Wright, Jefferson And The Wrath Of God

The Nation: Reverend Wright Is Neither Anti-American Nor Unpatriotic

(The Nation)  This column was written by John Nichols

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"Just maybe now as that dialogue begins the religious tradition that has kept hope alive for a people struggling to survive in countless hopeless situations will be understood."

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, April 28, 2008

The right response to the controversy that has been generated with regard to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. is not to run away from the United Church of Christ pastor, to condemn him, or to try to apologize for him.

Rather, it is to listen to him and to recognize that Wright's not the disease that afflicts our body politic.

Indeed, this former Marine who became a remarkably-successful and widely-respected religious leader is in possession of the balm that has frequently proven to be the cure for what ails America - an eyes-wide-open faith in the prospect that this country can and will put aside the sins of the past and forge a future that is as just as it is righteous.

As Wright has illustrated over the past several days, in a remarkable appearance Friday on PBS' Bill Moyers Journal and in speeches to the Detroit NAACP and the National Press Club in Washington, he is the opposite of the caricature of an angry, America-hating false prophet that has been so crudely attached to him. Deeply grounded in biblical tradition, nuanced in his understanding of race relations and historically experienced in his assessments of America's strengths and weaknesses, he has much to say to this country at this time.

Not all of what Wright says is comforting.

His views are not universally appealing, nor are they or should they be seen as unassailable.

But, for the most part, they are well much within the mainstream of American religious and political discourse.

The problem is not Jeremiah Wright.

The problem is a contemporary political culture that has come to rely on character assassination as an easy tool for reversing electoral misfortune - and a media that willingly invites manipulation.

Let's not forget how Wright became an issue in the 2008 presidential race. Republican operatives, fretful about their party's political fortunes, decided that the only way to weaken the candidacy of Wright's longtime parishioner, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, was by suggesting the Democratic presidential front-runner was in the sway of an anti-American radical.

That end was achieved by separating out from long and thoughtful sermons regarding matters biblical and political seemingly offensive phrases and then inviting the Grand Old Party's media echo chamber to repeat the sound bites until they became conventional "wisdom."

This is a classic guilt-by-association maneuver, played out so aggressively in the current circumstance that it would make Joe McCarthy blush. But it has worked, at least in part because people of good faith have not taken the time to assess and appropriately answer the charge that Obama's connection to Wright confirms the candidate to be either a closet radical or, worse yet, a dupe of some free-floating, ill-defined but still frightful fringe.

The response of Obama - most recently in an extended and at times painful press conference on Tuesday - and of many of his supporters has been to try to put distance between the candidate and the preacher. "They offend me," the senator said of controversial comments by the minister who presided at his wedding and baptized his children. "They rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced. And that's what I'm doing very clearly and unequivocally today."

That's strong stuff, to be sure. But it is not likely to end the wrangling over Wright.

While it is always good to maintain America's historic wall of separation between church and state, the Obama camp has not had a lot of success so far in separating this particular statesman from his church.

That's because the candidate and his backers have consistently come across as being embarrassed and ashamed by Wright.

That's the wrong response. It's perfectly fine to disagree with Wright. And Barack Obama should do so.

But there's little if anything about this pastor that should provoke embarrassment or invite apology.

Wright can be unsettling, thought-provoking, often right and sometimes wrong. But he is neither anti-American nor unpatriotic.

In more ways than Republican and now Democratic critics seem prepared to admit, Wright is the embodiment of an American religious and political tradition of challenging the country's sins while calling it to the higher ground that extends from the founding of the republic. No less a figure than Thomas Jefferson - who constructed that wall of separation between church and state but who worried a good deal about questions of the divine - worried openly about the retribution that would befall a nation that permitted slavery.

"The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other," wrote Jefferson in 1781's Notes on the State of Virginia, where he asked, "(Can) the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever."

The wrath of God brought down on a country that permits slavery? A nation damned by its original sin? God damn America?

