2008 Woodie Awards
In Defense of Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Robert Fronta
Section: Opinion
Fiery, blunt, and spirited are words that describe Reverend Jeremiah Wright
and his messages, but racist and un-American?
Obama and his pastor have been caught up in a whirlwind of media attention recently, a media blitz if you will. All of this stemming from a 15-60 second clip of a sermon his former pastor preached that the media looped until our ears twitched (and for those who thought his comments racist, until theirs burned).
Were Wright's statements really that controversial? Or was it the style of
oration and raw and abrupt delivery that set Americans off and flicked the
ominous media light on the pastor and his former member Obama?
"God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn
America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as
long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme," roared Rev. Wright from
his pulpit.
Much of the media highlighted him saying "God damn America." That was clearly
a "spin" on the media's part. It was taken out of context. Rev. Wright wasn't cursing, in the derogatory sense, he was stating that God would or should damn America for its evils. Damn simply means to punish. His words may be strong but they certainly aren't "extremist." We are living under large and heavy rocks if we believe America is innocent with clean hands. We are also
an ignorant country if we don't believe there are those who still suffer in
varied ways from our great country's great sins.
"Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is
controlled by rich white people. Hillary would never know that. Hillary ain't
never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person," Rev. Wright said from the pulpit. His speech and opinion may be jarring, harsh and maybe even offensive in tone, but racist? No. Is he
speaking anything other than the truth?
The media has also suggested that some of Rev. Wright's other comments blame America for 9-11. They call him "un-American." The term "un-American" has been divisively thrown at Rev. Wright. Many have made controversial statements just like Rev. Wright's from Rev. Jerry Falwell to Rev. John
and his messages, but racist and un-American?
Obama and his pastor have been caught up in a whirlwind of media attention recently, a media blitz if you will. All of this stemming from a 15-60 second clip of a sermon his former pastor preached that the media looped until our ears twitched (and for those who thought his comments racist, until theirs burned).
Were Wright's statements really that controversial? Or was it the style of
oration and raw and abrupt delivery that set Americans off and flicked the
ominous media light on the pastor and his former member Obama?
"God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn
America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as
long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme," roared Rev. Wright from
his pulpit.
Much of the media highlighted him saying "God damn America." That was clearly
a "spin" on the media's part. It was taken out of context. Rev. Wright wasn't cursing, in the derogatory sense, he was stating that God would or should damn America for its evils. Damn simply means to punish. His words may be strong but they certainly aren't "extremist." We are living under large and heavy rocks if we believe America is innocent with clean hands. We are also
an ignorant country if we don't believe there are those who still suffer in
varied ways from our great country's great sins.
"Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is
controlled by rich white people. Hillary would never know that. Hillary ain't
never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person," Rev. Wright said from the pulpit. His speech and opinion may be jarring, harsh and maybe even offensive in tone, but racist? No. Is he
speaking anything other than the truth?
The media has also suggested that some of Rev. Wright's other comments blame America for 9-11. They call him "un-American." The term "un-American" has been divisively thrown at Rev. Wright. Many have made controversial statements just like Rev. Wright's from Rev. Jerry Falwell to Rev. John
Current
Be the first to comment on this story