We Refuse to Face the Truth

I have spent much of the last twenty four hours listening in disbelief, both to the Rev Jeremiah Wright , whom I once held in esteem, and to the pundits who have declared this “scandal” to be “the end” of the of the “messianic” rise of Barack Obama. (Pastorgate anyone?) I have decided that, rather than rocking back and forth holding my head, I will write this missive. It may turn out to be incoherent, but I hope to feel better for having written it.

First, I have listened to much of the material of Rev.Wright which people find objectionable and I do take exception to his inflammatory tone, his gross mischaracterizations and occasional exaggerations and his racism. However much of what I have heard on talk radio (and not of the right wing variety) is criticism of the substance of his remarks and many are expressing outrage at statements which are, in their essence, true.

For instance does anyone really believe that our government is NOT currently under the control of a group of paranoid, rich, white men? Or that the events of 9/11 were partly brought about by our long term policies regarding Israel and the Palestinian people? Or that the number of innocent people we have killed on foreign soil in the name of democracy dwarfs the number of Americans that have died? For God’s sake someone was even complaining about his remarks about the government’s complicity in the Tuskegee experiments on black men, something the government has admitted!!

It is my humble opinion that Rev. Wright could have said these things in a conciliatory tone and people would still be outraged because, even though I object to the way he said it, Rev. Wright spoke the truth and he has had the audacity to tell of things that we Americans, by and large, do not wish to believe, despite overwhelming evidence. Further, I believe that until we look that beast square in the face, until we accept that we, as a nation, have committed these horrible atrocities, we will be unable to prevent them from being fomented in our names in the future.

I also believe that many white Americans cannot accept criticism of the fundamental policies of the United States from a black man, because, despite all the layers of political correctness we put on it, many white folks feel that “they” should be grateful for all the things “we” have “given them”. And to speak the truth in such a confrontational way, well that’s just not what we expect from people who should be grateful. In truth, white America believes that Rev. Wright should be more like Barack Obama; he’s the sort of black man we like. I’m sorry this is so, but I believe it is.

On the question of whether this will affect Barack Obama’s chances to win the nomination, I will only say this: Rev. Wright was the Obama family Pastor. He was not their spokesperson. If we can hold candidates responsible for everything that anyone they associate with says, then we better fold up this democracy and head north.

I, for one, do not choose my friends and advisors on their likeness to me, on the likelihood that they will be a mirror for everything I hold dear. I rather like the idea that Barack includes people with disparate beliefs in his opinion circle, for it has been my experience that listening to others who hold very different opinions than mine is always a learning experience and rarely a bad one. If we are to weave a stronger, more peaceful America in coalition with those who are not like us (which is what Barack is saying), then listening to the “other” is a darn good place to start.

I remain hopeful about this election and hope this is simply a sandstorm in our collective sojourn out of the desert of the soul in which we find ourselves.

Strength and Courage for the journey,
Suzanne.