Interested in Jeremiah Wright?Trying to figure out what Obama might've been listening to at Trinity on Sundays?
Here's the full audio of one of the "controversial" sermons. This is the "9/11" one. The one where the "chickens come home to roost".
Listen to it. Then see what you think about Wright. Maybe it'll change your mind if you take in some context and here him en toto instead of via a ten-second YouTube clip. Maybe it won't.
I might have time to write all about my long reaction this weekend. Suffice it to say that I'm a little pissed off at myself for not making the effort to get this kind of information earlier and for strangely accepting some spoon feeding about Wright from media sources. I'd like to hear more of the sermons from which controversial remarks were plucked.
Without further ado, I give you Jeremiah Wright:
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The first 3/4 of it are pretty good, John. It's kind of ironic that he spends that time instructing on hate and revenge and the parallels between Jerusalem and 9/11, only to angrily rationalize that same hate and revenge when he gets to the 9/11 portion of the speech.
ReplyDeleteThe 9/11 portion is still pretty damning, I have say. I see why people who had people close to them die in that attack, die in the Iraq war, and anyone who cares about them might pretty pissed with the Reverend about those remarks. They're clearly bullshit. And human.
It doesn't make much sense to talk for 3/4 of your sermon about the evils of hate and revenge only to rationalize it when you get to the meat of the sermon.
I've heard the argument, before. It's loopy leftism. Much of the rest of the political tirades he goes on are as well.
Now, I don't mind all that. I say, say whatever the fuck you want, well-reasoned or best-reasoned or not, I don't give a shit. So I wasn't really taken aback by anything he said. I've heard that shit a million times in a million different versions. I did grow up a liberal, after all.
Rationalizing that attack is bullshit. And as a political question, it is exactly the most serious problem that international security folks and conservatives, since they tend to be more sensitive to security issues, are most concerned about. The rationalization of terrorism in media, on the pulpit, by politicians, by activists, is exactly the political oxygen that it feeds off of. If everyone, today, giving it ideological ammunition for its activities, those activities would have much less support, motivation, recruitment potential, etc. to keep them going. That's not going to happen, tomorrow, obviously. Neither are those groups going to end their killing. But the political oxygen is the most important variable that we need to get a handle on that military and law enforcement efforts, along, cannot secure.
It's not just legitimate for folks who are concerned about those lives to be frustrated with Reverend Wright's comments, this is the bullshit that feeds all these homocidal motherfuckers in Al Queda, in Afghanistan and Iraq, in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in Hezbollah, and in all terrorist groups around the world. Even in places like Lebanon, where you have a legitimate democratic process in place to reduce and limit and, hopefully, to end the terrorist activities in that country, Hezbollah still feeds off of all of the public support it gets to continue its activities and kill innocents in the name of whatever cause will suit them in the moment. Usually something about hating Israel. Palestine now has a democratic process. The could have statehood, if they'd sit their asses down and sign a goddamn deal. But, they are too bloodthirsty for the lives of innocent Israelis to do that. Except for the current Fatah leadership, which is more committed to peace than any Palestinian government I've witnessed in my lifetime, and that's still not saying much.
And still these motherfuckers keep killing innocent people. And they keep winning support from assholes in their own countries, in the Middle East, and too many assholes in the States and the West who can't tell the goddamn difference between disagreeing with someone and murdering them and their goddamn family.
It's a pretty fuckin' clear distinction for me, I have to say, but it must be that you need a fuckin' Ph.D. to tell the difference between killing someone and disagreeing with them. And I don't have a Ph.D., so I don't know what my excuse is.
Israel does not intentionally target civilians, another distinction that is typically lost on terrorists and their sympathizers. But all's fair in love and war, right?
