Rev. Wright

Last time I looked, it was white people that fought for centuries to end slavery. Slavery is alive and well and in African countries engaged in by Black African-Africans. Hello, Reverend Wright? And why is it, that of the vast majority of the missionaries going to the African continent, helping the poverty stricken Africans in all those different African countries are usually white evangelical Christians? Mr. Wright?

I am 60, black, female, and agnostic. Missionaries have been some of the front persons for colonizer's who ended up with the land, and the people of the countries ended up with a new religion and a bible. Please do not use them as examples of virtue. Some are, but many have not been. Trying to change others to something they are not is a hostile act, as far as I'm concerned. I was raised Baptist, and during the Civil Rights days, the ministers may not have spoken so "energetically" but the civil rights movement was often organized within the church community. My grandparents always subscribed to the periodicals that contained information about the real situations for blacks--not just information that was deemed important by mainstream news.

During my youth, I would be instructed at school on the many "myths and legends" of American History, only to watch children being attacked by dogs as families sought to gain the rights that were supposed to be afforded to all American citizens on the nightly news. Billy Holiday was not singing about a banana tree that grew in an unexpected area, when she sang about "Strange Fruit." The Voting Rights Act was passed in the 1960s--not the 1860s. People were still being killed for trying to vote when I was in high school. If all was going well in this country, there would have been no need for the songs and the stories or the civil rights movement.

It is uncomfortable to consider actions of forefathers, but those actions have indeed been less than humane from the onset. Most Presidents during the early years, were slave owners, and no matter what spin is put on that truth--it is the truth. Had the mistreatment of the Native Americans and the slaves stopped at that time, we probably wouldn't be exchanging these words today. The fact is that for all persons of color, and many white people who were not perceived of the "right" background, the US experience has been painful for centuries. Yet these same people have been some of the most loyal citizens. Discrimination has been nonstop--even in the armed forces. Medals have been withheld. Acts of bravery have been surpressed, etc. Soldiers have survived war only to be killed after returning to the US. The deaths have been directly attributed to "isms." Stating what other groups or countries do does not excuse the "Great Democracy" from its behaviors. If the country wants to promote itself as the land of insensitive SOBs who don't care about anyone or anybody, then the behaviors won't be questioned. When a country tries to offer itself as the example of democracy, then the citizens can't be alarmed, when behaviors are questioned. People see through the hype.

From the very beginning, the Federalists believed that a few knew what was best for the masses as they sought their own success. That sounds so much like today. The wealthy have "legacy" entrance into the most prestigeous universities, and GPA is not a consideration, but the masses worry about whether or not a few people of color or gender difference have an opportunity that has been denied in the past. The tax laws have been skewed to allow the wealthy to keep what they have even into the next generations while paying a disportionate amount of taxes, and the middle and lower economic class is worried whether or not a minister stated some uncomfortable facts, and offered a possible theory about how HIV was initiated. The fact is that veneral disease was given to blacks in Tuskegee, Alabama. Drugs were taken into the Black community to fund initiatives overseas. Those facts can't be denied. A ten minute sound bite out of more than thirty years of ministry hardly presents a total range of the topics discussed. Where are the other messages--thirty plus years of them?

There are no appologies needed when truths are told to a constituency that needs to know history in order to survive. Being angry that these ugly truths are aired in church is a waste of energy as the country is spiraling downward economically and is emeshed in a war that there was never a chance of winning. I knew that based upon studies I had done in my twenties. Last election, the distraction was who was marrying and/or sleeping with whom. Now a key issue is whether or not a person should have quit their church.

First of all, Obama is neither white nor black. He is biracial and bicultural. Therefore, he is GREY! Furthermore, from childhood through education, Obama had limited black experiences. Being raised by a white mother and his white grandparents in Hawaii, would hardly prepare Obama to know how to interact within a black community. He had to learn how to things were in the lower 48. He needed to attend a church such as Rev. Wright's plus get involved in a neighborhood that would enable him to gain that understanding. Little about his early years would have prepared him to survive in any way in a typical black community. You don't know the expectations by DNA--those come from living within context. Obama's dad was African, not American. His step father was Indonesion. By life experiences, this man has a more global perspective than most candidates at any time. It is what makes him so unique. He is a brilliant and charismatic person, who looks through a different lens. If whites don't want to claim him because half of his DNA is non white, that's their loss. His other family wasn't even born in the US. I will gladly welcome him into my family--the human family. The ancestors to most African Americans would not have come from Kenya. That we don't share ancestry, but he resembles me matters little. I vote for white people frequently. That Obama might just be that person who can help us come together as a nation, and regain allies throughout the world is all that matters to me.

In order for conflicts to be resolved, the issues have to surface, and the emotions have to be considered before communication can take place and problems resolved. That is the standard conflict resolution model. These steps are too long overdue. Healing in the country cannot occur until this process is allowed to take its needed and natural course. If we are to survive, we have to think outside ourselves to the extent that our needs are addressed, plus the needs of someone else are addressed too. There has to be consideration of the greater good.