Letters to the Editor
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Unity?
Salon.com is correct that Rev. Wright isn't the problem, but then misses to identify the problem. The problem is Obama who looks up to Wright as a spiritual leader while seeking to become POTUS under the banner of unity.
-- prabhata
I've heard this sentiment before, and while I understand where it comes from, I think it's short-sighted.
Can America really exclude Rev. Wright, and all he represents, and still have unity?
Obama was trying to make this very point in his speech, and this is exactly why he did not throw Wright under the bus. White folks hear black people expressing their views of America, and they think: paranoid, crazy, angry, dangerous. Black folks hear white people's response and they think: ignorant, racist, stupid, dangerous. And here we are. A stalemate, as Obama said, and we must move beyond it if we want to really tackle the war, global warming, the economy, and all of it. I mean, tackle in an effective way.
I'm an atheist, but I agree with some of what Wright said, particularly the bit about the chickens. It's not like these views only get aired at that particular church in Chicago and nowhere else. So if you want to exclude Wright from under the banner of unity, you're going to have to exclude me, and a lot of other people as well. How many? Well, we'll probably never know for sure, since the media has no interest in finding out.
In any case, we're going to have to move into uncomfortable territory if we really want to have unity, because unity means including people you're not really cool with, like me, like Wright, and understanding that we are all connected. For real.
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In answer to Weeping
I attended a very fundamentalist Methodist church in a small town many years ago. I don't know much about the church now, and the Methodist Church may not be like that now, but it was then...in fact, the whole town was that way and the leading church was the Baptist holding many revivals which I sometimes attended with my friends.
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@sesanders
Our mutual discomfort reminds me of two quotes.
One of them was spoken by Marlon Brando in Mutiny on the Bounty. I forget the context, but it was something to do with the strange ways of the Tahitians. One of the crew (or maybe Bligh himself?) was disgusted by one of their customs or something, to which Brando quipped, in that dashing British accent he sported, "Yes, well, I suppose it takes all kinds to make a world."
It was delicious.
Also, one of my favorite sayings (from a Roman, I forget which one, maybe Terrence?): "Nihil hominis alienum est mihi."
Nothing human is alien to me.
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Hillary’s Nasty Pastorate
by Barbara Ehrenreich
There’s a reason Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she’s a lot more vulnerable than Obama.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/20/7798/
Now that we have beaten wright to a pulp, I would like some discourse on "The Family" that Ehrenreich and others talk about. There was some mention of Bill Richardson leaving "The Family" to endorse Obama.This sounds like the Skull and Bones kind of secret society that is actually running this country.
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fauntleroy
Surely you don't mean the Manson family?
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@Valkyrie607 Unity
Well, maybe that's a very good, but crude way of putting it. Who's in and who's out and do you have a shot at an equal share? We've been slowly expanding those boundaries over a few hundred years, maybe too fast for those already on the inside and not fast enough for those on the outside.
It's hard to see the future when this kind of change takes place across generations. Sometimes a thin line, between words and reality.
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Open Letter Reflecting Similar Thoughts
In Support of the “Good Reverend Wright” [Different Perspective especially for my White Friends]
I have not had the honor of meeting the man who is subject of all this venom. And I expect that now I will be along with him the scum of the earth, since I have decided not to denounce him or in any way dis-respect him.
Patriotism or Racism? A Point of View..Somehow saying "God Damn America" is worse than supporting an illegal war.
In the heat of this momentous presidential campaign we are quick to make snap judgments based on a snapshot of a moment in time- he looks and speaks like he hates the country- no matter that this is where he and his family, friends,and congregation have respected one-another for many decades. While you have not met him- but somehow you see this viral video and you here this shocking language, and then he steps over your line- you are now able to know this man, because he could not possibly spew this fire, if he didn’t really hate America.
What was your line that he crossed? Was it God Damn America? HIV Infection Plot? Anti-Semitic Language? Something Else?
From what we have noticed- there is one phrase more than any other that ticks most people off- which is 'God Damn America. This solicits a reaction from Whites comparable to the ‘N Word’ for Blacks. I make no attempt to analyze this phenomenon; it’s just a point of interest.
What is my point?
I have these Uncles that use simple language to make profound statements. Using one of my uncle’s simple analogies- Now picture a white car in your vision parked on the street.
Were you to ask my uncle the color of this white car? He would say “I don’t know the color of that car, until I see the other side”.
I have concluded that none of us are able to say we know this man, based on ‘this fraction of a moment in time’ showing video images of him Using language that crosses your line.
You may hate him, but you don’t know him. I have also noticed that most Whites can’t accept the fact that they don’t understand the ‘goings-on’in Black Churches. They do not- otherwise patriotic Blacks would have your same reaction.
It is most unfair to expect Barack Obama to know what’s in another person’s mind. I’ve known my uncle for forty years, and he only told me his ‘white car story’ a few years ago. I am not able to say I know my Uncle is not on tape saying ‘God Damn America’. And I am sure you can’t say conclusively that your minister has never said it either.
It’s a non-starter to hold any adult responsible for actions of another adult. This over-reaction appears to be emotional rsponse. Blindly, you may be a willing participant in a well orchestrated ’You-Tube’ attack on this man- while the culprit- Sean Hannity is playing you perfectly. I’m sure this- you may adamantly deny this absurd idea, but you can’t prove this not to be true.
The ‘Good Reverend ‘is just collateral damage, he is not the target- the real target is Barack Obama, and the culprits could be the likes of Sean Hannity, Ronald Kessler, and Rush Limbaugh. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, I only deal with facts known to be true.
Another point, the only way to know what ‘The Good Reverend’ was thinking is to ask him. Not even his wife has this answer, and certainly not Barack.
You may be following like sheep to punish Obama for the deeds of someone else, that you still do not understand. I am not saying I know these words were not spoken- what I would do, prior to demonizing anyone, I would be respectful enough, to speak with the person, before releasing a viral video that might ruin a life.
If I possessed a potentially harmful video of someone White that I did not know, I would not do what one done to the “Good Reverend”. These tactics by the Hannity types is a much more serious problem to us than the “Reverend Wright’ problem is to you. If you are honest with yourself, if you had such a problem with someone close to you for twenty years, you would not let a twenty second ‘moment in time’ destroy a relationship of twenty years.
Also, if you were honest with yourself, you would admit that you might be using this matter as a legitimate excuse for a different reason- not to vote for who you know would be a better President.
This is not an attempt to criticize anyone for their strong feelings regarding the “Good Reverend’, since I really
haven’t met him, but I do know fine members in the congregation he serves, and the evidence from 8000 eye-
witness Congregation trumps any conclusions drawn by others based on recorded video snippets of ‘moments in time’.
These church witnesses confirm that regardless of what conclusions are drawn from this video, they know ‘Reverend Jeremiah Wright’ does not hate America, he is not a Racist, and the widespread overplaying on ‘You Tube’ that is not representative of the Jeremiah Wright we know- and has become a media smear campaign.
It is my humble opinion that it is certainly justified to reject the hateful words and images, but it is not justified
to allow these tactics that induce your anger and resentment- and making this a reason to change your vote.
Think about it- someone who hates America would not have the support of those around him who we know to love their country. There is a much better case for "George W. Bush hating America"- a conversation for another time.
I hope these thoughts are in some way useful to you, they are meant to be.