Will Barack Obama be the Next Jfk or Bhutto?

Obama is asking us to believe in change, and I for one do. What is it about this man that makes us want to follow him? He is charismatic beyond words; he is hopeful, pregressive, intelligent, peaceful, inspiring and down to earth. He stands for something we sorely need in our declining country, change. On his website he has a quote, "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you tobelieve in yours." And it seems that America is ready to believe.

Obama stands for the things that made America great in the first place. He stands for justice for all people, no matter what their race, creed or gender. He cares about the poor and the down trodden masses that are ever increasing in America as our middle class declines into poverty. He isn't going to sit back and let the rich get richer at the expense of the poor. He won't let large corporations shirk their tax responsibilities any more and place that huge burden on the working class. Obama sees the world in a differenent light than these old-school politicians he is running against, their ways are destined to become part of our bitter past.

As an American Muslim, I feel that Barack Obama is going to be the best candidate to protect the civil rights of Muslims in America and abroad. He has lived in a Muslim country and he has had Muslim friends growing up. H went to a school where he studied Islam for two hours a week. This man is not going to fuel the flames of hatred, ignorance and suspicion that the present administration has fired up.

What about the rest of the world, what are they saying? Well, you only have to read comments posted by people around the world on various news websites to know that the world wants Barack Obama as the next American President. I have read comments from Nigeria and Singapore and beyond stating that having Obama as president will restore foreign countries' respect for America once again. The world wants America to change. The youth want America to change. But will America allow that change to happen?

It seems that America has a violent past when we are asked to embrace change. Abraham Lincoln is known in our history as a great man who united the north and south, abolished slavery and intiated the Emancipation Procalamation. However, the confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated this great man for the changes he brought about, not all of America could handle the radical change.

John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy were both visionaries who wanted to do great things for our country, namely pulling out of the Vietnam War and focusing those funds on building a stronger America. But, once again, America couldn't handle the changes JFK stood for and he was also assassinated. And Bobby Kennedy, intent on following in his brother's footsteps to bring about the changes America needed, also assassinated. What does this say about change in America? Can we handle it?

Unfortunately, this is not just an American phenomenon, recent events in Pakistan show that once again, change is something to kill over. Prime Minister Bhutto may have brought about some wonderful, progressive changes to the Pakistani government, but now we'll never know.

For Senator Barack Obama, I pray that we are not left wondering, "what if?" I pray for his safety so that he can continue on his mission to bring about change in America and around the world. The world is going to be a safer place if Barack Obama is allowed to be the 44th President of the United States of America. America is going to begin the recovery process when Obama takes control. Keep democracy alive, vote for Barack Obama.