Although I am not voting for Obama, I am in total solidarity with his pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright (who is from Philly and whose story is featured in the powerful book Color Him Father by Stephana Colbert and fellow Ph.D. student Valerie Harrison), because of his holding this nation to the ethical standards in the Bible (similar to those in Ma'at, the Koran, and other religious texts) that it violates more flagrantly than any other nation in the world. I think this has the beginnings of a witchhunt by ABC News mainly because they seemed to wait until the election year to bring up their issues with Reverend Wright instead of raising this when Obama's nomination was in more doubt. Plus, what Reverend Wright said was that 9/11 proved that God "damned" America, not "God damn America." "Damned" in his use was a verb and not a mere expletive. He was simply re-stating a principle of the Bible where God said He would damn those who are disobedient to his Word and ignore his commandments. Wright expressed his belief that 9/11 proves that God "damned" America for their wicked deeds. While I concur that America has done wicked deeds, the growing evidence that 9/11 was an event planned by the Pentagon and the White House clash with the notion that 9/11 was God punishing America; if 9/11 was in fact an inside job, it was America punishing America. Still, perhaps that can be read as God punishing America, but what of those who helped plan this massacre? The Bible says that "vengeance is mine, says the LORD." I'm faithful enough to believe that. The words of Reverend Wright reveal to all the dramatic differences in worldviews among a majority of white Americans and a majority of African Americans. Many White Americans don't see a problem at all supporting state terrorism of Palestinians and black South Africans; however Reverend Wright and many African Americans do see a problem with this. Many White Americans don't see a problem at all with the impression of Americans as arrogant; however Reverend Wright and many African Americans do have a problem with this and attribute this arrogance to 9/11. I happen to agree that this arrogance causes 9/11, but not because of God allowing it, but more because of reckless human will. What is tragic within the Obama campaign is that Reverend Wright is encouraged to get more quiet about his African worldview while Obama's white male advisers get more vocal about the European worldviews. These worldviews are explained by Kobi Kambon in An African/Black Psychology in the American Context: An African-Centered Approach. Obama makes neutral statements and likens Reverend Wright to an "old uncle," which I find disrespectful; nobody's racism should make me belittle or mitigate a respected elder in my own community. However Obama does just this in order to try to take the helm of a position that requires one to at least practice white supremacy. Jimmy Carter's Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid offers the latest and smallest hope for the demented European worldview. -RF.
The ABC News report is at: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4443230)
The NPR News report is at:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88232787
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