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Friday March 21, 2008
Rev. Wright, Senator Obama and the Ghosts in the Room
Whenever Americans discuss the issue of race, there are always ghosts in the room with us—the ghosts of racial sins and racial hurts from our shared and tragic past.
Race has always been the serpent in the American Eden, the birth defect in our historic genetic code.
Senator Obama’s speech earlier this week used one of my favorite quotes from William Faulkner: “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past,” to make this point. Living in Mississippi, Faulkner understood the “Ghosts of Mississippi” always present in the room and part of every racial interaction. And that’s true of not just Mississippi, but the entire nation as well.
That is precisely why so many people have invested so much hope in Senator Obama—a candidate who is “black,” but not the black candidate—a man who has empathy for the hurt of all sides of our American racial tragedies.
What other American politician who is African-American could, or would, have the courage to articulate the frustrations of working-class whites as Sen. Obama did in his speech. Senator Obama acknowledged with empathy those millions of white Americans who:
“don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race” and when such Americans “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.”
When Senator Obama acknowledges and understands such feelings, he is performing a healing act for the entire nation. Also, there is no question Senator Obama “feels the pain” of those generations of African-Americans who have been victims of extreme prejudice and destructive discrimination.
Senator Obama is absolutely right that we need to have a productive and constructive conversation about the past, the present and the future of race in this country. That is the only pathway toward the post-racial future which many hope Senator Obama represents—a country in which people truly will “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
We must talk about these things honestly, openly, and with great intentionality. I am reminded of a scene in Walk the Line, the 2006 film biography of John and June Cash. He asks her to marry him, and she reminds him of the obstacles in their path:
June: “Well how’s it gonna work, John? Where we gonna live? What about my girls? What about your girls? What about your parents, John? Your daddy won’t even look at me.”
John: “June, that stuff will just work itself out.”
June: “No, it does not work itself out! People work it out for you and you think it works itself out.”
We, as Americans, must work these things out. If we don’t, others with less hopeful and constructive agendas will work them out for us in less healing and far more hurtful ways.
And in working these things out on our journey to a post-racial future, Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s hateful, hurtful statements must be recognized as echoes of the ghosts of the past that we must overcome in order to go where the vast majority of our nation, “red, yellow, black and white” and every combination in between earnestly desires to go.
That’s the dream that can truly dispel the ghosts forever.
Filed Under: Barack Obama, casting stones, Richard Land
posted by Dr. Richard Land @10:00am Permalink 
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About Casting Stones
Diana Butler Bass is a religion scholar and author of Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith. She blogs at God’s Politics.
Tony Campolo is Professor Emeritus at Eastern University and author of The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, with Mary Darling. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Rod Dreher is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News and author of Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative Counterculture and Its Return to Roots. He blogs at Crunchy Con.
Bruce Feiler is the author of seven books, including Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses. He blogs at Feiler Faster.
Dan Gilgoff is Politics Editor at Beliefnet and author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War. He blogs at God-o-Meter.
David Kuo served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and is the author of Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction. He blogs at J-Walking.
Dr. Richard Land is president of The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and author of The Divided States of America? What Liberals AND Conservatives are missing in the God-and-country shouting match!
Michele McGinty is a mom and a student at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. She blogs at Reformed Chicks Blabbing.
Brian McLaren is a pastor, musician, and author of Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Steven Waldman is co-founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Beliefnet. His book Founding Faith will be published in March, and he can be reached through the Beliefnet community.
Jim Wallis is executive director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal and author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Comments
As an Australian christian I at first was intrigued by black liberation theology, without knowing much about it. I listened to various educated blacks explaining it on Fox News. I worried about strands of Malcolm X and Marxism. I listened to the critiques of Pastor Jeremiah Wright's sermons by such eminent syndicated columnists as Charles Krauthammer, agreeing with some of the finer moral points he made. But over Easter, I decided to think about it a little more and I came to the conclusion that Wright was right. The theological debate should continue and if the dialogue is elevated it may engage the interest of the conservative, white christian right. It got me that black Americans consider Pastor Wright to have prophetic gifts. It got me that the original OT prophet Jeremiah was forever warning the people of Israel of their sins and got himself jailed as a consequence, and that the Babylonians subsequently invaded Israel. It got me that I needed to re-read Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail. And it got me that Pastor Wright was a friend to former President Bill Clinton of the Global AIDS initiative and, as a consequence, may well know what he is preaching about on this score. Even in Australia, where we love America and Americans, we know you sin (as do we) and we understand you naming a plane in WW2 "Necessary Evil". All of which encourages me to believe this dialogue is healthy.
