The distancing thing is weird, isn’t it? Remember the whole Seinfeld thing about not being gay? “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” There have been a few celebrities who flat out won’t answer the question when asked what their orientation is because they say it is irrelevant. Whether they say it to stay in the closet or to underscore the nosiness of the question, it’s perhaps, the right thing to do. I’d say it takes a secure person to do that. No matter how open minded we are, we don’t want to be misidentified – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Of course religion is a whole other ball of wax, can of worms, whatever. On one hand I think what’s being done is good – calling it what it is – fearmongering. But there is that next step – a bold one – to say “America, what is even sadder than politicians trying to scare you into thinking I’m a Muslim is that many of you are scared because you think I’m a Muslim.”

But then this isn’t the first religion mudslinging that has went on in this primary season; ask Mitt. In my lds days I often defended the outlandish aspects to other Christians by pointing out all the outlandish aspects of Christianity in general.

I suppose the boldest statement a politician could make would be to say religions at their best provide us with a sense of community and at their worst harm others. Ultimately, they’re all founded by different people who offer conflicting claims that their way is the right way and science has yet to prove there’s a god in another realm so maybe people should take a little more allegorical and less literal approach to religion.