In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful...the Best Knower.
As I sat in my living room a few days ago, flipping through the channels on my television, I came across what turned out to be John McCain's "acceptance speech" at the RNC...so I decided to give an ear...and an eye.
I must admit, however, my mind wasn't totally on his speech. It was more on the fact that his push toward the RNC was significantly affected by an oncoming hurricane. That struck me as ...well...interesting, to say the least -- that just days after what many would call a triumphant speech by Sen. Barak Obama, that went off "without a hitch", the Republican candidate's plans for a rebuttal, of sorts, were thwarted by forces over which he had no control. The timing, I thought, was no coincidence. Could there be a "Higher Power" involved? Could this "Higher Power" be sending the Republican Party a "Message"? That's up for debate...
However, no sooner than that line of thinking was concluded in my mind, I heard Sen. McCain say something that, if I heard him correctly, I found both amusing...and insulting. I would later find that I had heard exactly what I thought I heard.
Sen. McCain said the following...
"We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics. ...We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendants arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children and we're all Americans."
Wait...you're kidding me...right?
Just why this portion of his speech, out of all the words that he spoke, stood out in my mind...God only knows; but...it did.
First, when I think of the meaning of the word "descendant", I can't help but wonder WHO this "boy" is "whose descentants arrived on the Mayflower", and how such a boy, having never set foot on American soil, would have any relevance to the conditions that America faces today. How would this "boy" benefit from McCain's plans for "getting back to basics", when he has been dead for hundreds of years???
Second, if Sen. McCain meant - by his use of the term "boy" - a descendant of Africa, such a statement should be considered as nothing short of "illiterate", for we all know that the victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade did NOT "arrive on the Mayflower". Also, if he meant "son of Africa", why didn't he say "son of Africa"? Why ...just..."boy"? He apparently had no problem identifying the "Latina daughter" by culture. Why not identify the "boy" by culture?
Third, if the Senator was NOT referring to any "son of Africa" (by his use of the term "boy") as having something to contribute and having the opportunity to reach his "God-given" potential, then that leaves me to wonder. Why would McCain mention the proposed contributions and opportunities of "Latinos" and "other than blacks", but fail to mention the Historical Contributions and associated Rights of the Children of Africa who helped BUILD America? Was this just a misstatement? A simple "oversight"? More likely, an over"look".
If this statement is any indication of the level of responsibility, intelligence and/or intentions of the man who made it, then I say, as did Thomas Jefferson: "I tremble for [this] country when I reflect that God is Just, and that His Justice cannot sleep forever."
God Bless America?? Well, I pray that God will Bless the PEOPLE of America to WAKE UP and hold their leaders accountable to the Principles of Freedom, Justice and Equality...for ALL...before God's Justice wakes up!
RM
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