Recently, leading right-wing conservative talk show pundits have continuously replayed an excerpt from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermon in which he calls America to account, after which the pastor defies the cliché typically pronounced “God bless you.” to America” with a provocative “God damn America”.
As a minister, I don’t find the pastor’s sermons disturbing in the least. After all, a good sermon should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. this review Wright really has. Rev. Wright and his church are very active in helping the poor in their community and empowering the dispossessed, while loving white citizens and standing up to the self-righteous establishment’s arrogance that governmentally propagates endless war.
Rush Limbaugh thought of calling the pastor of Obama’s Chicago church, Jeremiah Wright, to account by reciting an excerpt from one of his sermons in which the Rev. said in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 attacks:
WRIGHT: “We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we bombed far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never bat an eye. We have supported state terrorism against Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are outraged that the things we have done overseas are now coming back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”
I totally agree with everything Elder Wright said here. If American history turns Rush Limbaugh’s stomach, maybe he should have a little more gut strength before he decides to hit the national airwaves. He does not side with pro-war conservatives, an oxymoron in itself considering spending trillions of dollars to kill in foreign theaters of war, and then hide from the consequences of his foreign policy.
Barack Obama’s speech on March 18, 2008 ended and quieted much of the controversy. Though I’m sure guys like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilley, and Sean Hannity will continue to criticize Obama as long as he grows viewership and improves his ratings. American viewers love a bit of controversy and rightly so because this is what makes democracy, a bit of debate and public scrutiny.
Senator Barack Obama in his speech said: “…my relationship with Reverend Wright. Imperfect as it is, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated at my marriage and baptized my children. Not once in In my conversations with him, I’ve heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat white people he interacted with with anything but courtesy and respect.”
“…For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation, doubt and fear have not gone away, nor have the anger and bitterness of those years. That anger cannot be expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But he finds a voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. Sometimes that anger is exploited by politicians, to win votes on racial grounds or to make up for a politician’s failings .”
“And it occasionally finds a voice in church on Sunday mornings, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear such anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons just reminds us of the old truism that The most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; in fact, it too often distracts from solving real problems; it prevents us from directly facing our own complicity in our condition and prevents for the African American community to forge the partnerships it needs to bring about real change.
Wise and unifying words from Barack Obama as he seeks to transcend the racial divide and form a more perfect union in this supposedly United States.