Easter & the Irony of Bashing Barack's Message of Hope

I haven't lost sight of the irony behind the plethora of right-wing, hate-laced editorial columns attacking Barack Obama that appeared in the media during Easter week. Most of the editorials were poignant reminders of how little we’ve actually learned from Christ and just how low people will stoop to destroy a message of hope.

Take Michelle Malkin, for example. Her syndicated right-wing column entitled "Say Goodbye to the Glowbama Mystique", had a field day calling Barack Obama every political name in the book and chastising the candidate for his association with a fiery pastor whose views on a number of subjects, including the immorality of war’s violence, aren’t in line with Ms. Malkin’s extreme right-wing ideology.

The visceral nature of Ms. Malkin’s attack against Obama reminded me of similar attacks on Christ by the religious establishment of His day, who objected greatly to Christ’s association with tax collectors, prostitutes and the poor - people who were generally regarded as the sinners of society. Christ brought His message of hope to the marginalized, and those in power felt angry and threatened and saw to it that He was nailed to a tree.

Barack Obama is not Jesus Christ, nor is he America’s religious savior. But he does carry a message of hope for a better America, and there are many, like Ms. Malkins, who feel threatened by that message and will stop at nothing to nail Obama to a tree.

Hope can bring out the best in people. It can also bring out the worst