Posted by: First Lady | March 24, 2008 12:26 AM
If you are born in America, raised in America, attended American Schools, born to American Citizen parents, YOU ARE AMERICAN...SURPRISE! It doesnt' matter what your color is or where your ancestors are from.My mothers ancestors are still on the Reservation. My Fathers ancestor's came from Wales. He is also part Irish and German. What does that make me? Just your "Typical white Grandmother".
Posted by: Your typical white Grandmother | March 24, 2008 4:07 PM
I find it interesting that in a country where freedom of speech is part of the First Amendment, where burning the flag during the Veitnam War was protected by the Supreme Court, where the Klu Klux Klan still exists and uses the N-word to describe African Americans, but consider themselves as having the love of God working in them. In an environment such as this that people can be so outraged by someone who is frustrated with America. The same people who are casting stones and saying that Senator Obama should have separted himself from Rev Wright probably have family members who have said worse things about America in public and they have not distanced themselves from their family. I am not condoning what Rev Wright said, but in America he has a right to say it. Free speech means that a person may say want they want whether I agree with it or not. I would venture to say that if a person separted themselves from everyone who said something they found offensive he or she would have to live on an island or in a bubble totally separated from society. I have a hope that one day we will be able to move beyond, but realistically as long as we have a sinful nature that nature is going to drag us down. As Senator Obama pointed out there is frustration to go across the entire cultural spectrum. I hope people take this opportunity to have a real dialogue about what is bothering them. I am a 24 year retired veteran and I know veterans (those who fought this countries wars) of all hues who, though patriot, are not happy with our government or our leadership and are very vocal about it in language that makes Rev Wright's 30 second sound bite sound like Sunday School. Should I or other countrymen separate from them. Because like Rev Wright, if you see them on another day they are waving flags and wearing their uniforms and supporting great causes. We have the right to disagree and disagree passionately. That means you have the right to crucify Rev Wright, but just remember he has broken no laws and in fact the law protects his right to give incediary speeches. And, none of us have the right to shut him up. That is the right I risked my life for in the military.
Posted by: Forrest Kirk | March 24, 2008 5:06 PM
Obama should be praised for some of his poignant appeals to heal our nation's racial divides. But, he delivered this speech only to retrieve a floundering campaign and really therefore showed no real leadership. He did not stand courageously and take responsibility for his irresponsible membership in a church that was built in part on militant Black racism. He arrogantly proclaimed and lectured us how he represents a healing vision to unite our racial divides because he is half black and half white and implied that he has this strength of character and leadership born out of this unique background. Wrong!! He showed no leadership in his church for 20 years in healing racial divides. Never saying l word to bring reconciliation in the urban ghetto of South Chicago. In fact his 20 years of membership, begs the question. Why? Pastor Wright and his church offered Obama the route to his political ambitions. To show leadership and confront Pastor Wright would have been making a powerful enemy that would have dashed these ambitions. Obama has made his political rise in Illnois State Politics as a member from his southside district on a very radical platform that earned him the highest liberal ratings for members of the Illinois legislature. He has continued this as a member of the Black Caucus in the U.S. Senate. Never did he reach across party lines and bring policies of reconciliation which include militant support of partial birth of abortion or bankrupting entitlement programs. He accepted no guilt in his speech and no responsibility but only pulled out the "boogeyman" of evil corporate America and how they are responsible for the real problems of America that supposedly all Americans can unite and direct their anger and frustrations toward correcting. That's called leadership by the liberal media and Frank Schafer??
Posted by: John Allen | March 26, 2008 10:23 AM
"The American Eden"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!
Posted by: recovering ex-Pentecostal | May 12, 2008 4:42 PM
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