Now, the Pastor did not cover these topics. What he talked about was how treatment of Native Americans, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and other various American ills were chickens coming home to roost in 9/11. I'm sure the victims of that event will be happy to hear that. Though I'm not sure that Reverend Wright stopped to think of family members of some of those victims might be in his congregation. What he talked, derisively and for good reason, was how the people of Jerusalem in a similar time wanted to take revenge, as well. And implied, as Jesus most certainly would have argued explicitly, is a bad idea. On that point, we are agreed. And then he went on to act like the hatefulness and vengeance that animated that ugly, tragic attack was our own goddamn fault. Kind of bullshit, really. And the whole fuckin' point of democracy as a governing arrangement, for goodness fuckin' sakes. That's the whole goddamn point. So we correct ahead, not get lost in the bullshit of the past. But, like I said, the Pastor's not a governance expert.
I have to say, though, despite all of that, that I like the guy more after listening to him, not less. Even with all the bullshit in his reasoning. Distinct from fuckin' Hamas or Islamic Jihad, I can tell the difference between disagreeing with someone and wanting to kill them. To the contrary, I'm kind of curious about his thoughts on a whole range of topics. Though his sanctimonious leftism would probably wear on me, after a bit, if he only answer was, "Because that's what a good progressive thinks." That would begin to bore me, after awhile.
His tirades about military spending, public education, AIDS, etc. are all very old school, for me, at this point. I just think it's an oversimplified way to look at the world, and that much, if not most, of our problems are because we get lost in that bullshit like it means more than it does. The Protestants and Catholics of 17th century Great Britain look so foolish to us, today, that we can't even fathom why they would kill each other over who had the right religion to rule. But the answer lies in our own foolish behavior. Luckily, we don't kill each other. Not often, anyways. But we all still act like we've found the one true church. It'd be funnier if it weren't so goddamn tragic all the time.
The truth is that Jeremiah Wright is not a terrorist. He's someone I could sit down and have a beer with. I would tell him to his face that's he full of shit about 9/11 (I don't personally care and think it's kind of cool that a pastor would say "God Damn America" in a church on Sunday, though I don't like the use of the invective in a hateful way in a place where love is supposed to be at its center).
But then we could sit and have a beer and talk about American foreign policy all night long, if he wanted to.
Yeah, Jeremiah Wright is not so different than a whole host of nutty right-wing preachers who I disagree with, too.
The truth is, these days, John, I say, "Speak what's on your mind." I may not like it, but say it anyway. Who gives a shit if I like it or not. Say what you really think.
If you think Americans should be killed because the Native Americans got a raw deal, say it. If you think homosexuals should be stoned because you're grossed out by the idea of butt sex, say it. If you think Donovan McNab is only in the NFL because he's black and the media want a African American quarterback to tie their ribbon around, then say it. If you think you'd rather fuck your dog than me because I'm really not all that attractive, fuckin' say it. I don't give a shit, anymore. I'll probably tell you you're full of shit, if I disagree with you. But say what's on your mind and on your heart. I think the world would be a much better place if we all did that more often. I know I'd like living in that world better. And even if I don't get to live in it, I'd rather my kids get to live in that world than this stinkhole of repression and bullshit.
I just don't like the idea of the Jeremiah Wrights of the world and the John Hagees of the world always trying to get me to shut up or other people to shut up when they disagree with them, and limiting all sorts of liberties that I might take advantage of to make my life and my family's lives and my community's lives and my nation's lives and everyone's lives better as a consequence.
They can talk if they want to, I say. Just let me talk to. And let me make choices about my life that give me the opportunity to make it better. And stop playing this fuckin' game where people are always trying to trim that menu of choices down to whatever they think would be good for me (read: fucking with my freedom). Especially since every single fucking time people try to do that they fuck it up, without a fucking exception to that fucking rule.
Thanks for the audio, John. It is good to get some context. And listening to that was much better than listening to 1 minute on a Youtube. I appreciate it.
I better get to bed. I gotta get Melissa to the airport in the morning.
I can't believe I'm writing this in public, John, but I have a girl I'm working with on a script, right now, who wants to do a comedy on snuff. I'm not sure if that's the direction we're going to take, but I have to say that I appreciated anyone who has that sick a sense of humor. We'll see where this script goes. We also have a mutual interest in extremism and extremist political groups, which I think would make for a really quality script of some kind, so we'll see.
Talk to you later, dude.