Letters to the Editor
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I Wonder...
In his Second Inaugural Address, delivered near the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued an equally terrifying warning -- one also largely erased from the national memory. "Fondly do we hope -- fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away," Lincoln said. But then he added, "Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'"
I wonder what would have become of Mr. Lincoln's political career had he had to deal with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, et al. I can just imagine it:
"Tonight on The Factor: Is President Lincoln a Confederate sympathizer, or something far worse? We report, you decide!"
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@ John Elliot
f"The sermons are out there. Even I, a man armed only with FireFox and Google, could find them. Why have these intrepid reporters not done the legwork, I mean fingerwork?
The fact is that if you listen to his sermons, including the ones Fox butchered into a few soundbites, in their entirety, there is nothing hateful or racist about any of them, and he demands of his flock the same behaviour he demands of "mainstream" America, the same tolerance and respect for others."
Because they're ill-educated. Or hollow men. Or lacking the mental capacity required to put to thoughts together. Or simply dishonest. Or all of the above.
Thanks for doing their job for them and for presenting your thoughtful analysis here.
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doggie piles
I served. You didn't. Thanks for reinforcing your contempt for actual Americans with experience that doesn't consist of sharing some jerk's name while he gets a knob job. Now, go hump a hydrant.
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Rev. Wright And His Awful Truth Are Not Acceptable To Many Americans.
From the clips I have seen so far on TV I fail to see anything he said which was not valid. When those who returned from Vietnam disclosing the war crimes our troops committed there was outrage around the country. Apparently, either Americans are unaware of what their nation's foreign policies do to others or they simply do not care. John Kerry was swift boated because of his role in telling us the awful truth during the war he chose to serve in as opposed to many of our leaders who chose to avoid. Kerry paid a price and Obama may yet also pay a similar price for what Rev. Wright said. Thankfully, we are now seeing far more critical coverage of the damage our foreign policies are inflicting on citizens living in the under-developed nations of the world than seen in the previous five years of this fiasco. Let us hope if McCain does succeed in his bid for the presidency the first step he might pursue is to restore the draft. Only then will this insanity end when the entire nation, including the Rich and Famous rather than the poor and un-famous) are compelled to put their bodies (and genitals) on the line. steve ww2
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Wright Not the Problem
Absolutely. Thank you for putting these thoughts out there. I am sick of we white folks being so high and mighty. It is time that we realize and swallow the truth. I am saddened by the hateful comments out there and what is even more disheartening that there are people out there that will buy into what the Clinton's and the Repubs will be saying. How can we get everyone to think?
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Wright is wrong
It's amazing to me to see the elaborate contortions of fact and logic many Salonistas go through in attempts to defend their anointed one Oblaham, now showing perhaps fatal flaws. The kind of racist, anti-American, anti-Semitic hate speech spewed regularly over many years one would think would be anathema to those fancying themselves as "true liberasls", whose ostensible concerns are for human dignity, respect, and inclusiveness.
But somehow when the hateful,divisive, bigoted speech emanates from someone whose position Oblahma supporters desperately wish to justify, they go to almost laughable extremes to find some way to defend this malicious garbage. Can you imagine what many of these posters would say if the same type of racist and prejudiced stuff came from a white supporter of McCain, and it was about blacks?
And Obama's long and loyal association with Wright is another clear piece of evidence that he is a major hypocrite, and not even close to being qualified for the world's most important position-- even though he told us he's really not that close with Wright, (only 20 years), didn't really know anything Wright had said, and in any case really wants to "move past" the controversy-- I'm sure he joins many disgraced politicians who would like to ignore embarrassing but significant revelations about themselves.
Oh yes--one more thing. Fred B. has it exactly right, as do Simmel, Robby, and many others.
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@Taleisan
You're making enormous assumptions in your citicisms.
I had hoped that my original post made clear my judgment regarding the current administration, namely, that its reign has been catastrophic, primarily in the realm of foreign policy, but also in its inadequate response to the current banking/finance crisis.
The point of the post was that Wright was neither properly defining the issues or their causes, and surely did not offer any particular solutions.
The fact that I consider myself (and you)to have been lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of Western culture and prefer said culture to the alternative represented by Al-Qaeda, does not mean I harbor the "America uber alles" view you impute to me.
Again, I thought my post clearly stated that the US--like all other nations--has both historical and current behaviors that I find both reprehensible and unnecessary.
Finally, I hardly think Barack Obama shares Wright's worldview, nor do any of the other serious candidates.
I apoligize if my original post gave you the wrong impression of what I was trying to convey,...that's my fault.