This is what I find the most offensive - Jeremiah Wright speaking in terms very reminiscent of Ward Churchill's vile article after the September 11 attacks:
In addition to damning America, he told his congregation on the Sunday after Sept. 11, 2001 that the United States had brought on al Qaeda's attacks because of its own terrorism.
"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," Rev. Wright said in a sermon on Sept. 16, 2001.
"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," he told his congregation.
He even uses the same metaphor as Churchill - chickens coming home to roost.
And Obama's campaign hasn't been nearly forceful enough in its denunciations of Wright -
In a statement to ABCNews.com, Obama's press spokesman Bill Burton said, "Sen. Obama has said repeatedly that personal attacks such as this have no place in this campaign or our politics, whether they're offered from a platform at a rally or the pulpit of a church. Sen. Obama does not think of the pastor of his church in political terms. Like a member of his family, there are things he says with which Sen. Obama deeply disagrees. But now that he is retired, that doesn't detract from Sen. Obama's affection for Rev. Wright or his appreciation for the good works he has done."
I don't really care if Obama doesn't think of the pastor of his church in political terms - a lot of other people will, and will identify him with the comments that Wright has made over the years. He has to denounce him, and quickly. I don't believe for a minute that Obama believes the same things as Wright does - but he has to make that crystal clear.
Interesting concept for a blog here.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I agree with your post. Obama needs to distance himself from this guy so he can become our next president.
Maybe there is hope for America?
Peace,
Ben
Obama must have heard you, Rebecca!
ReplyDelete"They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
"As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all."
Sadly... I agree with his pastor. The USA has made terrible foreign policy decisions, and have stood on the opposite end of justice since its founding, yet speaks a rhetoric of freedom. Its refreshing seeing someone telling it like it is.
ReplyDeleteOn Sept. 11, 2001 a friend and I were watching the news when the second plane hit. I turned to him and said, "This is a direct result of our foreign policy..."
Well, Deane, I do like to flatter myself - but somehow I suspect there were some much louder voices out there. And yes, I was very happy to see the speech he made - it was just what I hoped for.
ReplyDeleteDavid Kling, did the people who died on September 11 deserve to die because of our foreign policy mistakes? That seems to be what you're saying, and I reject that point of view entirely.