America has been blessed from its beginnings by champions of liberty, by abolitionists and civil rights marchers, by suffragists and union organizers, by anti-imperialists like Mark Twain and challengers of the military-industrial complex like Dwight Eisenhower. Necessarily, these patriots have said some tough things about American leaders and policies. They have acknowledged flaws that are self-evident. Yet, they have not done so out of hatred. Rather, they have loved America sufficiently to believe it can be as good and as just as figures so diverse and yet in some very important ways so similar as Thomas Jefferson and Jeremiah Wright have taught us.

[lloydbest1]

Posted by guysdigdirt at 12:48 PM : May 02, 2008

Perhaps. Or perhaps it''s merely a matter of ideology. It all comes down to ideology and the culture that is derived from it.
Do we subscribe to an ideology that insists there can only be one superpower and it is US? Or do we believe that power should be shared so that all nations have a voice?
Does the culture promote the concept that "greed is good" allowing the wealtiest to pig out even further? Or does it encourage/mandate some form of self sacrifice or self denial from the wealthiest so the rest of us can live better?
Do our values insist that we are God%u2019s chosen, that the earth belongs to us and we can use it up as we see fit? Or do they emphasize our commitment to intelligent stewardship of all of our resources?
Does our society allow or even encourage hierarchical divisions of access based on superficial characters (race, gender, faith, etc)? Or does it discriminate on merit bases only?
Does our leadership parade an endless chain of bogeymen as a means to hang on to power? or does it insist on an honest evaluation of possible threats?
I could go on but the point is:
Whatever warts or baggage Obama carries into the White House (if elected), and in spite of Rev. Wright, he represents the best hope we have to emerge from the nightmare we have been living under these past eight years.

[guysdigdirt]

The "liberal media" is just a neocon excuse for bad behavior. Instead of hidng behind fake excuses, why don''''t neocons man up and admit when they have bad politicians?
Posted by rafterman1

I agree and I will start.

Clinton the male and the female are huge liars and terrible people and politicians.

Obama is a liar, a fraud, and we do not even begin to know what he really believes and stands for... we could be putting a man with terrorist beliefs in the white house.

Mccain... he is possibly the least of the worst but will he follow his old habits and lead us down a terrible path?

Bush, well he seems stupid, probably too stupid to have pulled off most of the things he is blamed for. Only reason he is in the white house is becasue he was a better choice than Kerry or Gore, both hypocrites who will say anything to get the job. If Gore had won we would all be speaking Afgahni right now.

Should I go on?

Thomas Jefferson''s reasoned treatises are comparable to the ranting Jeremiah''s appeal ad populum, post hoc ergo propter hoc, and argumentum ad hominem? How low we have sunk if,"for the most part, they are well much within the mainstream of American religious and political discourse." Having forced myself to endure his "cursetianity," I discovered few fallacies of reasoning that have not been used by the reverend to perpetuate his particular brand of Africa worship. So I think I''ll pass on the parallel with Jefferson. I think he''s closer to Harold Hill.

[sandysguy]

I guess the abominal liar isn''t very good in math either

Maybe she will understand kitchen RHETORIC "Stick a fork in her she''s all done


With endorsements coming in from California, Iowa and Indiana, Sen. Barack Obama yesterday pulled even with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for support on Capitol Hill, as Democratic lawmakers shrugged off his recent struggles.

Obama (Ill.) received the backing of Rep. Baron P. Hill, a conservative from a critical district in southern Indiana; Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa freshman who grabbed a Republican seat in 2006; and Rep. Lois Capps, who has held her liberal Santa Barbara, Calif., seat for five full terms and whose son-in-law works for the Obama campaign.

A congressional contest that Clinton once dominated is now knotted at 97, and the senator from New York continues to lose ground with the one group that can still deliver her the nomination -- the party leaders and elected officials known as superdelegates

[perceptions5]

Three weeks ago Joe Klein accused Lanny Davis of "spreading the poison" for having the temerity to voice his discomfort with Reverend Wright in public. Since then, of course, Rev. Wright has been spreading some poison of his own.

Now, Klein is back to talking about Wright in this week''s issue of Time magazine calling him "smug, disdainful, outrageous." Klein does this knowing full well that Wright broke no new ground on his recent tour, but merely reiterated the views many Americans - including Lanny Davis - were offended by weeks ago.

