Selecting a Republican candidate for president has been a long journey of blunders and gimmicks. The latest laughingstock of the campaign trail is Rick Perry, and his campaign ad, “Strong.”
The ad features the Texas Governor walking in the outdoors as he pledges to end Obama’s “war on religion.”
“There’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school,” Perry said.
The backlash against Perry’s ignorant rhetoric has been seemingly unanimous and undoubtedly forceful. Posted on Youtube on December 6, “Strong” had over 542,000 dislikes four days later, compared to about 15,000 likes.
Students from MHS were quick to voice their own disapproval.
“My exact thought when I finished watching the video was: ‘did he seriously just say that?’” senior Tyler Novet said.
Junior Michelle Morgan expressed similar disbelief.
“I had to watch it through a couple of times before I could process that that was what he was actually saying,” she said.
The words of MHS students say it all. An argument as ignorant, offensive, and erroneous as Perry’s requires no rebuttal. Perry’s assertion that it is inconceivable that gays are allowed to serve openly in the military is hateful. It reflects the views of a confused bigot — not a man fit to be president of the United States of America.
Furthermore, his contention that kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas in school is hyperbolic to the point of falsity. Many people would concur that schools may be too concerned with political correctness, but very few would say kids are forbidden from celebrating the religion of their choice.
In fact, there is a Christmas tree, a Menorah, and a Kwanzaa display in our very own front lobby – a display of, literally, three different religions.
It is true that most public schools do not provide a specific time for children to pray. However, the vast majority of Americans support this aspect of the educational system, and Perry really goes wrong when he compares the lack of a specified prayer time in schools to the right of homosexuals to serve openly in the military — it is that insensible analogy which has most Americans fired up.
America has sent an overwhelmingly clear message to Governor Perry. Whether conservative or liberal, Americans are not going to fall for erroneous and offensive arguments anymore. Such arguments only appeal to a small minority in the Republican Party, and if the Republican candidate is going to get the nomination and win the general election, he or she has to leave the outdated rhetoric behind.