Dear American Muslim Community,

I’m not entirely sure how it must feel to have the President of your country reaffirm his Christian faith, so as not to be seen as one of you.

I’m not sure how it must feel to have a very vocal community demand you not build a place of worship, because they find it offensive.

I’m not sure how it must feel to be considered associated with terrorists, even when you are not. Or to always be under suspicion, when you do nothing to be suspicious of.

I am sure, however, that there are fellow Americans…like my family…who see you as true patriots. The kind who blaze a trail with the very foundation this country was built on, while others stand in their way. We wish with all our hearts the rhetoric in this country was not demonizing you, or your families.

I’m ashamed and embarrassed at how you are being treated in your own land. I can only hope they don’t go after Polish Americans next. Or Romanian Americans, because my family would be next in line for their hate. I suppose, in this current climate, my family is safe being white and coming from a Catholic and Protestant background. But you never know. The crazy that has enveloped our nation seems to know no bounds, and I wouldn’t doubt if my family is next.

It seems we are not safe in our own country from those who believe they are righteous and ‘true’ Americans.

But we know Muslim Americans are just as ‘true’ as any other American walking any street in any town.

I guess we should be thankful our country allows for this ridiculous discourse. That we can argue over it all, and scream our bigotry from the tallest building. I guess…I guess. But right now I can’t help but feel shame for the behaviors of our countrymen and women, hell-bent on assuming you are less American, out to hurt them, and afraid of your presence.

While I take issue with your choice of religion, much the same as I take issue with your Christian brothers and sisters, I am proud to live in a country where you are welcome to practice your beliefs. And I want it to be clear to you and your family that we do not all hate. We are not all bigots. And you are just as American as I.

But you already know this. You’ve been living it. And I don’t mean to speak of things I don’t know. I just want to say… I’m sorry.

Sincerely,

Erin Kotecki Vest

No. Stop. Please.

Although this was probably better than the other ridiculous questions being asked.

Even parenting decisions become political when the First Family is involved. There’s a story out today on the Obama girl’s internet use...a topic, given my profession, we discuss often in this house.

Mrs. Obama tells CNN en Espanol (ehs-puhn-YOHL’) that she and President Barack Obama limit the use of computers for their daughters, Sasha and Malia, and ask the girls a lot of questions when they’re on line.

“We ask a lot of questions about what our kids are doing while they are on the computer,” she explained.

Mrs. Obama said she and the president talk with their daughters about the dangers of Facebook, and “that sort of gossip mill.”

The first lady says that more schools are helpful in educating parents as well as children on the pros, cons and dangers of the Internet.

Mrs. Obama tells that when she was growing up, the Internet didn’t exist. She called her friends on the phone.

Sounds like some of my girlfriends. Sounds like my own mother. Sounds a lot like many of the conversations I have with the parents of my son and daughter’s friends.

But instead of having a typical conversation about parenting and family and politics, I found myself discussing the issue on Twitter with conservatives calling into question the First Lady’s “fear” of the internet. Words like “unhealthy” and “silly” were used.

I shook my head at the lack of sense this was making. Are conservatives seriously calling into question parenting skills that embrace personal responsibility and age appropriate use of the web? Are you kidding me?

Then I realized, with the help of my husband, it doesn’t matter what this First Family does. It could fall directly in line with how a conservative family would raise their family… it would still be wrong.

A new study out shows those most vocal against the President and this administration seep their anger in class and race.

A new CBS News/New York Times poll found the Tea Party movement is 89 percent white and just one percent black.

It also looked at the views of Tea Party supporters on race issues. Asked if too much has been made of the problems facing African-Americans, 52 percent said yes.

That compares to 28 percent of Americans overall who say too much has been made of the problems facing blacks, and 23 percent of non-Tea Party whites who say as much.

Now ask yourself again, why would conservatives have an issue with parents monitoring and regulating their children’s internet use? Easy…because it’s something the Obama’s do, which to them must automatically be bad.

Sad. Simple-minded. And dead wrong.

In 2003, as my son was born, the US went to war in Iraq.

I can remember laying in my hospital bed nursing my tiny boy as the pundits and politicians lined up behind then President Bush and nodded their heads.

If he says we need to go, we need to go

We have to keep our country safe

In the wake of 9-11 not many questioned the war in Iraq and the country rallied behind the cause.

Well, most of the country. I was one of those few skeptics that hadn’t heard a compelling reason to start bombing. My husband, on the other hand, thought we should trust our President. But in all those speeches and in all that rhetoric, something was missing for me.

Trust.

I took it as a given that we were being lied to. I took it as a given that we didn’t have all the information. I took it as a given that we were going to war for reasons other than terrorists.

As it turns out, I was right. I don’t say that to rub it in faces or stick my tongue out…but to remind myself that not everything is always as it seems.

Last night I dutifully watched President Obama lay out his reasons for sending more troops to Afghanistan. I wanted to hear compelling reasons to put Americans in harms way. I wanted to hear something HUGE to make me nod my head and say …yes, yes Mr. President, this is what you have to do.

I’m not sure I did.

I heard about the Generals on the ground needing more troops. Yes…that makes sense. I heard about the ongoing terror threat to our nation, although with zero details other than ‘we’ve recently stopped a few bad guys’ I had a hard time swallowing that one. I heard about getting Afghanistan on it’s feet so it could support itself. What I didn’t hear was something that made me say ‘My God, we MUST do this.’

But this time around, I have something I didn’t have before.

Trust.

Call me naive but just like last time, with another President, I think there are many things we don’t know. And our leaders are making decisions with information we’ll never see, and for reasons we’ll never know.

It boils down to my trust of President Obama to not be after oil. It boils down to my trust of President Obama to not be putting our soldiers in harm’s way for profit, posture, or politics.

I did not have this trust in President Bush and I did not believe his motives were sincere.

But trust..isn’t enough. I can’t just go on faith. I never have, I never will. Faith..to me, is for the weak. Harsh, I know…but I can’t change who I am. So I was somewhat encouraged to hear, what I thought, was a more detailed plan and strategy for this ‘surge.’

There is a plan to get in and a plan to get out. For skeptics like me, who aren’t even sure we should be there, this is important. Just like the President is refusing to ‘write a blank check’ for war, I’m refusing to write a blank check to him. He knows this. He gave me a map to make that fear go away. Mostly. Because most of know these maps and goals are not hard and fast or set in stone, and most of us know this is all a round about way to get Pakistan in line.

But my President knows I’m that smart. So he gave me the tools I needed to be comfortable with this surge. Not entirely behind it, mind you…but comfortable with it.

Last time around it was blind trust. You weren’t given anything but ‘we know what we’re doing, either get in line behind everyone else or side with them.’ If you questioned you were called unpatriotic and if you dared speak out the chorus to silence you was swift and severe.

Not so this time. There is healthy debate over the matter. Allies are breaking ranks to say you know what, Mr. President…we think you’re wrong and should do it this way instead. The usual anti-war protest groups are rallying and the Right is…well, the Right is seemingly opposing it simply because it’s President Obama.

However the discussion is there, it’s on the forefront, and it’s not being pushed behind the curtain.

So while many of us may be unsure about this surge, we can already see the progress in the country’s attitude, and atmosphere. We can already hear the difference in a leader that talks of mutual respect, not ‘you’re either with us, or against us.’ We can even permit ourselves to have the slightest amount of trust, despite nearly a decade of lies and broken promises.

No, I’m not happy about this surge…but I don’t think my President is either. He doesn’t seem to want to do it just as much as I don’t want to let him…and for that…I am grateful.

I just found this interview I did in March at SXSW. Enjoy my geekyhood