DERRICK Z. Jackson's column, "Holding Muslims at arm's length," is very insightful. To suggest that accepting Muslim support in a public forum, or publicly being seen in the company of Muslim American citizens, somehow contaminates a presidential candidate and renders that person un-American is the most egregious sort of anti-American behavior.
Barack Obama finds himself squeezed between not fostering rumors that accuse him of being a Muslim and appearing as if those rumors could be true by the very company he keeps. What happened to freedom of association, ostensibly protected by the Constitution? What happened to freedom of religion, to be able to engage in the highest levels of participation in this society regardless of one's personal religious beliefs?
What I fear is that if Obama doesn't forcefully address these issues in a public forum and educate a poorly educated public, he will lose the election in the same way that Michael Dukakis did by not answering and educating his critics when he was accused of being a card-carrying ACLU member. Dukakis sounded weak and apologetic rather than proud of being a member of one of our country's foremost organizations that works to uphold American Constitutional values.
In Obama's case, bringing these issues of religious affiliation and group identification into the sunlight would go a long way toward exposing and halting innuendo and rumor. Obama has the skill to raise sensitive issues effectively, just as he did when confronting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright issue. I hope he does so again soon.
BARBARA CULLEN
Newton Center
