f Sen. Barack Obama's pastor's incendiary remarks, the deplorable story continues to be an issue that most news networks and voters are focusing on - and rightfully so. The remarks made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright are completely divisive and serve no other purpose to proliferate hate among races.
If you have not seen the clips from Wright's sermon, all you have to do is YouTube them, as many Americans have. In them you will see Wright exhort God to damn America, accuse the U.S. government of instigating Sept. 11 and the AIDS epidemic in Africa and call Israel state-killers of the innocent. All this coming from a man who has played an integral part in Obama's life by serving as the inspiration behind his book, marrying him to his wife and baptizing his children.
Sure, the statements are just a few tidbits shown from a man who has been a pastor for over 35 years, but the remarks that have become famous are nothing but racist and inflammatory. Think about it this way - if Billy Graham would have made bigoted comments about black America, would people not challenge his favorable reputation and, in turn, also question president Bush because of the President's claim that he was converted by Graham? This issue, like many today, boils down to the long-standing predicament of race.
When given a chance to address the issue in its nascence on "Anderson Cooper 360," Obama could barely wrap himself around words to defend himself. The senator stumbled over his sentences and lacked the fluidity that has made many people believe he is a great public speaker. After this lackluster performance, Obama began to refuse to answer questions regarding the issue, claiming that he would address all issues in a speech he would give in the future.
This, of course, was the infamous "A More Perfect Union" speech, for which Obama was praised by the likes of the New York Times, which compared him to Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy. However, Obama did not answer any of the tough questions, keeping in character with the rest of his campaign. Nothing was said about reverse racism, and black racists were not condemned by the senator.
The speech in Philadelphia was a pathetic attempt by a desperate politician to gloss over such a potentially devastating issue by putting him in a comfortable position - behind the podium. The great orator dodged the issue in press conferences, and rather than addressing issues as he claimed he would, Obama read another flowery speech off a teleprompter. When dealing with an issue like this, you must address it with passion and be able to speak from your heart. Simply reading strategized rhetoric off a screen does not convince me - or many Americans - of authenticity or legitimacy.
Since then, Obama has repeatedly denied ever hearing Wright's divisive language in a sermon, but if you attend a church for 20 years, how could you not at least hear about the vicious language from a friend? This makes me wonder what types of friends Obama has. Do they agree with the things Wright preached? If something like this was said at my church and I was absent, one of my friends would undoubtedly inform me.
I am surprised that various people defend Wright and his statements with such fervor on television and radio. These unreasonable people cite that Americans do not understand liberation theology or black churches. However, if black preachers throughout America are speaking with the same terms as Pastor Wright, then I understand why people do not understand this type of spirituality - it is anti-American and hate-filled.
Also, the same people mention John Hagee's endorsement of John McCain in an attempt to demonstrate some type of parallelism. Yet these assertions are preposterous because McCain has not attended Hagee's church for 20 years and does not look to him for advice on Christianity, as Obama said he does with Wright.
The bottom line is this: The majority of Americans do not agree with the racist, ridiculous things that Pastor Wright has said. Some people may hold some of the things as truth, but there's not enough of that population to elect Obama as the next president. Obama has successfully tried to run a widespread campaign, appealing to universals such as change, hope and unity, but now he has put the real issues aside and race at the forefront of everyone's mind.
Earnest is an economics freshman.
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