  |
 |
| |
|
|
|
 On His Own TermsPosted on Mar 21, 2008By E.J. Dionne WASHINGTON—Let’s ask the hard question about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Is he as far outside the African-American mainstream as many of us would like to think? Because Barack Obama’s speech on race in America was so candid about both the legitimacy of black and white grievances—and the flaws in those grievances—it carries the risk of offending almost everyone. The man who, by parentage, is half black and half white took it upon himself to explain each side’s story to the other. Obama resembled no one so much as the conciliatory sibling in a large and boisterous family shouting: “Please, please, will you listen to each other for a sec?” One of the least remarked upon passages in Obama’s speech is also one of the most important—and the part most relevant to the Wright controversy. There is, Obama said, a powerful anger in the black community rooted in “memories of humiliation and doubt” that “may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends” but “does find voice in the barbershop or the beauty shop or around the kitchen table. ... And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews.” Yes, black people say things about our country and its injustices to each other that they don’t say to those of us who are white. Whites also say things about blacks privately that they don’t say in front of their black friends or associates. One black leader who was capable of getting very angry indeed is the one now being invoked against Wright. His name is Martin Luther King Jr. An important book due out next month on King’s rhetoric by Barnard College professor Jonathan Rieder offers a more complex view of King than the sanitized version that is so popular, especially among conservative commentators. In “The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me,” Rieder—an admirer of King’s—notes that the civil rights icon was “not just a crossover artist but a code switcher who switched in and out of idioms as he moved between black and white audiences.” Listen to what King said about the Vietnam War at his own Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Feb. 4, 1968: “God didn’t call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war. ... And we are criminals in that war. We’ve committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I’m going to continue to say it. And we won’t stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place.” King then predicted this response from the Almighty: “And if you don’t stop your reckless course, I’ll rise up and break the backbone of your power.” If today’s technology had existed back then, I would imagine the media playing quotations of that sort over and over. Right-wing commentators would use the material to argue that King was anti-American and to discredit his call for racial and class justice. King certainly angered a lot of people at the time. I cite King not to justify Wright’s damnation of America or his lunatic and pernicious theories, but to suggest that Obama’s pastor and his church are not so far outside the African-American mainstream as many would now suggest. I would also ask my conservative friends who praise King so lavishly to search their consciences and wonder if they would have stood up for him back in 1968. These are realities that Obama has forced us to confront, and they are painful. Wright was operating within a long tradition of African-American outrage, which is one reason why Obama could not walk away from his old pastor in the name of political survival. Obama’s personal closeness to Wright would have made such a move craven in any event. I’m a liberal and I loathe the anti-American things Wright said, precisely because I believe that the genius of our country is its capacity for self-correction. Progressivism and, yes, hope itself depend upon a belief that personal conversion and social change are possible, that flawed human beings are capable of transcending their pasts and their failings.
Obama understands the anger of whites as well as blacks, but he’s placed a bet on the other side of King’s legacy that converted rage into the search for a beloved community. This does not prove that Obama deserves to be president. It does mean that he deserves to be judged on his own terms and not by the ravings of an angry preacher.
Previous item: Gore Vidal Speaks Seriously Ill of the Dead Next item: 'Tibet Libre!': Protesters March on the Eiffel Tower Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.
Comment Pages:
1
»
By bren, March 25 at 9:16 pm # I began this comment by wanting to respond to Marnie; then I realized that my message is for Dionne and for many other posters as well. Not everyone has experienced America in the same way. For example, for black people, church was the one place whey could go that they weren’t under massa’s whip. So church became the center and sustainer of their community, where they could go to try to rid themselves of the demons of humiliation and injustice, always subject to the whims of the white masters. Rev. Wright has been described as one of those preachers who are “unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian”. Since the white Christian church played an important role in the history of slavery and slave-trading, based on the notion of a people they legally defined as property and subhuman, we who are outside the Black experience are not in a position to critique the Black church experience, let alone to declare it non-Christian.
By marnie, March 25 at 3:25 am # The Rev. and others like him, are clearly not Christian. Spouting intolerance, anger and hate are not consistent with the teachings of Christ. Neither is spouting politics. Unfortunately, their congregations must enjoy having their own bias’s woven into a faux Christian menage, or they would leave that congregation and find one that actually teaches and believes in the message of love and humility carried by the New Testament. Ministries that spout politics should loose their tax exempt status, as they are now longer houses of God but are political aparachiks. That so many ministries want to live with a political lie, in and of itself, means they have filed the test of Christianity.