By his own standard then, Klein is now "spreading the poison." I guess that''s what happens when you browbeat people to try and shut down debate of a legitimate issue, and then that issue reemerges. I''m sure Lanny Davis isn''t holding his breath for an apology from Klein, but he deserves one.

[pensacola88]

Dear Reverend Wright,

It is sad what has transpired since you made your public social blunder. Your friend, Barack Obama made an elequent 10 minute speech on your defense that would make any person envious. Barack Obama defended his association with you and drew great respect for that. I don''t know what led you to rant on and continue with your antisocial rhetoric, but I do know that those who gave their heart to God don''t talk like that. I don''t know how a pastor becomes corrutpted with pride and anger, but I see it often and it makes me sad. I say to myself, "Well, the devil got himself another tongue to use". I said that about Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell, and numerous other pastors who got corrupted with anxiety. An anxious person is very damaging to the soul. Christ knew that and kept his heart calm and civil. That was his attraction and still is. I wish you well, and hope God can change the heart of those judged you some day. I am sure there is a lot of good inside you. I hope the TV media gives you a chance to show your humility if the occassion ever arises. Somehow, I know that Barack and Michelle will be there for you if you need them. They are good people and are really trying to win something for those, who never had a chance in recent times.

[perceptions5]

Then why does the so-called "liberal media" donate millions of dollars to the Republicans? Or is the whole idea of s "liberal media" just an excuse for neocons to ignore and/or justify their candidates'''' bad behavior?

http://la.indymedia.org/new
s/2003/04/47530.php



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Posted by rafterman1
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rafterman1 - give it a break no one is buying your lying agruments.

Just like their not buying McVets, j-whitman, bluestardad, skyk, and all the other vile liberals on this liberal website, CBS

[perceptions5]

The problem is a contemporary political culture that has come to rely on character assassination as an easy tool for reversing electoral misfortune - and a media that willingly invites manipulation.- The Far Left Wing Nation"

Dear Left Wing Nation no magazine in the USA is more involved with "character assassination" then yourselfs.

Your a scary left wing publication that is 100% in-the-tank for Obama.

Your magazine is exactly what our Founding Fathers NEVER wanted in a free society.

The Nation needs to bring diversity to their extreme left-wing staff to include NOT EXCLUDE more moderates and conservatives.

Really sad indeed..........

[karlo59]

These so-called christian zionist republicans ARE the new nazi party. There are only a couple of differences between hitler and the bushnazies.......
......hitler was a whole lot smarter and he accually cared about the people, not the zionists of course. But then you have to look at what the zionists have done to this once great country of OURS and a few others in the world.

[truthyness]

Obama doesn''t deserve to be the first

Black President, never did.

[skidee27]

WHO IS THIS GUY (John Nichols) and where did they dig him up?
Oh my goodness.....the HATRED that is pouring out of this article is beyond belief! The racism and pure hatred.....

I am a skeptic and have understood the left-wing media bias for years....but this SHOCKS me. CBS is just beyond belief. They have fallen so far off the cliff they are totally deluded now.

For those of you who have made statements trying to support Rev. (and I use the term lightly) Wright''s spewing of hatred and ugliness and racism, it is just hard to believe you were willing to really sit down and THINK about what you were saying. Are you supporting this man merely b/c he is black, or merely b/c he is a Democrat or WHY? He was not merely criticizing America out of love and concern as this "author" tried to represent. He was full of hate and nastiness that would have gotten anyone else (i.e. any REPUBLICAN or WHITE person) defrocked and fired and strung up. It is the purest form of racism..whether coming from white or black (or any other race) to hate an entire race b/c SOME in that race are despicable. I am deeply offended and outraged.

