1) Giving away my identity
2) Openly endorsing any political party or candidate.
I will still attempt to do this. But, this will be difficult as I share my feelings and experiences concerning the topic at hand.
In my local town, authorities have uncovered a plot where a hate group was planning to identify and terrorize minorities in the area.
The backdrop to this news is that on Tuesday, November 4th, the United States will have a historic and unprecedented presidential election where Sen. Barack Obama has an extremely good chance of being elected over his opponent Sen. John McCain. Mr. Obama is African-American. So, the endangered minority group in my town is naturally African-Americans.
This news unnerved me. I felt like my family and I now have a big red and white bulls eye target on our home, our cars, and on our backs.
I have two young children who are innocent and oblivious to this whole plot. How could someone bring themselves to even consider doing such a thing?
Now one can see why Jeremiah Wright was so angry and why Michelle Obama is quoted as saying that for the first time she is proud of her country. They have lived through this before during the Civil Rights era in the 1960s (well, maybe not Ms. Obama, but Rev. Wright has).
African-Americans still feel threatened today despite race relations being better. Otherwise, Mr. Obama wouldn't be ahead in the polls. But, the positive reality is still hard to accept and believe after I heard this threatening news today.
I didn't even want to leave my home after this news. But I needed to go to the grocery store. I mustard the courage to go because if I didn't, my life would be just as dead as if I were shot dead in my own home.
I went because I didn't want my wife to go alone.
I went because last time I checked, this was the United States of America and I'm a free citizen.
I have freedom of thought and opinion. Freedom of speech and the pursuit of happiness. If my freedoms are taken away because some group doesn't like me, your freedom can just as easily be taken away, too, regardless of your skin color. Don't believe me? Learn the truth about why this country was born in the first place.
I felt like I was taking the biggest risk of my life by simply going to the store. Thankfully, I arrived home safely with my family. But before leaving the parking lot of the store, I saw an old truck with a bumper sticker as I pushed my grocery cart to my parking space. I felt directly threatened all over again as I read it:
Terror is ordered by God
The sticker sited a verse from Leviticus. I couldn't keep the verse reference in memory. But, the Chicago Nazarene Theological Seminary was mentioned on the sticker.
Can this be taken out of context?
My life is in some measure of danger simply because of my skin color.
And this assassination order upon my life was ordered by God himself!
One more good reason to continue being an atheist.
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