If we had much in the way of sense, our society wouldn’t care in the least abo
ut anything that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had to say this week, or much any time in the future.
As he has said many times about his relationship these days with President Barack Obama, he is a pastor while the president is a politician.
SO JUST AS I wouldn’t care much to hear Obama give us a theological discussion, why should I be expected to care about Wright’s thought on politics?
The only people who are taking any of this seriously are the ones who are desperate for an excuse to despise the Obama presidency, and who are disgusted that the nation as a whole didn’t share their disgust for Wright and one-time Weatherman Bill Ayers.
But those few are going to try to make much of Wright’s latest rant, which was made during an appearance he did in Virginia at a minister’s conference.
The Chicago Tribune tried to make much of this story (which really wasn’t theirs. A Newport News Daily Press reporter-type got the interview, and the Tribune is trying to make it appear as though the fact they are owned by the same company makes the story their property too).
THE PART THAT is getting people worked up was Wright’s wisecrack that, “them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me.”
All I get from this line is that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel would engage in a seriously obscene diatribe if he ever thought that Obama was considering having significant contact with his one-time pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ – which the president quit attending about a year ago.
Does this mean it is very unlikely Wright would wish Emanuel a “Happy Holidays?” Probably.
He might send him a Christmas card, if he were in a particularly sarcastic mood. But I’d like to think that a man who has devoted his life to preaching the ideals of Christianity would be able to rise above having such thoughts.
WHAT WE’RE GOING to hear is a political spin that Obama associates with people who are not within a so-called mainstream view of U.S. society. We’ll probably hear many comparisons to Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam – who throughout the years has managed to spew rhetoric that has been perceived by some as anti-Jewish, if not outright anti-white.
This appearance in Virginia is going to result in some people trying to accuse an Obama presidency of being “reverse racists.” After all, he already has given us a Supreme Court nominee who thinks there are cases where a Latina can make a more reasoned legal decision than an Anglo man.
Actually, all that Sonia Sotomayor has ever said is that she does not view being Latina as some sort of drawback (the way that real racists would like to think her ethnic background ought to be a negative).
Perhaps it is because I have seen the Nation of Islam types in Chicago, preaching their view of black empowerment and claiming that Christian churches will never permit them to advance in society (while downplaying the fact that many Muslims don’t consider the Nation of Islam to be legitimate members of their religion).
I DON’T GET worked up over such a view, because I haven’t really seen much indication that it is spreading to the mainstream.
I can think of just as many African-American people living in the Second City who look at Farrakhan with bewilderment when he speaks, and will likely take to Wright’s latest rant as being just the latest over-the-top talk of a preacher-man.
Besides, the bottom line of this incident is that even if you are the type who seriously believes the Rev. Wright to be a threat to our society (I think you need to take your medication if you truly believe that), you should not be worked up.
For the fact is that Wright is admitting he has little to no influence over Obama these days, and is not likely to appear at a White House gathering anytime soon.
“I TOLD MY baby daughter that he’ll talk to me in five years when he’s a lame duck, or in eight years when he’s out of office,” the Tribune/Daily Press story quotes Wright as saying. “They will not let him talk to someone who calls a spade what it is.”
So why should people seriously be trying to taint an Obama administration with this attempt by a pastor at political rhetoric. All he is showing is that he is out of his league when he’s talking about politics, and the president seems to realize that.
So when I read that Wright is throwing out a line about “ethnic cleansing” taking place in Gaza, I think of it as little more than some cheap talk – a part of our overall society that makes it interesting as a whole.
Would we really want a society where everybody thinks alike? I doubt it.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTES: Is it a crime that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was among the national majority (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-wright_11jun11,0,5532879.story) that voted for Barack Obama in last year’s presidential election?
Not everybody is so quick to believe that Wright’s rhetoric offers any real proof of some (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=41571) Jewish conspiracy.
ut anything that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had to say this week, or much any time in the future.As he has said many times about his relationship these days with President Barack Obama, he is a pastor while the president is a politician.
SO JUST AS I wouldn’t care much to hear Obama give us a theological discussion, why should I be expected to care about Wright’s thought on politics?
The only people who are taking any of this seriously are the ones who are desperate for an excuse to despise the Obama presidency, and who are disgusted that the nation as a whole didn’t share their disgust for Wright and one-time Weatherman Bill Ayers.
But those few are going to try to make much of Wright’s latest rant, which was made during an appearance he did in Virginia at a minister’s conference.
The Chicago Tribune tried to make much of this story (which really wasn’t theirs. A Newport News Daily Press reporter-type got the interview, and the Tribune is trying to make it appear as though the fact they are owned by the same company makes the story their property too).
THE PART THAT is getting people worked up was Wright’s wisecrack that, “them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me.”
All I get from this line is that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel would engage in a seriously obscene diatribe if he ever thought that Obama was considering having significant contact with his one-time pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ – which the president quit attending about a year ago.
Does this mean it is very unlikely Wright would wish Emanuel a “Happy Holidays?” Probably.
He might send him a Christmas card, if he were in a particularly sarcastic mood. But I’d like to think that a man who has devoted his life to preaching the ideals of Christianity would be able to rise above having such thoughts.
WHAT WE’RE GOING to hear is a political spin that Obama associates with people who are not within a so-called mainstream view of U.S. society. We’ll probably hear many comparisons to Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam – who throughout the years has managed to spew rhetoric that has been perceived by some as anti-Jewish, if not outright anti-white.
This appearance in Virginia is going to result in some people trying to accuse an Obama presidency of being “reverse racists.” After all, he already has given us a Supreme Court nominee who thinks there are cases where a Latina can make a more reasoned legal decision than an Anglo man.
Actually, all that Sonia Sotomayor has ever said is that she does not view being Latina as some sort of drawback (the way that real racists would like to think her ethnic background ought to be a negative).
Perhaps it is because I have seen the Nation of Islam types in Chicago, preaching their view of black empowerment and claiming that Christian churches will never permit them to advance in society (while downplaying the fact that many Muslims don’t consider the Nation of Islam to be legitimate members of their religion).
I DON’T GET worked up over such a view, because I haven’t really seen much indication that it is spreading to the mainstream.
I can think of just as many African-American people living in the Second City who look at Farrakhan with bewilderment when he speaks, and will likely take to Wright’s latest rant as being just the latest over-the-top talk of a preacher-man.
Besides, the bottom line of this incident is that even if you are the type who seriously believes the Rev. Wright to be a threat to our society (I think you need to take your medication if you truly believe that), you should not be worked up.
For the fact is that Wright is admitting he has little to no influence over Obama these days, and is not likely to appear at a White House gathering anytime soon.
“I TOLD MY baby daughter that he’ll talk to me in five years when he’s a lame duck, or in eight years when he’s out of office,” the Tribune/Daily Press story quotes Wright as saying. “They will not let him talk to someone who calls a spade what it is.”
So why should people seriously be trying to taint an Obama administration with this attempt by a pastor at political rhetoric. All he is showing is that he is out of his league when he’s talking about politics, and the president seems to realize that.
So when I read that Wright is throwing out a line about “ethnic cleansing” taking place in Gaza, I think of it as little more than some cheap talk – a part of our overall society that makes it interesting as a whole.
Would we really want a society where everybody thinks alike? I doubt it.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTES: Is it a crime that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was among the national majority (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-wright_11jun11,0,5532879.story) that voted for Barack Obama in last year’s presidential election?
Not everybody is so quick to believe that Wright’s rhetoric offers any real proof of some (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=41571) Jewish conspiracy.
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