Senator Obama's Quotes Taken Out of Context

I received an email from a family member with the following:

This guy wants to be our President and control our government. Pay close attention to the last comment!!  Below are a few lines from Obama's books ' his words:

1. From Dreams of My Father:  'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'
2. From Dreams of My Father :  'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race.'
3. From Dreams of My Father:  'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'
4. From Dreams of My Father:  ; 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'
5. From Dreams of My Father:  'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.'
6. From Audacity of Hope:  'I will stand with the Muslims, should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'

I was quite upset by it so I decided to research the context of each of these (since I HAVE read the books and my perception is that the family member who sent me this has not).  If they had read the books, I'm pretty certain they would not be sending these quotes taken out of context... it's pretty sad that there are so many people out there willing to take just a tidbit of information and make their minds up about someone without really delving into the truth. 

I think it's somewhat understandable because we have a finite amount of time to spend on certain things... but this particular presidential election is too important to just read the quotes.  I am not a Rhodes Scholar... but I've educated myself on the differences between the candidates... none of them are perfect, they all have good and bad ideas... but I believe Obama gives us the best option.... but that's obviously my opinion from what I've read.

Here are the 6 quotes mentioned above in more detail... you decide if they are accurate as stated above or if they make more sense (and you agree with them) when placed in the proper context.

1. The quotes of Dreams From My Father are all race-related...
   1. 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'
   2. 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race.'
   3. 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'
   4. 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'
   5. 'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.'
   • In the book Dreams of My Father, Senator Obama describes his teenage years as he struggled with his identity... as every single teenager has done throughout history.  The quote explains how he saw himself, as white or a black?
   • This is from a response on answers.yahoo.com:
     • The book is about how growing up Barack came to reconcile being of mixed heritage. "Dreams from my Father", pertains to that conflict in his youth, and how he came to resolve it. He writes about how he romanticized the life of his absent black father who he never knew and resented his mother, and how growing up changed his views on things
     • Read the book. Don't just find a few quotes that describe a conflict he felt at the age of 13 and pass it off as views he holds right now. He wrote the book to document how he came to reconcile the issue of race in his life
   • If you understand the concepts of the book, Dreams From My Father, you will see the process he went through to get to the point where he is now.
   • A better statement of his current views can be obtained from the speech he made in Philadelphia.  The description of the race issues in the U.S. that he gave in that speech are amazingly similar to mine and (I'm sure) most people.
2. The quote from "The Audacity of Hope" ( 'I will stand with the Muslims, should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.') is completely chopped... here's the full version from the book:
   • "Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

It's really sad that these quotes are either taken out of context or adjusted to fit the needs of the ultra-right to scare people into not voting for an amazing candidate.  If you really want to understand what Obama offers, read one or both books (with a truly open mind) and make up your mind aftewards.

I don't think Obama is perfect, he's far from it... as we ALL are.  But out of the candidates running for president, I believe he offers the best option... read Oabama's views on the REAL issues and compare them to McCain's views... TRULY INFORM YOURSELF! 

I believe Senator Obama can bring both sides together to move our country in a positive direction.  In my opinion, Hillary would give us a similar polarization (on the opposite end) as we have witnessed with Bush... and I believe McCain would continue the policies that the Bush administration has supported and that would be a big mistake.

Read the books and make an educated decision on who you think would be the best leader for the nation.... don't just read a few lines and believe their message without understanding the whole story.

Comments

[Katy O'Leary]

Right on, Javier!! I completely agree with you. Have you thought about sending this as a "letter to the editor" in your local paper? It would get SO many readers!

[Gaylynn]

Thank you for writing this. It is so frustrating when people don't do their own leg work and check the validity of such preposterous statements. This is way out of context. I agree with you: "Truly Inform Yourself!"

[Bob]

Funny, if McCain said 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the white masses, to strike out and name names.' the media would be singing a different story. Or maybe McCain would just say he was trying to find himself and it would be ok. And what about the church Obama went to most of his life. FACTS.

[Tana]

Javier,

thanks for researching on Mr. Obama's book and quote from it. People should realize that one bite does not make a swallow and one cuckoo does not indicate spring.

I am not a US Citizen currently but would have definitely voted for Obama/Biden.

Thanks for your post again,

- Tana.

[a]

you guys are being ridiculous

[Rictacieste]

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