Mature Journalism?

Internet media outlets are finally starting to do some of the contextualization of Wright's comments that this blog has been trying to do over the past few weeks.

Truthdig has a feature here playing more complete excerpts of some of the controversial sermons and Guardian columnist Michael Tomasky describes the contents of Wright's published books here.

It is perhaps too much to ask for Fox News to do the same, but I would hope that ABC and other mainstream media that jumped on the Wright-bashing bandwagon treat their audience like adults and allow them to come to their conclusions based on complete and accurate information.

Black Liberation Theology in the Media (part deux)

Fresh Air's Terry Gross had theologians James H. Cone and Dwight Hopkins on today's show. It's a good way to contextualize Jeremiah Wright's seemingly incendiary comments for those who are interested. For even more context, see my previous post, "Black Liberation Theology in the Media."

What Now? Incredulity in Victory

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen the 1972 film, The Candidate and don't want to know the end, skip this post.

I recently saw The Candidate featuring Robert Redford as the fresh face running against the entrenched Republican Senator for his California seat. I'm pretty sure I heard or read somewhere recently that this movie mirrors the current Presidential race, especially if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee running against McCain. Anyway, the film ends with the Robert Redford character on victory night asking his campaign manager, "what now?"

I believe that whoever the victor is, he or she will be asking that very question. Perhaps that's what Hillary Clinton alludes to when she says "Ready on Day One." The promises that have been made on the campaign trail will have to be kept. Will it really be possible unify a divided congress (and nation)? Will it really be possible to withdraw troops from Iraq without throwing the middle east into chaos? Will it really be possible to provide universal healthcare? In the final analysis, it will be left to those who have supported their candidate passionately to hold that candidate to account with the same level of passion. We should all be, as Cornel West puts it, "critical supporters."

Desegregating America's most Segregated Hour

An interesting discussion here on the opportunity presented by the Wright Controversy. The discussants are Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. of Hope Christian Church in Maryland and High Impact Leadership; The Very Rev. Tracey Lind of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio; Melissa Harris-Lacewell of Princeton University; and Michael Cromartie, of the Ethics and Public Policy Center

Needless to say and as others have observed in the past few weeks, the intersection of race, religion, and politics is particularly volatile so I commend the participants for their sober discussion.

Bishop Jackson recently wrote a column critical of Senator Obama with which I disagree on several accounts (e.g. "Some may even have seen his relationship with Dr. Wright as a kind of spiritual adultery---just as dangerous to the nation’s health as Governor Spitzer’s or Governor McGreevy’s sins") but it's worth taking in his perspective.

By way of a plug, one of the things that I admire my current church for is the diversity of ethnicities. Although, having attended predominantly black and predominantly white churches in the past, I recognize that, as Durkheim observed, "religion is an eminently social thing" and in that sense reflects the society within which it functions.

"Take a Little Time to Enjoy Your View"

So, on Friday, Mr. Obama was on my wife's favorite show, The View, and the NY Times notes that judging from the hostesses response, he should have no problem bridging the gender divide. They grilled him though, not least of all Elizabeth Hasselback. Now, we'll just have to see what he can do with Fox and Friends.

Talking Money with Maria Bartiromo

Following his speech at NY's Cooper Union (see below), Barack Obama appeared with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to discuss the economy. You can see it in 2 parts here and here, as well as a Republican response.

Senators Clinton and McCain have also given speeches on the economy in recent days.

Obama at Cooper Union

Senator Obama gave a talk today at Cooper Union, where Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860 gave his first political speech in New York. He was introduced by Mayor Bloomberg who, some have suggested, could be the Cheney to Obama's Bush.

Theologians for Wright

I just learned on MSNBC that two well respected theologians have come to Jeremiah Wright's defense. Peter Gomes, the minister at Harvard's Memorial Church and Harvard Professor wrote an article called "The Pastor as Prophet" and Martin E. Marty, professor emeritus at University of Chicago's Divinity School wrote an article called "Prophet and Pastor."

A quote for Gomes, "Presidential candidates run for office in order to run ‘America the Beautiful,’ forgetting that Katharine Lee Bates in her fourth verse asks God to “mend thine ev’ry flaw/Confirm thy soul in self-control/Thy liberty in law.” She was a brave woman to suggest that in the American ideal, to which her poem was in elegant dedication, there were flaws to be mended; and although ‘America the Beautiful’ did not make the cut as our country’s National Anthem, it should have."

