.

Can you say ignorance? To the best of my knowledge, Obama has not ever said that he is poor *at this time*. He has said, repeatedly, that he was extremely poor growing up - to the point of living on food stamps at times. Something these people could certainly relate to, since this town has not had a viable industry since god-knows-when (logging? fishing?).

And to decide who to vote for based on color?! You may not be an active skinhead, but you're not too much different after all. Particularly after the arrest recently of two skinheads who planned on going on a killing spree that was to end with the attempted murder of Obama. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who judges another person based on the color of their skin is no different or better than a skinhead. They might not be planning murder, and they might even frown upon what those boys were planning...but at heart, under all the lies and facades, if they judge another by ethnicity and/or race, then they are just as wicked and wrong as those who would actively show the hatred and scorn.

It makes me sick, how many lies and labels have been bandied about. Even worse, that so many people actually BELIEVE them without questioning their validity or their authenticity. And these ignorant folk are planning on putting pen to paper on election day based on bullshit. I have so much hope for this country and our world as a whole - but it's hard for me to explain to my children why someone else believes that color is more important than character. It makes me wonder if we will EVER get to the point where the inner person is acknowledged as being so much more important than the outer.

The worst part is, these people who believe so much in their "knowledge" would all be prepared to defend it. They believe just as strongly in their position as I do in mine. And while I'm a firm believer in "middle ground", this is one of those things that I just can't justify as a grey area. Either all humans are created equal, or they are not. Period.