By ARTIST GENERAL, March 24 at 2:14 pm # THE PARTY OF TURD BLOSSOM~FOLLOWED BY A MOONHAGEE...“NO!” ‘EM --BY THEIR FRUITS: ...Oh, I’m bein followed by a MoonHagee, MoonHagee, MoonHagee, PULPIT NONFICTION FOR A CHANGE ...THERE’$ THE RUB ---NEW WRAPTURIAN$… From http://buzzflash.com : The Right’s billionaire anti-American pastor calls us the “Kingdom of Satan” And what Hellbent Vision Thing, ----"The Second Succumbing” ~AG Masley THE DEVIL WEARS COULTER --BIGtime I AM THE FATHER OF LIES. I AM THE GREAT DECEIVER. “Believer” by “Believer...” http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3354/81/ GOING BY WARS ON A $HOWY EVENING Whose War$ these are I think I know. http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3354/81/ YES-WE-CAN~CRAMP THEIR GUILE
By bozhidar bob balkas, March 23 at 11:47 am # words such as antisemitism, racism, catholisism, judaismdo not refer to reality; i.,e., they cannot be seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled. whether it be communism, fascism, capitalism, socialism they refer to our wishful thinking; i., e., exist only in our heads. these words may be evaluated as labels or namecalling which not only do not elucidate such concepts but obnubilate them. so, what’s socialism? to rich people it is cancer; in other words, a generality is always answered by another generality; and both not only being useless for elucidation of what realy goes on but also extremely perilous for working class everywhere. so, what’s socialism to me? well, no land has the right to attack any other land under no circumstance; however, if a gov’t of any land, would use wmd or commited other crimes, then a warrant should be issued on his/her head. if not surrendering to world court, a ransom is put on his/her head. if $2-10 reward was put out for death or capture of saddam, he’d ran for protection to world court because he would have thought, I’m a dead man and ICJ does not give death panalties.
By Mike A, March 23 at 6:59 am # What's the Fuss About?I’m still trying to figure out the error in what Jeremiah Wright said? Unless one is superstitious “Goddamn America...” is an expression of anger not a curse. The murders on September 11th, terrible and vile as they were, were only a small consequence for what American foreign policy has inflicted on others in the world. One need only recall another September 11th in Chile as an example.
By KS in MA, March 22 at 11:27 pm # If you listen to any of Jeremiah Wright’s complete sermons, not just the sound bites, you’ll see that he was not merely making topical comments about America; he was explicating the Bible-- and not just “safe,” “feel-good” parts of the Bible, but very difficult parts of it that express very inconvenient truths, such as the idea that God is not necessarily loyal to any particular nation-state, even our own. That’s what preachers do. And that’s why, very often, their words give offense-- to someone, or even to everyone. I’m saddened that almost nobody who has commented on Wright’s sermons seems to understand this. His sermons simply cannot be understood as if they were political speeches. They’re not. --And, if you would like to read one of Wright’s more “temperate” sermons, Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic has posted the text of his “Audacity to Hope” sermon, the one that gave Obama the title of his second book. It’s well worth reading.
By dublin yank, March 22 at 2:37 pm # Hillary Clinton's Contributions to the Northern Ireland PeaceThe IRISH AMERICA April/May issue pays a fine tribute to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s efforts in the Northern Ireland peace process. This has not been acknowledged by our media, which has tended to favor Senator Obama. On page 65, the magazine states: “As major supporters of the Irish peace process, Bill and Hillary Clinton moved mountains. The 42nd president of the United States took the strongest position on Irish issues ever taken by an American president.” In March 1966, President Clinton was IRISH AMERICA’s Irish-American of the Year. In March 2007, Senator Hillary Clinton was named IRISH AMERICA’s Person of the Year. Senator Clinton will bring to the presidency a personal culture of superior intelligence and the respect of many nations around the world. Senator Obama has many talents but he needs more exposure and experience. It’s time to give an American woman the opportunity to lead our great nation.