And from Marty, "Having [criticized some of Wright's stands], and reserving the right to offer more criticisms, I've been too impressed by the way Wright preaches the Christian Gospel to break with him. Those who were part of his ministry for years — school superintendents, nurses, legislators, teachers, laborers, the unemployed, the previously shunned and shamed, the anxious — are not going to turn their backs on their pastor and prophet."

It's interesting to note that the pastor of Bill and Hillary Clinton's former church in Washington DC has come to Wright's defense. (Note: it's a PDF). He writes, "To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice do Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage and violence."

How He Got Here

I was just watching, online, Senator Obama's interview in 2006 on Charlie Rose. The appearance was before he started running for president--although the book tour always serves as a test-run in American politics. For anyone who hasn't read "Audacity of Hope," this interview is a good way to get a sense of what he's about politically. He describes himself as a bridge builder and talks, presciently, about his faith and his church. See for yourself.

Inadvertent Endorsement?

In a taste of what's to come in the fall, the John McCain campaign is using Bill Clinton's statement to Barbara Walters on their website. Interesting in light of new polls reported on CNN.

Stating the Obvious

Warning: The following post might not be "fair and balanced."

Senator Clinton declares to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Rev. Wright would not have been her pastor. (That's news).

Only her husband's in his moment of crisis.

Here's a transcription of her comments with my comments unfairly inserted.

Question:
How would you have responded if your pastor had said some of the things that Rev. Wright said [such as "in Bill Clinton, blacks had an intelligent friend in the White House"]?

Response:
“He would not have been my pastor. … You know, you don’t choose your family [especially not your spouse], but you choose what church you want to attend. I spoke out against Don Imus [and everyone who ever went on his show because they should have known all he did was spit hate; especially by claiming I was Satan]. I gave a speech at Rutgers University saying that hate speech [such as claiming in that unfriendly tone of Rev. Wright's that racism exists] was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that. So for me, if I had been a member of such a [predominantly black] church [in the south side of Chicago] – first of all, if I had sat there for 20 years, I think you all would have a lot to say if somebody made comparable sorts of sermons [about the government's historical oppression of white people]. I just think you have to speak out against that [because denouncing and rejecting them on a nationally televised speech, on interviews with all the major tv stations, and in a blog column in the Huffington post is not enough]. You certainly have to do it, if not explicitly [after buying old DVDs of your pastors sermon and sifting through them relentlessly for politically damaging comments], implicitly by getting up and moving [because my spouse hasn't always been faithful, but I didn't choose him]."

Connecting the Dots: Full Journalism

In this New Republic article entitled "Full Faith," E.J. Dionne expresses surprise at the sophistication of Obamas articulation of his faith. Specifically, he writes,

"As I paused to marvel at how this remark could have been plucked from one of Niebuhr's essays, Obama seemed to have the same realization. He quipped, "And that's as Niebuhrian as you can get." It's typical Obama: using Niebuhr to describe an African American church. During this campaign, Obama has set about preaching a different kind of liberal religion, one that includes the old social justice faith but is also deeply influenced by the experience of the black church."

Hmmh, Niebuhr in a black church focused on social justice, I wonder where that comes from? Below is my response to him, which I hope the New Republic's editors will approve and show in their comments section.

"E.J., thanks for your essay on Obama's articulation of his faith. It's by now well known that Jeremiah Wright subscribes to Black Liberation Theology. One of its main proponents is James H. Cone who in turn subscribes to Niebuhr. Which leads me to my final point; if the heavyweights of journalism like yourself could dedicate some time to doing further research and moving beyond the caricature of Wright painted in the media, it would become less confusing as to why Obama found some resonance with him. Wright, despite his incendiary statements, is by no means an intellectual lightweight and as you and other political commentators know from your interactions, intelligent people can disagree agreeably. For further contextualization of Wright's statements you can find some resources on my blog http://cultureofpolitics.blogspot.com/
You will find, there, a video of Wright directing Sean Hannity towards James Cone and you will find a link to a November 2007 interview of Cone by Bill Moyers, which you can also find at http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11232007/watch.html
Cone mentions Niebuhr in this interview. Thanks."

For further historical contextualization of James Cone's comments on the crucifix and the lynching tree in the Bill Moyers interview, it's worth following up by listening to Terri Gross's interview of John Dominic Crossan on the historical context of crucifixion and Krista Tippet's Speaking of Faith episode on Neibuhr.

By the way, David Brooks also observed Obama's familiarity with Neibuhr a year ago.

George Packer's Commentary

The New Yorker's George Packer with what I think is particularly thoughtful analysis of the speech. Here is an excerpt:

"Obama’s ability to contemplate the contradictions in Americans of all colors without going mad—to be made stronger by them—accounts for his power as a politician. He also pays the electorate the supreme compliment of assuming that it, too, can appreciate complexity."

