~Open disclaimer~
First of all, I debated whether or not to post anything about this. I am angered enough by it, that I am posting. I'm angered because what Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright talks about as Christianity is far, far from it. Suffice it to say, Jesus Christ would never have sat on Hannity & Colmes speaking like JW did.
~Close disclaimer~
I confess, I could be a bit more informed about the presidential candidates. However, with what I know, I'm not thrilled with any of the choices and the guy I wanted, well....big shocker, he's already out.
Here's my beef and be forewarned, I'm on a soapbox. I completely support each American's freedom to make their own decision and vote for the candidate they see as most fit. I also believe each person has a right to his/her own opinion...hence, the reason I can write this post.
First of all, our choices will be between a Democrat and Democrat posing as a Republican.
Second of all, can we really nominate a man who's middle name is Hussein? I don't get that.
By the way, why is Barack labeled as a black man? He has a black father and a white mother. That doesn't make much sense to me. But, I don't think he should be elected because he's white or black so why can't we just stop talking about his race?
*sigh and big exhale*
I'm sure you've all seen or heard about Obama's pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's extremely inflammatory comments/"sermons"/rants. If not, check out what JC has posted. By the way, Sean Hannity exercised more patience here than I believe I would have...to say the least.
Now, I wouldn't assume Obama holds every view that his pastor does. Just like I wouldn't want my pastor's views and opinions assigned to me. Most likely, they would be very similar. However, just because my pastor says something, I do not necessarily feel the same way. I think we should give Obama the same courtesy. However, I would like to address what the pastor says. I have a few issues with this video.
Jesus was poor. He was not a black man as Jeremiah portrays Him to be while claiming to be in "Bible Country".
Jesus wasn't a white European either. He was most likely Arab.
He was definitely treated harshly because of who He is, but it was not because He was a poor black man, it was because He is the Son of God and the people directing hatred towards Him didn't believe that.
Jesus is love. He is THE expression of love. Despite being talked about much worse than you or I have ever been, despite having more rumors spread about him than candidates in the nastiest election, despite being scorned and beaten, He made a way for me, and for all of mankind, even those He knew would mock and reject Him, to be with Him forever. Now that, I don't get.
I accept it and I am eternally grateful, but I don't get it.
I am angered by, embarrassed for and sad for Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
Thoughts?
14 comments:
You're certainly entitled to your rant, and I'm not going to make any comments on the Reverend's speech because I haven't watched it or read anything about it. I believe it's a non-issue what his pastor says, but that's just me.
Many people we identify as "black" are biracial - Halle Berry, for one. I find your comment interesting because if he was identifying himself as white, you know the first thing people would point out would be his black father. I agree it doesn't matter, but I do believe it is appropriate for him to identify as a black man.
As far as the middle name issue, this just baffles me beyond belief. It's the very definition of "judging a book by its cover!" I understand anti-Muslim sentiment and agree some of it is warranted when it is directed at the very people who harmed our country. But Obama is an American, and Hussein is a family name in Arab regions as common as Smith or Johnson in our culture. Should we judge him because he comes from a family where - long before Desert Storm and 9/11 - Hussein happened to be a family name? It's the McCarthism of the 21st century, and that scares me.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/02/28/hussein/
That's just my take. Hope there's no hard feelings.
The link was to an article on the middle name craze:
<"http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/02/28/hussein/"> Article
I can't make it work. Sorry.
Copy and paste if you want to read it:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/02/28/hussein/
Definitely no hard feelings - to anyone who's opinion differs from mine. I did ask for thoughts afterall :).
You are right in that if I were ONLY not voting for Obama b/c of his middle name, it would be a bad case of judging a book by it's cover. However, I have many more reasons. I am merely surprised by his popularity in a country who fought against such a widely known houligan with the same name for so long.
As far as the race thing, why does he have to identify himself as either? I don't think McCain or Clinton go around drumming up support based on their skin color. I just don't think it should be an issue, period.
Finally, this point of this post was about the pastor, not Obama. I merely had a few "it's weird to me" comments about him. The remarks made by the rev would've angered me just as much were he the pastor of Bush's church.
Lastly, please do watch the videos. I would be interested in hearing what you think about them.
Can I still vote for Ron Paul?
I watched the videos, and yes, they are ridiculous. I just lump him in the group with every other religious extremist (enter the documentary Jesus Camp and suicide bombers). I think it's a shame it's getting so much media attention because it (understandably) incites emotions in people that are offtopic from what we should care about. Yet another reason why religion and politics shouldn't mix, but it's inevitable.
I take the Reverend's definition of Jesus as "a poor black man" as anecdoctal and not literal. While I'm not sure I agree with it, I understand the comparison. (although Obama certainly isn't poor - Harvard law school? Come on.)
