"Identity Crisis"

How do we become who we are? We , I believe are a combination of our personal choices, and the influences of those people that made an impact on our lives.The person who had the greatest impact on me was my father , he taught me what a father and husband was , he was the major molder of my character.I could write a nearly infinite amount of words about this wonderful man.He taught me how precious family was and he taught me about personal sacrifice for the people you love.He worked two jobs for many years rarely taking time off because he wanted to do his best to provide for his family,yet he always found time to be "Dad",loving, happy, funny, and accessible . He never let my mother feel unappreciated and , in my opinion , could not have been a more loving husband.I remember a little league coach , Mr. Pomella , he had two sons Albert and Vinney , really great kids ,He taught me basic baseball and he also taught me more about being a good father. He was much like my own father except he had 30 kids to take care of, and he treated us all as if we were all his own sons. In keeping with baseball I remember Mr. Alfano , I shared coaching duties with him while coaching my younger brothers when they began their baseball careers. Frank Alfano was the man you would love to have coaching young boys , his son Frank Jr. , liked lasagna more than baseball , but he was a real tryer. When I got to practice Frank was always their first helping little Frank with fundamentals , yet he never made little Frank feel like he was being pushed , he made sure the game was always fun . I've had other men I could list but I don't wish to write a novel today,I'm just trying to make point. Who has been the influences in the life of our president ,Barack Obama? Barack Hussein Obama Sr. was born in Kenya in 1936 had his education in the United States and died in 1982. He was married in Kenya and had four children with his first wife , a Kenyan native . He deserted his wife while she was pregnant to go to Hawaii to attend school , there he met Ann Dunham and married her even though he was still married to his first wife.They had one son together , our president . They divorced in 1964 when little Barack was 3 years old.He visited his son once in 1971, never to see him again,quite a guy for a dad. His mother was raised in a mid western home with a Christian background . After her divorce from Obama Sr. she married Lolo Saetoro , an Indonesian , they moved to Jakarta ,young Obama was six years old. The family held very little religious views , fluctuating somewhere between Islam , Christianity , and humanism. They divorced in 1980.During his college years Mr. Obama stated he was influenced by Marxists , socialists , and militant black activists. His former pastor Jeremiah Wright preached "Black Liberation Theology", a belief in victimization through oppression. Most people have heard his now infamous ranting about "Not God bless America ,God Damn America!",to say the least marginal thinking. And there is the oft denied connection to William Ayers , 60's radical , convicted of destroying government facilities during the Viet Nam conflict , member of the communist "weatherman"underground movement. Ayers is now a teacher at the U.of I. Chicago Circle campus. He has described his relationship to Obama as neighbors and family friends, although some evidence indicates something closer , more of an advisory relationship. If my original premise is true what does this say about Barack Obama and the belief system he has developed over the course of his life ? Do we really know who Barack Obama really is ? Look around at the people who have influenced his life ,and the people with whom he now surrounds himself . Is this the influence you want for America , what kind of "change" does he want for us?