re: Fondness for deceased father and paternal heritage
Reader comment on article: Was Barack Obama a Muslim?
in response to reader comment: Fondness for deceased father and paternal heritage

Submitted by R. Willis (United States), Oct 6, 2008 at 14:46

Interesting thought.

Are we to assume then, that an individual who never knew their father well, learned he was an alcoholic, and a drug addict, in the time following his death.

Would that individual be likely to "glorify" drugs and alcohol, or even marginally change their perspective on the use of these substances as a subconscious means of connecting to their father's past?

Would a substance abuse counselor become less effective working with addicts upon obtaining this new knowledge about their father's past? Perhaps a judge, sentencing drug traffickers or drunk drivers be somehow more lenient, upon uncovering the truths of their own fathers life.

One can hope to know more about the life a distant relative, but understanding how an ancestor lived their life does not immediately result in assimilating those values. Especially when the life you are hoping to understand distinctly contrasts your own view of the world.

Does Barack Obama have an insight into the minds of Muslim people across the world? Maybe, maybe not. But if he does, this insight can only be seen as an asset, not a liability. Surely this knowledge will equip him to engage those practicing Islam in a more strategically effective manner, be it diplomatically or militarily.

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