If you go into rural areas and small towns, if you move among Red State afficionadoes, if you frequent evangelical churches,if you listen to talk radio and Fox News, you'll discover that Obama's personal name frequently generates mistrust and misunderstanding. David Scheim, a writer with whom I work, recently published an article in the Washington Post looking at the rich intertwining of biblical, archeological, and linguistic evidence showing that Barack's name, in older, related forms, has positive associations to Jews and Christians alike.
Did you know that Baruch means "blessed" in Hebrew? That Baruch was a revered Biblical figure? That Baruch is a saint among the Eastern Orthodox? That Pope Benedict's name is a translation of Baruch? David recently published an article on this in the Washington Post, but we are anxious to reach more Americans with this well-researched information. This is our way of trying to address the climate of fear and hostility that lurks below the surface of our current campaign debate.
Take a look at David's article and see if you can give us some advice about how to use or adapt this information where it might do some good. We'd deeply appreciate any ideas you have.
"Barack, Thy Name is Obama," The Washington Post, August 28, 2008 :
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/...
or: http://tinyurl.com/...
David owns the copyright to the article and has no wish to profit from it. We just believe that we are sitting on information that could be both useful and healing.
Any ideas?