And as much and I wish that we could all say "color doesn't matter," it does. We are still a racist country, and even though it SHOULD be a non-issue that Obama is black, it's not. The truth is he could be out first black president. That is a HUGE move in favor of equality and non-racism. We don't know what it is like to grow up poor, or black, or the victim of any number of prejudices. We're lucky. No, I don't think it's the end-all-be-all and that alone should define a person, but it's relevant. IT shouldn't matter than Obama is black, but it does. That's our world right now, and we need to change it.
Kim - hahaha
Camille - I think we have to agree to disagree. I'm glad I don't get to decide what you think and vice versa. It really is a great thing, isn't it?
So, so true. :)
I also so wish I could resist the urge to opine on controversial issues. But I can't!! It's like, ingrained in me to click "comment" and type type type away. It's fun having debates but sometimes it can get personal (not here though!)
I guess this is why I'm a lawyer...
oh my gosh, the whole time i was reading these comments from Camille, but didn´t know it´s the one camille that I know! I must say, very well said Camille, I think you have some really good points. The issue with the middle name I find shocking... I wouldn´t think twice of taking that into consideration when deciding whether or not I support or like this candidate. You are exactly right, it is a simply popular name in arab regions. It´s just like here in Germany, Adolf was a popular name. There are many streets I pass by that are still called Adolf street, but of course now, that name is rarely, if ever used to name a child, which I wouldn´t be surprised if the same thing happens with the family name Hussein.
Second, I think everyone else is identifying Obama as black before he is. It all depends on the outside, unfortunately...think about it. Mariah Carey, for example, is half black. But do we lable her as black or white? white of course because of how her skin color looks. In the Caribbean, in the Spanish language, they don´t label people as black or white. There are a wide range of words to label to describe the spectrum of skin color from light to dark. They even have a word for a person that has white skin, but "black people" hair. So Obama wouldn´t even be labeled as black!!! It´s all in our heads, the conceptions and labels that we create.
Last, the reverend. I also agree it´s a non-issue. It´s senseless what the pastor says and worse that it is getting so much attention because his senseless ideas are being heard even more. I just hope the public takes it in the right way and doesn´t believe or support his words.
And again on what Camille said, I have to agree. Just having Obama and Hillary run in the election is a huge step for America. There are so many countries that already have women leaders (which doesn´t mean I´m saying I´m for Hillary, but this is the first time a woman is running, and globally, we are behind in that sense....Bolivia already has a woman president, and so does Germany!) Say neither of them win, just the fact that they are running is huge. And race still is a huge issue in America. Obama is half black and let me ask you, if someone with two black parents wanted to run for president, with much darker skin than Obama, do you think he´d stand a chance? because I don´t think so.
Ok, here's the last I'm gonna say b/c again, I didn't mean for this post to be about Obama, rather about the Rev/Dr.
You guys have both proven my point. If there was nothing in a name, why would people use names like Hussein or Adolf any less often?
There is an association. I don't believe a Jew would ever name their child Adolf, and along the same lines is my thought...it's surprising to me that people in a country who has been under the attack of someone named Hussein would be ok with voting for one.
Again, I'm not, not voting for Obama because of his middle name. I'm just surprised it doesn't cause more of a stir...that's all.
And, I'm done :)
Well, here's the thing. The Clinton's are behind both Democratic campaigns. The strategy is to get Hillary into the White House, have her run things for 8 years, and have Barry (as he's affectionately known at his school in Indonesia) primed for the next 8 years. The problem is the Clinton's didn't know Barry would be so strong out of the gate. That's right. You won't see another conservative at the helm til Sam's ready to vote (if then). But that's ok. It's God who is sovereign, not the President. Besides, what kind of egomaniac would want to be President anyway? PS - Jesus was a Jew, but you were dealing with looks, not race. I get that.
PSS - I'm not a conspiracy theorist. It just sounds like a good story - he American Dream if you will.
About the original blog, what makes me so sad about this story is that - like you said - people hear what this insane pastor said and think, "oooh, this must be what obama thinks too." Take it one step further - how many hundreds and thousands of people in the US who have never encountered the true gospel hear it and think, "Wow, so *that's* what Christianity is all about." Just like so many ignorant people are terrified of the Muslim women whose buggies they bump into at Kroger - they see the head scarf and think that these stay at home moms have a bomb hidden in their purse or something, because they're just taking what's widely publicized and projecting those extremist views on everyone who adheres to a subset. Now, this is to say nothing of the campaigns and upcoming election - I have learned that blog comments are not the best forum for certain debates, and I wholeheartedly believe that politics falls into that category. I just wanted to say, "hey, you weren't the only physically ill when this story first broke."
So true. Amen, amen and amen.
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