Recently, many of the network and cable news stations have made an effort to point out that many Americans, most of them white Americans, will not vote for Sen. Barack Obama for no other reason than that he is black!

There are many issues to consider when dealing with this fact.

First of all, America is in the forefront of the Global Arena. Every nation in the world is watching this election. We profess to be the epidemy of democracy and freedom, yet, we have a nation that is still steeped heavily in racism. How will other nations of the world be able to respect us and want to follow our lead if we can only "talk the talk" and not "walk the walk?"

Secondly, most, if not all of these folks, profess to be true Americans. Well, if that is so, Sen. Obama and his wife ought to be heralded as the true example of the success of the American dream! They weren't born rich, like Sen. McCain. They didn't have people pulling strings for them to get into good schools, like John McCain. They both performed well, for the most part, while in college and law school, earning high honors and the respect of their peers, unlike Sen. McCain!

We say that America is the land of opportunity! Barack and Michelle Obama should be named the "poster people" for showing to the world that through them, this statement has truly been manifested.

Thirdly, many of the folks who won't vote for Obama simply because he is black, are members of the religious right. What kind of true believer in Christ would harbor this much racism?

The most ironic twist of the involvement of the religious right is that their example directly parallels the plight of the children of Israel, in regard to the children of Israel wanting Saul to be their king, when God's profit, not only told them that their choice was not God's choice, but that, if they got their choice, what manner of plights they would suffer under Saul's rule. Stubbornly, the children of Israel ignored the profit, chose Saul, and suffered tremendously under his rule.

Like the children of Israel, those folks who oppose Obama because of race are being stub born and ignorant. Everyone is aware of the fact that John McCain is a Bush "clone!" Even if he weren't, his vice presidential choice is horrendous!! Even if that wasn't so, McCain has lied, flip-flopped, shown and inability to make a good decision, made errors in regards to foreign policy, which is supposed to be his strong suit, and much more.

Finally, Americans should want to try to move towards peace and prosperity. Can Obama get us there? I don't know. What I do know ids that McCain can't or won't.

It's time for Americans to show the world that, in fact, we all do share the values that are part of the American dream. That we are not jealous of those who might be more successful than we are, as long as we are given an equal opportunity to be as successful. That we are truly the home of the brave and the land of the free!!! This is the message we ought to be sending out to all of the world!

BE WELL