Pat Buchanan's Take on Race

Pat Buchanan puts in his own two cents on race in America and how to move forward. I quote

"First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known."

Read more here (if you can bear it).

Jeremiah Wright GD America Sermon: Longer Excerpt

No way to sugar coat these words but at least let's contextualize them and understand his larger point: Government's Change, but God doesn't; Government's Fail, but God doesn't. The words are tough but he is referencing a tough aspect of history.

Jeremiah Wright post-9-11 Sermon: A Longer Excerpt

Here is a longer excerpt of the post 9-11 sermon by Jeremiah Wright. Seen in a fuller context, one discovers that the controversial comments were not actually his words but his citation of an American's diplomat's words. He clearly frames those comments as "a faith footnote." His ultimate point, based on this longer but truncated excerpt, is that the response to 9-11 should be a time of individual self-examination of one's relationship with God rather than a time for thirsting after vengeance. Whether or not one agrees with his comments or approach, it is important to at least know what his view are rather than those constructed by the media.

Discussing Grandma

I love watching these two men speak. John McWhorter of the conservative Mahnattan Institute and Glenn Loury of Brown University. For a longer excerpt, go here.

It's a good time to interrogate the way the format of cable television--the interruption by the anchor to assert his/her presence, the interruption of the discussion ostensibly to cover other stories but really to push in the advertisers' messages--disrupt nuanced discussion.

Jeremiah Wright's Sermon: a Longer Excerpt

Here is a longer excerpt of Jeremiah Wright's sermon that makes one able to determine for oneself where his coming from and what his intent was, again in the context of Black Liberation Theology.

Fox Calls Fox to Task

Chris Wallace of Fox calls Fox's coverage of Obama's comments to task.

Black Liberation Theology in the Media

For more on Black Liberation Theology, it is extremely helpful to listen to this interview of James H. Cone on Bill Moyer's Journal. Some quotes include:

"The next step [in racial reconciliation] is to connect with people who also have hope: blacks, whites, Hispanic, all different ages, all different kinds of people. You have to connect and be around and organize with people who have hope."

"... the more you express identity with the community from which you come from if you're black, the more fear white people have. Now, that's not true for Italians. That's not true for Germans.... So, if Barack Obama comes out and says, "I'm black and I'm proud of it," well, whites would get nervous. And they would be careful about whether they would vote for him. So, he has a narrow, a narrow-- road in which to walk...."

A Model for Conflict Resolution

An interesting take on Obama's speech from the perspective of the Muslim world.

Jeremiah Wright on Fox in 2007

In this 2007 interview, Sean Hannity and Rev. Jeremiah Wright go at it.

Say What Now?

A particularly inscrutable commentary on Obama's speech from James Poulos of the Guardian. This guy is trying to be really postmodern in his analysis and, in that sense, he is successful...in making no sense at all!

Finally, Someone Looking at Pastor Wright's Sermon in Full

It's been amazing to me that no one in the media has thought it necessary to play the whole of Rev. Wright's sermon instead of the decontextualized snippet played over and over in order to shock the audience. CNN's Roland Martin has been kind enough to do some real journalism.

Self-Reflexive Political Commentary

One of the things that has become quite apparent in the wake of Barack Obama's speech is that when people give their reactions to the speech, they are really speaking about themselves and not about Obama. The speech is in effect puts a mirror to America. The most astute observers realize this and will be able to move beyond the Walker incident; others will remain fixated on the issue. What makes a text meaningful is when it allow people to locate themselves within it, whether that be a sacred text or a political speech. Roger Cohen of the NY Times had a wonderfully self-reflexive column.

Where Leadership and Vision Can Take Us

This story from the NY Times about how many groups of people are responding to Senator Obama's call to action on perfecting our imperfect union is proof positive that the job of a leader is to provide vision, not to simply respond to what is politically expedient.

We have heard much in recent years about the post-9/11 world but what was so essential about the post-9/11 world is that in the aftermath of that calamity, people around the world (including the Muslim world) were looking for leadership and open to a vision of unity and healing.... and yes some of our leaders in the religious sphere including Rev. Jeremiah Wright might have failed us by being small thinkers but so did our leaders in the political sphere. Where could this country have gone if instead of directing us towards a divisive war or divisive discourse we had been exposed to a vision of hope, of bridging divides and creating unity across difference? We need leadership that is going to challenge us to fulfill our potential as individuals and as a nation.

A More Perfect Union