Not perfect. But perfectable. - Pt. 2

Now for the downside of Obama's "More Perfect Union" speech:

He did not satisfactorily answer the questions about his knowledge and tacit approval of Jeremiah Wright's demonizing of America. At all.

I cannot believe that Barack sat for 20 years under that man's preaching and managed to always miss every declaration like the ones shown in the ubiquitous video clips. That is beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. Judging from the kind of response the congregation gave those comments, it is clear that they were used to and applauded such sentiments. I've been around enough preaching to know that Wright knew those statements would get a huge response. He had given them a taste of it in the past and they had enjoyed it. Many had probably approached him after the service to encourage him on that path.

In short, he felt safe making those remarks because there was a history of positive reception in that church. And for Obama to say he somehow missed out on every instance of such sentiment is just not credible.

Obama says he always dismissed it as mere eccentricity or residual bitterness. Now, those concepts (of themselves) are somewhat understandable. I've winced a few times as older pastors made comments they saw as harmless but would be perceived even among conservatives today as being unenlightened or insensitive at best. But those are usually offhand comments that aren't part of the message. One shrugs and moves on.

But, for example, if my pastor were to start saying - nay, screaming - that all married women who don't stay barefoot and pregnant are raging Jezebels, I would leave the church. That's the equivalent of what Wright has done.

I did not stand in the Military Entrance Processing Station in Nashville in June of 1983 and promise to support and defend the Constitution of the USKKK of A. I gladly protected Wright's freedom to say that. But I also expect our presidents, regardless of political stripe, to repudiate any sentiment that would undermine the belief that we are the still the best nation on the planet. If a man doesn't believe that in his gut, he cannot fight for it with all his might.

As the rest of Obama's speech pointed out accurately and eloquently, my country isn't perfect (nor is it above criticism) but it's light years ahead of where it was.

Not perfect. But perfectable. - Pt. 1

Plenty of press has been given to Barack Obama's 'More Perfect Union' speech. After George W. Bush's address to Congress in September 2001, it may be the most important American speech of the decade. If you've not watched or read it in its entirety please do so. I had initially only heard sound bites and read snippets. They leave out many of the most important parts and are used to slant opinions.

I can only give my personal impressions of the speech and I have too many, both approving and ambivalent, to cover in one post. Since it is a speech primarily on race I've decided to first address it from a white perspective. And all I can say is that I've never - ever - heard a black politician show he understands the legitimate concerns and observations of middle-class whites more than Obama did in this passage.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

See the full text at Obama's site - Text

Or watch it now:

Hating Hillary

An excellent editorial from Christianity Today:

Hating Hillary
Getting to the bottom of a cultural trend that has seeped into the church.

Also interesting are the comments. All the editorial says is that we should not be hateful toward Clinton. It does NOT say we shouldn't criticize her. But there are too many who think treating her as a fellow person for whom Christ died is tantamount to endorsement.