The Midwest and Mr. Obama

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Regarding Eli Saslow's June 30 front-page article, "In Flag City USA, False Obama Rumors Are Flying":

I was born in Tiffin, Ohio, and grew up in Findlay -- "Flag City USA." I support Sen. Barack Obama. In many ways, I am a "typical" Midwesterner: I attended church with my parents, joined the marching band at Findlay's only public high school and worked as a waitress to earn money for college. However, I also volunteered at Findlay's Black Heritage Library, started a gay-straight alliance at my high school and questioned the Pledge of Allegiance -- and I was not alone.

I never did share the beliefs of my fundamentalist neighbors, but I learned something from them: hope. Hope is a Christian value, and hope demands a willingness to change. Towns such as Findlay stand to benefit the most from Mr. Obama's proposed policies, and, considering the present downward economic trends, many people there would be willing to put their reservations aside. Young people are especially ready for change, and those from older generations are willing to listen, if you speak their language and appreciate their perspectives.

Mr. Obama's campaign won't change minds overnight. But it may be surprised to find that towns such as Findlay harbor a few avid supporters.

AMY STULMAN

Philadelphia

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It is obvious to me that reporter Eli Saslow came to our city with an agenda -- to show that only unenlightened racists who believe wild and untrue stories about Sen. Barack Obama could possibly be against the candidate. Mr. Saslow chose an older portion of town with older residents and then ascribed their supposed views to our entire city.

The article quoted a college student as saying that when she and a colleague go door to door campaigning for Mr. Obama, "People tell us that we are in the wrong town." The implication is that this town would never vote for Mr. Obama because he is an African American.

However, in Ohio's 2006 gubernatorial election, Hancock County, where Findlay is located, voted 55 percent for Kenneth Blackwell (Republican and African American) over Ted Strickland (Democrat and white). But Mr. Strickland won the statewide election with 60 percent of the vote. Where was the article about bigotry in the Rust Belt during that election? Or was Ohio somehow more "enlightened" to vote for a white Democrat over an African American Republican?

RON MILLER

Findlay, Ohio

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I read these comments from a man in Findlay, Ohio, with disbelief: "I think Obama would be a disaster, and there's a lot of reasons. I understand he's from Africa, and that the first thing he's going to do if he gets into office is bring his family over here, illegally. He's got that racist [pastor] who practically raised him, and then there's the Muslim thing. He's just not presidential material, if you ask me."

Not a word of truth. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, did not meet the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. until he was in his mid-20s and is a Christian. Rather than require a photo ID for voting, maybe we should require an IQ test.

JEANIE McANDREW

Bethesda

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The account of the Findlay, Ohio, man who is torn between believing what the media report about the life of Sen. Barack Obama, on one hand, and the crazy allegations that are spread on the Internet and by word of mouth in that man's community, on the other hand, is a fascinating example of current sociopolitical anthropology.

Jim Peterman, the person mentioned, seems like a decent person, but apparently he hasn't yet figured out that information on the Internet must be vetted to discern what is reliable and what is gossip or misinformation.

That a story is repeated thousands of times on Web sites or in e-mail is less a test of truth than of the utility of the "cut-and-paste" or "forward" functions of computer software.

Teachers who give research assignments that include Web resources regularly help their students make such distinctions. Wikipedia does this beautifully, using the Internet itself as a self-correcting resource. Perhaps Mr. Peterman should consult Wikipedia about Mr. Obama's life and beliefs if he does not trust the popular media.

SHARON JO LYNCH

Silver Spring

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Regarding the July 1 front-page article "Obama Fiercely Defends his Patriotism":

The man is running to be president of the United States. Is there anything more patriotic than that?

PAM FAITH

Alexandria