Greetings,
If Rev. Jeremiah Wright costs Sen. Barack Obama this nomination I will be deeply grieved. I want the chance to vote for Sen. Obama for president. I have no idea what Rev. Wright's motivations are, but at this point Sen. Obama can't separate himself any further from him but they are still connected in peoples minds because the media are connecting them.
My fear is that the unseen forces that put pressure on our leaders will guide this towards the status quo. They, the media, need a story because they are not use to a competitive primary and they are running out of things to say. Therefore, in order to continue to sell papers and get ratings they are talking about this ad nauseum. The unseen force of the market is steering our election.
We are going to be stuck with business as usual unless we demand something different. At this point we, the American people, are starting to be like Charlie Brown thinking that just this once we'll be able to kick the football and Lucy won't pull it out of the way. However, our brothers and sisters in the 12-step community have a saying, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." I guess all I can say is "good grief" we are gong to miss the ball again.
God's Peace,
Jason+
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2 comments:
Here's the thing, though: Sen. Obama is connected to Jeremiah Wright because.... he was a member of his church for twenty years, called him his mentor, and even used a phrase of Wright's for the title of his book.
Was he sitting in the pews not paying attention during those twenty years? Or, is it more likely that now that the connection to Obama has launched Wright into national (rather than merely local) prominence, Wright has decided to launch his own agenda on the back of Obama?
Wright's basic message in the little soundbites that have circulated on YouTube, while unpalatably packaged, are still true: America was targeted by terrorists for actions done in the Middle East and around the world for more than the last half-century. We have overthrown legitimately elected governments if their aims clashed with ours, especially if there was concern about access to certain vital natural resources. These actions were wrong, and we have to acknowledge that and try to repair relationships. We as Americans are responsible to hold our leaders accountable for these actions, and the first step would be actually paying attention to something other than Britney Spears' latest meltdown. If we want change, we have to be willing to bestir ourselves to understand tough issues and expend real effort in attempting to solve them.
Nonetheless, as flawed as my country is, and no matter how much I disagree (so mild a word for my true feelings!) with this current administration, I love my country and believe we have the potential to do so much that is good in the world. But government is not at fault-- we are, in our willingness to claim powerlessness rather than rouse ourselves for real change. I still say that I am offended by "God damn America!" And I am troubled by the idea of a presidential candidate who sat in the pews and clapped or cheered when those words, or words like them, were uttered. I really need Obama to address this if he wants to gain more than my half-hearted support.
There really is no such thing as "the media" as a monolithic entity. There is left-leaning and right-leaning media, and they each have their own agenda. We can't blame the media or the government for our own failures to think rather than to react like sheeple.
I agree with a lot of your comment. Though it is interesting that McCain has gotten little criticism for his relations with controversial religious figures, one of which said that hurricane Katrina hit News Orleans because they were planning a Gay Pride parade, and his employed campaign advisers who were also registered agents of foreign despots. There is a blatant discrepancy of reactions, not only from various media outlets but the American people as well.
I'm still concerned, like you are, that we won't stand up for an actual change in how we function as nation both internally and in our relationships with other nations. However, our ability to have intelligent discourse gives me hope. Thanks for reading my blog and responding in a well thought out manner.
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