Letters to the Editor
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Tyranny of OR
If Wright would use his considerable influence to preach that individuals should take responsibility for themselves rather than paint themselves as victims, he would be doing his parishioners a real service. After all, this is the lesson of life and it applies to all of us.
It seems to me that the role of a real teacher is to point out shortcomings and things that need fixing, instead of merely allowing everyone to develop a false sense of perfection every sunday. If you would take a look at the web page for tucc, you'd see there's a lot going on, too much to list here: http://www.tucc.org/ministries.htm. Having not been there, I'm sure it could all be a facade. On the other hand, it doesn't look like the work of people intent on being victims.
It's possible to raise people up AND wag the finger. It may be necessary to do both.
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The "Pastor Disaster"
Kamiya is so extreme in his views that he cannot fathom why this whole event is the stuff that gets people unelected or unelectable real fast. Eliot Sptizer has a better chance of bouncing back than Obama does because the average person finds Sptizer's problems amusing while they view Wright as downright scary. Even Nancy Pelosi puts distance between herself and the "hate America first" crowd because she knows this stuff is toxic outside a very narrow audience, certainly not for general consumption. The bottom-line is the "pastor disaster" is causing the "chickens to come home" on Obama's campaign. Obama needs to throw himself at the mercy of the electorate because no amount of spin is going to make this go away anytime soon. It's one thing to give a speech at Bob Jones Univ (a big yawn) or even start a war, but to be associated with Wright like Obama was (20 years and counting) is some serious misjudgement for one seeking national office. Wright's style was to combine selective passages from the Bible to promote black separatism or "black liberation theology" much in the same way that others once did to justify slavery or the Inquisition. I estimate Obama will limp across the finish line and win the democratic nod but could very well get hammered in the fall.
By the way, who coined the "pastor disaster"? It wasn't me.
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@ sesanders
It doesn't sound like you know what you're talking about--do you?
With all due respect, it seems as if you've not been paying attention.
I didn't know anything about Wright before all this either, but in the past few days I've managed to read some informed posts explaining in three dimensions the kind of pastor Wright has been, his legacy, his message, etc.
You're perfectly welcome to offer your opinion, of course, but it sounds ill-informed.
In fact, I believe there was at least one comment on this very thread offering a more three-dimensional view of Wright and his ministry.
Please take a few minutes to read it, perhaps you'll find you're misinformed or at least, are only seeing one side of the picture.
This issue is too complex to treat lightly. I mean, we can, but as Obama said so eloquently in his speech, that will get us nowhere.
Don't you want to move forward?
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@rtf 100
"Even Nancy Pelosi puts distance between herself and the "hate America first" crowd because she knows this stuff is toxic outside a very narrow audience, certainly not for general consumption. "
Rtf, the thesis of Kamiya's essay was that this state of affairs is problematic.
The thesis was that it's high time such sentiments be for general consumption and that we stop pandering to the false patriotism that refuses to even entertain the argument.
Do you have any thoughts about that?
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The problem is even more endemic than what Kamiya suggests
Kamiya is right - the problem isn't Wright or the furor around it. It's actually not clear to me what "patriotism" really is. I imagine it's a sense of community - a willingness to support and sacrifice for a community that has cared for you. And if it hasn't cared for you, then you should be encouraged to criticize it and try to change it. Today's knee-jerk reactions toward labelling actions and words as unpatriotic is frighteningly close to what the Iranian government's use of the "anti-islamic" clause in suppressing criticism and freedoms.
But even the tacit misdefinition of patriotism is really just a manifestation of the more general problem of 'parrotism'. When people lose their interest or ability to think for themselves, to ask 'why?', they start parroting whatever simple meme's they are fed, and pretty soon the cacophony of carefully chosen terms by the likes of Frank Luntz becomes the national truth. It's simple and it's spoon-fed. And then it's easy to confuse Al-Queda with Saddam (they're both Arabs, right?), or with Iran (they both seem to hate the US, right?), so what the hell, let's level them all.
I don't know that it's much worse here than in other countries. Problem is, ignorance is much more dangerous when the buffoon is also the bully. As the saying goes, a fool with a tool is a more dangerous fool.
Wish I knew how it could be fixed.
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@WFB Changing mindsets, back to 1789
Recycling back to 1789. The founders really did change the mindset then. They went in with broken articles of confederation and came out with a new Constitution. The glaze of history and some outright hagiography has obscured how the sausage was made, but by all accounts it was loud, noisy and nasty with lot's of arguing. Salon today might be a faint reflection of those times.
But I think we are here today with our own version of the issues around the 3/5ths compromise. Some of us are fine with the status quo of our nation. Others are all or nothing for their particular cause. Most of us are probably in the middle, looking to improve what we can, and will leave the rest to another, more perfect day. To elect either Hillary or Obama will necessitate a change in mindset, a partial victory of sorts. History will judge how large or small. Even McCain could turn out differently than we think; he definitely has that crazy streak that is disliked by his party, though he appears to have chained himself to his party's platform.
MaddieP believes in the karma or fate of Nations. I believe our fate is not set and that it can be altered by force of will and by our actions. We have quite a ways to go before November and the conversation/ convention is just starting. Who knows how far we can push the ball forward.
Frankly, though, from the vitriol I've seen pour forth of late, it seems pretty clear to me that, if by some miracle we manage to elect this guy, he won't be long for this earth.
Well, I've had the same concern for quite awhile. Keep you fingers crossed that it doesn't happen. But often, that's the reward for a job well done. Earth.