One Nation Under Bitter Pennsylvania?

One Nation Under Bitter Pennsylvania?

By Judi Panasik
The Weekly Recorder
April 18, 2008

In school one of the first things we learn is the “Pledge of Allegiance,” which states we are “One nation under God.” For some reason Senator Barak Obama seems to think hate and bitterness goes along with believing in God. Over the last month not only has it come to the public’s attention that he belonged to a church that preached this belief, but also he recently made a statement concerning the residents of Pennsylvania calling their commitment to religion clinging. Obama talks a good game about uniting us, but continues to critique our differences.

If there is anyone out there that is unaware of what I am talking about, Obama told an audience in San Francisco that people in small Pennsylvania towns are bitter over what has happened to them since the loss of manufacturing jobs and a bad economy. Because of this bitterness we cling to guns and religion, and have problems with immigrants.

Well Mr. Obama, I hate to tell you this but with your latest statement you have lost Pennsylvania.

Do we like guns here, absolutely, but we did long before the economy took a turn for the worse. In Western Pennsylvania, we are a community where hunting and football are our main sports.

Our local school districts offer hunters safety and have rifle teams. The first day of hunting season has become an in service day in the schools.

And I’m sure a majority of Pennsylvania, with the exception of the Philly area, is the same way. But Philly has their own gun problem, and not in a sporting way.

In a country where the issue of gun control lost Al Gore the presidency, why would you even say that? They are calling you an élitist, I agree, but I also call that poor judgement.

Do you really think your ready to meet with world leaders? If you can’t relate to people in your own country how are you going to relate to them?
Then when Hillary took advantage of you bad judgement and told crowds how she was taught to shoot a gun by her father as a child, you had to attack her saying she made herself sound like Annie Oakley.

What she did was what you are unable to do, show her connection with voters. It’s a well known fact that her family hails from Pennsylvania, and that her father and brother were Penn State football players and graduates.

If you were really in touch with the American people, and especially Pennsylvanian’s you would know teaching your children to shoot a gun is a tradition not a form of bitterness or hate.

And religion, are you kidding me. Just because your preacher spews hatred for other races and people through your church doesn’t mean everybody does.

God is everywhere in America. Our money says, “In God we trust.” We are “One nation under God.”

Western Pennsylvania has always been a melting pot. And with that came many different religious backgrounds. On both sides of the state towns are filled with churches of different religions and ethnic backgrounds.

I can remember my father explaining to me years ago that the town he grew up in, Brownsville, PA had several Catholic churches for the different immigrants that came over from Europe and worked in the coal mines. And when you travel through Western Pennsylvania you see the same pattern. Unfortunately many of the churches have been abandoned or torn down. But as we lost those manufacturing jobs and our population began to dry up that’s what happened.

But our faith in God has always been there. How dare you insult us that we would cling to God as things got bad and then tie guns in with religion.

And for a man who has spent little to no time in a state he so desperately needs how can you assume you know us?

You may be charismatic to some, but what that statement showed was your inability to think and understand the American people. That statement will not only cost you Pennsylvania, but also all of the other states the Democrats lost in the last two elections. You may have beat Hillary in the South when you had your media momentum, but you will not beat McCain. He will not only take states like Pennsylvania and Florida, but the red states of past elections.

Your mistake was taking the two things this country was founded on; religion and the right to bare arms, and making them sound like something we should be ashamed of instead of embracing.