In Vain

It is hilarious to listen to a discussion over the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Those involved in the discourse argue over whether it was racist or whether it is reasonable to believe Mr. Obama knew about the preacher’s opinions. (It is not.) They discuss what the senator knew and when. (As if he was accused of espionage.) The rebuke of the statements is questioned, its sincerity suspect. The more intellectual go deeper, engaging in debate over whether it is possible Obama sat there and believed everything he heard or behaved more like a churchgoer. Is it possible he took what his minister said with a grain of salt, picking and choosing what to believe, if he even listened at all? Could it be that Mr. Obama sat in the pew, went through the motions, and never really gave a damn?

The irony is Obama has to belong to some church or he doesn’t have a prayer. Our country is ruled by the bible so its leaders must be too. But then we have the opportunity to criticize them for every interpretation of the bible, every way of worshipping its pages, every sermon and pastor. Not the bible though, cause that would be sinful.

The issue to be explored here, once we get past the spin, is Wright himself and men like him.

“We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.”

We? Really? I thought this church was separatist? Never batted an eye? Umm… why exactly did we bomb Nagasaki as well as Hiroshima? But I don’t want to be unfair and exploit the man’s ignorance and contribute to spin when there’s another issue at hand.

Let us move on to his rant about Hillary, Obama, and White America. “I am sick of Negroes who just do not get it. Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single parent home. Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people! … Hillary ain't never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had her people defined a non-persons. Hilary ain't had to work twice as hard just to get accepted by the rich white folk who run everything or to get a passing grade when you know you are smarter than that C-student sitting in the white house.”

Talk about a Negro who doesn’t get it. (That’s right, I SAID IT!) Of course he’s right, sort of. I am not sure you can make the case a woman does not know what it is like to work harder for less credit. But then, this man is an idiot who… wait sorry. I promise I’ll stop.

God damn America. “The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”

In the bible? Really? Damn! I did it again.

This man is a Christian. He calls America to task on its arrogance while commanding God to torture its people for all eternity. This goes beyond mere hypocrisy. This is poorly thought out rhetoric designed to incite and inflame for the purpose of euphoric manipulation. It’s religion, stupid.

When we stop making religion an issue, we can start getting leaders. When we stop demanding a general personal behavior and then condemning the details, we can start criticizing and praising what matters. We can begin judging a person, not by the church we force them to attend, but by the content of their character.