CHANGE…. I recall reading a quote that said “change” is the only thing that is inevitable. I must have been in my late 30’s and just reading that one statement changed my life and way of thinking. I held onto people, places, relationships, friendships, a job and things that weren’t working. I finally realized that I had to let go of anything that wasn’t working in my life to progress. I guess that I learned this concept of “holding onto” from my mother. But, that’s another long story. Anyway, this new way of thinking got me moving into the right direction~! It’s about small steps…as small as changing doctors, hairdressers, dentists, etc. These may sound silly, but some people actually have a hard time changing even these things!! It wasn’t easy to change the more important things. It required taking some risks and being open-minded. I have never looked back…I finally began moving forward. Some people seem to thrive on change and taking risks; others appear to hold back and despise change. Now, it is clear to me that we must change to progress.

Barack Obama is definitely not the typical U.S. presidential candidate. His appearance and heritage are different than what we are accustomed. A fear of possible change brews amongst some in the U.S. and e-mails containing falsehoods have begun to flourish. Unsubstantiated stories have begun to surface via e-mail, such as: “Who is Barack Obama?” This e-mail asks that everyone beware of Obama’s intentions due to his heritage. Other e-mails question Obama’s intentions due to things he may or may not have experienced or learned as a child. I grew up with an extremely racist father, but I quickly learned from my own interactions with others that my father was very wrong about judging others according to their race. His perception of others was twisted, disturbing and generalized. So, I adopted my own way of thinking about everything…which was very different from my father’s. So, the creator of these e-mails has judged Obama based solely upon what he "believes" Obama experienced/learned as a child and his outward appearance.

Snopes (www.snopes.com) has done an excellent job of breaking down each circulated Obama e-mail claim as a falsehood. Why were these e-mails created and circulated?? I think each person has to answer that for himself.