Obama's Speech Tonight
Obama will be giving a speech dealing with Wright, Religion and Race tonight. I don't know what he is going to say, but I do know that because of what Wright has said it is something that has to be done. People are saying that Obama can't possibly be who he says he is because of Wright. I disagree. You just have to listen to Obama speak, read his book (have you?) and follow his career to know that what Wright said in the sermon everyone is talking about is not the way Obama thinks. To say otherwise is to be ignoring the evidence and simply being a lazy thinker.
Below, I posted what Glenn Greenwald has to say about the hypocrisy of what the Right when it comes to these issues, but I also what to point out how many seem to have forgotten our past as a nation. So many people are acting as if our past happened in a vacuum, as if what happened 30, 40, 100 or 200 hundred years ago has no bearing on today. Pretending racism does not exist is silly, but pretending we are steeped in racism is equally silly. My feeling it is somewhere between the two, and depending on where you are and who you are, your experience will be different. So when I hear the pundits poo-poo what Wright says as being un-American, or gesticulate wildly and scream "how can anyone say such a thing!", I know they are either being disingenuous and trying to score political points, or they just don't understand our past as a nation and how many perceive our nation now.
I am not defending what Wright has said, but we can't ignore that these feelings are real in many parts of our nation and to continue to ignore these realities is something we can not afford to do. Fortunately, Obama seems to be able to bridge the chasm between us, move beyond that without forgetting about these real issues. Is Obama the great hope that will close the racial divide? Of course not. But he represents someone that seems to be able to move forward, away from the past, but without forgetting the past.
I hope we don't let this issue stop a man that has the ideas and the skills we need now to move forward.
Below, I posted what Glenn Greenwald has to say about the hypocrisy of what the Right when it comes to these issues, but I also what to point out how many seem to have forgotten our past as a nation. So many people are acting as if our past happened in a vacuum, as if what happened 30, 40, 100 or 200 hundred years ago has no bearing on today. Pretending racism does not exist is silly, but pretending we are steeped in racism is equally silly. My feeling it is somewhere between the two, and depending on where you are and who you are, your experience will be different. So when I hear the pundits poo-poo what Wright says as being un-American, or gesticulate wildly and scream "how can anyone say such a thing!", I know they are either being disingenuous and trying to score political points, or they just don't understand our past as a nation and how many perceive our nation now.
I am not defending what Wright has said, but we can't ignore that these feelings are real in many parts of our nation and to continue to ignore these realities is something we can not afford to do. Fortunately, Obama seems to be able to bridge the chasm between us, move beyond that without forgetting about these real issues. Is Obama the great hope that will close the racial divide? Of course not. But he represents someone that seems to be able to move forward, away from the past, but without forgetting the past.
I hope we don't let this issue stop a man that has the ideas and the skills we need now to move forward.
Labels: Barack Obama
posted by Michael at 7:04 AM
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