Yesterday in Philadelphia, Barrack Obama gave a speech on the perils and opportunities that race provides in this election. He did not simply run from his pastor as fast as he could, nor did he overstate his opposition to Rev. Wright’s incendiary comments. He did what good teachers do- he put the issue in context. He used the negative attention brought to him from the words of his Pastor to connect to the racial resentments (conscious and unconscious) of all Americans. He carefully explained that while his Pastor was the product of an earlier era, he is the product of an improved and improving America. Obama’s approach to the issue of race mirrors his overall approach, which is to recognize the legitimacy of multiple perspectives on every issue. By acknowledging the anger of black Americans as well as the anger of white Americans regarding race relations and public policy, Obama has demonstrated something very significant about his leadership style and his confidence in the capacity of Americans to be thoughtful and reasonable. Clearly, “hope” has substance for this candidate.
He courageously explained that his Pastor was a whole person whose harsh comments were but a small part of a worthy and honorable man. Explanations like this, while common in non-political settings, are incredibly rare in political campaigns, where fear of spin, sound bites, and the 24/7 intellectual dishonesty of political rivals dominates. Candidates for public office (especially for president) are driven by public opinion polls. They reason that “temporarily” suspending their sober judgment is a necessary means to the coveted end of winning the presidency. Obama’s speech yesterday, and his campaign in general, have inspired and energized millions of Americans from all walks of life precisely because his is a sincere effort avoid this perennial rationalization for the politics of personal destruction.
While Obama’s betting on the fair-mindedness of American voters, both of his opponents are making a different wager. Voters will be putting their money down on hope or fear. I’m picking hope (and working for it) because I don’t think we can afford another cycle of unchecked fear mongering. Besides, personally I’d rather be a sucker than a cynic.
Take a look at the speech. Think about it.
View the speech @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxOSEj_sQM&feature=bz302
2 comments:
I believe it was a tactic.
First and foremost, I do not think Barack Obama is a racist, nor does he embrace the nonsense spewed by Rev. Wright. Pardon my inclination to project, but I think that as a young, handsome, ivy-league educated man of African heritage and White heritage, Obama felt compelled to some degree to obtain some credentials with the black community and chose to do so by joining this church on the south side of Chicago. And if you think I'm somewhat delusional in this theory, consider what some other black preachers have said about him: http://youtube.com/watch?v=khuu-RhOBDU
He got tripped up on this issue by first claiming he was unaware of an incendiary comments made by Rev. Wright (over the span of 20 years), only to acknowledge in the speech, that he was aware. So which is it? Naturally, any thinking person would believe the latter... OK... no harm, no foul. I'll give him a pass on that one.
But back up and simply consider the delivery of this speech. I've never seen this man in the presence of more American flags in my life. He read the speech off a teleprompter -- teleprompters are not conducive to the oration of "teachable" moments. This was one of the most tactical displays of political theater we've seen yet in this campaign. If anything, it was contradictory to the Barack Obama that I've seen do so well on the campaign trail, save for his unfortunate journey into Deval Patrick's library of triteness.
America does not need Barack Obama to teach us anything about "race" in our land. We've all received and read the memo, over and over. Enough. I'd say the vast majority of us moved beyond race decades ago.
im sick of racism and atonement being force fead down our throats. Ive had nothing to do with racism or bigotry i dont know anyone that has. As far as im concerned the playing field is level and comments made by this reverend REGARDLESS what else he says were horrible. Lost my vote.
Post a Comment