By cyrena, March 21 at 4:59 pm # Re: Well, well• “Surely you jest, Felicity.” Felicity, I had to chuckle… In a nutshell, (and I think Thomas Billis said it well) MOST folks are not offended by this sermon, except of course for the non-thinkers. But, it’s not JUST the ‘non-thinkers’ because there are a handful of posters on this site, who have used it for the same purposes that it was designed and perpetrated by the media. It’s just one of many. And, they aren’t so much ‘non-thinkers’ as they are intentionally treacherous, which DOES involve a level of thinking...deceit being the goal.. They perpetrate the below tactics, voluntarily or maybe they are paid by the Hillary campaign: The story and link below provide a list of only a few. Hillary Clinton’s Campaign IEDs (Insinuations, Exaggerations and Distortions) The Clintons have built their entire political lives on the premise that if they can’t win pretty, they’ll settle for winning ugly. What are you going to do if Hillary Clinton succeeds bagging the Democratic Party nomination for President by playing dirty? I’ve begun thinking about that more and more over the last couple of weeks. The Clintons have built their entire political lives on the premise that, if they can’t win pretty, they’ll settle for winning ugly. Which is why things have gotten so ugly lately. Once it became clear she could not beat Obama in a fair fight they switched tactics. IED’s (Insinuations, Exaggerations and Distortions) are now the weapons of choice for the Clinton campaign. Hardly a day goes by now when one of these IEDs doesn’t explode into the news. “Is Obama a Muslim.” Hillary was asked on 60-Minutes. “No. Not as far as I know,” she replied. BOOM! “Obama is not ready to become Commander-in-Chief,” Hillary warns then coyly adds, if voters on the fence pick her, she’d consider putting Obama a heartbeat away from becoming Commander-in-Chief. BOOM! “I have crossed the threshold and met the national security test to be Commander-in-Chief,” Hillary says. “John McCain has also met that test. Obama gave a speech.” BOOM! “The reason Obama has gotten where he is today is because he’s black,” pronounced Clinton supporter and finance committee big shot, Geraldine Ferraro. BOOM! BTW—that was not the first time Ferraro set off a racial IED in the midst of a presidential primary. A Ferraro flashback: “If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn’t be in the race,” she said. More at the link http://www.alternet.org/election08/79869 Now on THIS blog, the plants/trolls have become overwhelmingly obvious, because they take every single opportunity to distort, twist, or less- than- subtly imply something that isn’t. They include Maani, bert, lib in Texas, Douglas Chalmers, Jacob Freeze, Joe in Maine, and assorted others who pop in and out to drop their hate infused bombs. Some are more obvious than others, and so there’s always the guess on whether or not they really are that ignorant, or if it’s just the perfidy and mendacity creating the stench. So, that’s just a BOLO on them. The biggest question for a few of them is whether or not they’re actually Hillary supporters, or if they’re just trolls in the mix to damage Obama, caring little about who actually wins, as long as it isn’t him. As for the rest of us dwelling in reality, we might be ‘offended’ by many things, but the truth ain’t one of ‘em.
By Margaret Currey, March 21 at 1:23 pm # The Rev. WrightThe Rev. was talking about the black experience and he was mostly right, most people do not know about the lynchings which happen up until 1935 and maybe even after that, after all a black man in Texas was dragged to his death, not a lynching but a death that should not have happened, the south is still anti black, what happened in Jenna, Louisiana was race related and this happens in the south more than people want to acknowledge. What happend in Fla. was a discrace especially if one realizes that Bush won the governorship in Texas by a whispering compaign, the lady was gay. And he got the Republician state of Fla. by hook and crook, many people were thrown of the rolls because of the fact that they might have been in jail, but a lot of people with similar names were also thrown of the rolls, and I know this because it happened to a relative of mine who had never been in jail in her life. What I am really saying is that don’t listen to the spin that these talk jockies are saying because they just like to hear their own voice and are getting paid to hear their own voices, and the news station are a corporation and I don’t need to say more on the subject. My main concern is don’t let George Bush win again. Because McCain is another George Bush with smaller ears.
By republicanSScareme, March 21 at 12:37 pm # Poor Reverand Wright. Everything he said was true. The Zionist traitors are out to get him.
By JasonK, March 21 at 11:22 am # About the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Please listen to the whole “Chickens coming home…” sermon. (it’s only 10 minutes long), and you will see that He was actually quoting someone else who was quoting Malcolm X. In context, the sermon is totally different. Add Your Comment |
|
Newsroom Carnage Continues at The Washington Post
Email
Print
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Ma.gnolia
Newsvine
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo
Jump to Comments
COMMENT TOOLS:
Hide comments
Show comments
Comment on this article