Gregory D.

Lee

Read Greg's bio and previous columns here

March 17, 2008

Obama’s Right; Words Do Matter, and Those of Jeremiah Wright are Troubling

Last month, Barack Obama defended a speech he gave, one that resulted in an accusation by Hillary Clinton that he had plagiarized an almost identical speech previously given by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. The thrust of the speech, in which he repeated famous phrases of speeches given by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, Rev. Martin Luther King and others, was that words do matter. And he is absolutely correct.

Obama was baptized in Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Chicago-based Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright has been Obama’s and his wife’s minister and spiritual advisor for 20 years. He has said he has been inspired by his sermons. Recently, Rev. Wright sold recordings of past sermons to media outlets for their review. In them he asserts that America is responsible for AIDS and should be damned for state-sponsored terrorism against Palestine. He says that rich white people do all they can to oppress blacks to keep them from achieving. Which one of those beliefs inspired Obama to run for president?

Here’s just a snippet of what Rev. Wright said in one of his sermons: “The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America?  No, no, no! Not God Bless America! God damn America! It's in the Bible – for killing innocent people! Goddamn America for treating her citizens as less than human!”

Do words matter as Obama says they do? I’ll take him at his word. If you were told these sermons were expressed by that race baiter and America hater, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, would you doubt it? Did Rev. Wright plagiarize one of his speeches, or did he and Farrakhan collaborate on them? Does Obama believe the doctrine that Rev. Wright preaches? It seems so when you consider his long-time attendance and financial support for his church. Does Obama also believe that Minister Farrakhan deserves the lifetime achievement award he received from Rev. Wright? His version of Christianity appears to be synonymous with radical Islamists.

Obama has received about 80 percent of the black vote during the Democrat primaries so far. Does that surprise anyone? By virtue of appearing more black than white as a product of a mixed-race marriage, he seems to want blacks to believe he’s one of them despite lacking documented ghetto experience. Not many ghetto dwellers attended Ivy League universities and run for president. He could capture 100 percent of the black vote, and he would still need very substantial white support to be elected. His tutelage by Rev. Wright, and his refusal to distance himself from him, will make that exceedingly hard to achieve.

What is also disturbing is that most major media outlets have refused to ask the hard-hitting questions of Obama about what exactly he does believe, and why he continues to be associated with a pessimist such as Rev. Wright. Is the media waiting for him to receive his party’s nomination before they launch an attack, or do they also feel the same way about Rev. Wright’s version of America?

Personally, I like presidents who love America, have an overwhelming sense of optimism, who tell the truth no matter how painful it is, empower all citizens to achieve their dreams and, above all, not be a racist or associate with those who are. Jimmy Carter comes to mind. I can’t fault him for being the worst president in my lifetime because at least his heart was in the right place.

Obama promises “change” and “hope.” His close association with someone like Rev. Wright makes me worry what his beliefs actually are. What changes would he make as president, and what is he hoping for?

Nice try, Obama. I don’t think I want to take a chance and experience your version of change if you associate with the likes of Rev. Wright.

Gregory D. Lee is a California-based writer. He can be reached through his website: www.gregorydlee.com.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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