[hinnis]

OBAMA HAS BEEN CAUGHT AGAIN IN HIS DECEPTIVE POLITICAL ADS: Fact Check: Obama and the gas taxes. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) %u2014 Democratic Sen. Barack Obama accuses his presidential rivals of pandering to voters by supporting the "gimmick" of temporarily lifting federal taxes on gasoline, despite his own past support for a similar tax holiday. As a state legislator voting for a tax break, Obama even joked that he wanted signs on gas pumps telling motorists that he was responsible for lowering prices. Most experts criticize the idea of a federal tax suspension, but Obama''s political opponents accuse him of flip-flopping and ignoring the financial pain caused by today''s rising gas prices. THE FACTS: In 2000, gasoline prices were climbing quickly, reaching $2 a gallon in the Chicago area %u2014 a remarkable price back then. Illinois legislators scrambled to offer some election-year relief to angry motorists. Obama voted three times for a tax holiday. The version that ended up becoming law required a six-month suspension of the state''s share of the sales tax on gasoline, a 5 percent tax paid directly by consumers rather than gas stations. It also required gas stations to post signs on their pumps saying that the Illinois General Assembly had lowered taxes and the price should reflect that cut.

[blackbird659]

Everyone now knows Obamas agenda, he is a racist and so are all of his friends.

[giantrobot2]

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

Sources close to the McCain campaign are indicating Senator McCain is becoming more dependant on Governor Huckabee.

"After their meeting the other day, McCain seems eager to give Huckabee more time in the press to talk on his behalf"

Sources that can''t be named say "I think Senator McCain feels very comfortable with Governor Huckabee, I wouldn''t be suprised if he picks him as his Vice Presidential running mate."

It''s becoming clear, McCain can use Huckabee''s articulate speaking skills to toss zingers over to the Obama Hillary campaign while McCain concentrates on raising money for his campaign.

Having a running mate who can fend off the attacks of the Obama Hillary campaign could prove to be the most valuable prize in capturing the presidency this November for him and the Republican''s.

Huckabee could turn out to be one of the most valuable players in the Republican party. With McCain''s mechanical style and Huckabee''s personal style, this could be a match made in heaven for the Republican party.

[hinnis]

This is not about Wright. It is about the character and judgment of someone who would join a racist black liberation theology church; stay for 20 years; formulate a close relationship with the racist and anti-American pastor; try to conceal this from the public by continually saying that he is a "Christian;" and then expect us to forget about those 20 years, merely because he himself is finally "outraged." Wright preaches black liberation theology. Here are a few statements from James Cone, a founder of black liberation theology, about Obama''s religion:
(1) To be Christian is to be one of those whom God has chosen. God has chosen black people. (2) While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism. (3) Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

[hinnis]

This is not about Wright. It is about the character and judgment of someone who would join a racist black liberation theology church; stay for 20 years; formulate a close relationship with the racist and anti-American pastor; try to conceal this from the public by continually saying that he is a "Christian;" and then expect us to forget about those 20 years, merely because he himself is finally "outraged." Wright preaches black liberation theology. Here are a few statements from James Cone, a founder of black liberation theology, about Obama''s religion:
(1) To be Christian is to be one of those whom God has chosen. God has chosen black people. (2) While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism. (3) Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

[ioweign]

This LIB rag would praise Hitler if he was a Democrat.

Posted by mbcsmith at 01:17 PM : Apr 30, 2008


Now Hitler was a Bush thing...Prescott, Sprechen Sie German

[Brown Fox]

With Obama''s tainted history with his pastor and McCain with his "the American people don''t count" attitude, It''s clear who should become president - Hillary Clinton.

[mbcsmith]

Change we can believe in!


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Posted by Obamamania at 03:28 PM : Apr 30, 2008

Change won''t do it, they want $$bills and lots of em.

[mbburch06]

Comparing this idiot, excuse me, "Reverend" to Thomas Jefferson is beyond absurd.

Jefferson was referring specifically to the sin of slavery. This country fought a war to end slavery 150 years ago in which 600,000 whites lost their lives. That is more Americans than all of our wars in the 20th century put together.

Wright has claimed, among other things, that AIDS is a government conspiracy aimed at exterminating blacks. I assure you, he is no Thomas Jefferson.

Furthermore, if race relations in this country are so bad, how is Obama the frontrunner to be President? A vast majority of Americans are no longer racist, yet Wright wants to blame racism for most of our problems.

Obama should have disowned this idiot from day one. We are left to wonder why he didn''t.