Hypocrisy in the Public Sphere on Obama's Speech

London - Even on this side of the ocean Barack Obama's speech on his personal Jeremiah has made waves but I see that the usual suspects in the right-wing commentariat are not satisfied: Krauthammer in the Washington Post opinion pages today and Michael Gerson in the same place earlier in the week. How can a pastor, a man of the cloth attack the U.S. with words like "God Damn America?" they ask and demand total renunciation, repudiation etc., etc...

In the autumn of 1995 I was traveling around Mississippi doing some reporting for the BBC World Service. I try to get to the deep South once a decade because for better or worse it remains the cauldron where this nation's politics are forged. People reading this on either coast may think they set the nation's agenda. They don't. The South does. White southerner's lingering resentment to being conquered and occupied for the best part of a century is what drive's American politics. Nixon knew it and that's why the southern strategy was so successful. White southerners are their own tectonic plate crashing into one party or another for a time and creating the political equivalent to a super continent.

Anyway as I'm cruising the surprisingly well-paved back roads of Miss'ippi I'm listening to AM radio. A white Christian station comes up and I hear a song that is absolutely shocking. It calls on God to destroy America. Why? So it can be reclaimed for Christ. I was so stunned by the tune that the next time it came on, as I was driving through a white section of Clarksdale I pulled over, took out my Sony Pro tape machine and recorded it. The chorus ran, "Even if you have to bring her to her knees/Lord, please/ revive her again."

The song's image of America destroyed so it can be reclaimed for white Southern Christians was only one example of the relentless disparaging of the U.S. along with damnings to Hell of vast swathes of American society to be heard being broadcast by white Christian pastors.

These same pastors of course preach the politics of the right from their pulpits and their congregations provide the foot soldiers of the conservative movement.

No one ever demanded of President Bush that he repudiate these hellfire and brimstone types, yet even after delivering one of the great speeches of the last several decades the ideologues are demanding something more of Obama.

The hypocrisy here is large; I would not expect anything else from Krauthammer but Michael Gerson is a "person of faith." And surely he knows the danger of hypocrisy in that part of the public sphere where religion intersects with politics. I'm sure he knows much of the Gospel of Matthew by heart. I am certain at this season of the passion he is re-reading it fervently. But in case he is speed reading it let me remind of Matthew 23 verses 13-15. Each verse begins, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

America needs no heavenly destroyer to revive itself, it needs people in Gerson's position to examine their consciences and stop being hypocrites. A good place to start would be for him to address the shocking statements made by white Christian preachers over the air waves every day. He might take advantage of the opportunity to repudiate them by name and renounce their help in electing Republicans to office. If not, to quote the Gospel, "Woe unto him ..."

Comments

[clevelandchick]

I truly believe the intensity of this brouhaha over Wright's comments comes from the deep seated desire from some white people not all, but some - to call black people racists because those same people have been labeled as such - rightly.

Racism isn't just about saying you don't like someone over their race or being mean to someone over their race, it's about institutionally ingrained power of one group over another. And I'm sorry, Wright's words were not coming from a place of institutional power.

I am actually more offended and frightened by the words of the white evangelicals that support white candidates who want to turn my country into some anti-homosexual, anti-feminist strict Dominionist theocratic state than I am of Reverend Wright's. But again, that ingrained power of white religion in our society prevents their hideous words from making it onto the endless loop on Fox News.

[Clinton]

Very true. This is just a case of some whites trying to shift the focus off of their own complicity with real racism by posing as victims. And some of the white evangelicals are truly frightening in their vitriol (not to mention some truly nutty theology).

[robXdion]

Exactly. Whites don't want to have a discussion on race unless they can complain and air their mostly trivial grievances which are ridiculous in the face of systematic racism blacks face that can effect their livelihoods and well being. Whites resent blacks mentioning their side of it because it makes them feel guilty; as they well know they or their friends are complicit in the same racists sentiments. And there is also the real fact that white racism is usually unprovoked and unmitigated with anything other than raw hate for someone that looks different and threatens their dominance. Rev. Wright if offensive, is actually the result of institutional unconscious American racism. Same for Malcolm X and Farrakhan. Simple cause and effect.

And the entire message he gave actually covered ALL minorities, and he never castigated whites directly. But they are the ones feeling most hurt because they think "American" means white, while anyone else, to include blacks, aren't authentic citizens.

[calirighty]

Actually, we don't feel guilty. We're tired of being BLAMED foe everything that goes wrong in a black person's life. We STILL hear about slavery. Well guess what? Slavery ended in 1865. No one alive today experienced slaver. We still hear about the civil rights movement. Guess what? That was 40 years ago and I wasn't born then and still get blamed for it. We get blamed for imprisoning blacks. The way I see it, if you commit the crime you do the time. And that goes for all races. So no. We don't feel guilty. We're just tired of being blamed for things for which we had no control. It's NOT about racism. It's about people wanting to blame everyone but themselves for their own problems. I sleep every night guilt free.

[nk007]

clevelandchick"

Thank you for you post. By the way what the media did was chop up Dr. Wright's sermon for propaganda purposes. I challenge any one who views, or reads, the entire sermon of Dr. Wright to show where he was being a racist! Cataloging the sins of America, and especially the government does not make one a racist. The great white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, labeled the U.S. Constitution as "A covenant with hell, and an agreement with the devil," because of its pro slavery provisions. Does that mean that Garrison was anti white, or anti-American? Any one who wants to understand the Black tradition of speaking truth to power, which Dr. Wright exemplifies, should go back and read the 1852 Speech by Frederick Douglass on the "meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." Unless this country truthfully faces its history, both at home and in its relations with foreign contries, it will continue to experience what the eminent historian, Chalmers Johnson, called "Blowback." That is what Rev. Wright, in his flowery language, tried to convey. Not because he hated America but because he loved America. He was was essentially saying that america cannot enjoy peace if it continues to trample on the rights of other. As they say in the streets: "No justice, No Peace!"

[AlejandroK]

Kudos to Obama for opening all this debate. It was needed. That said, his speech lacked honesty, the urgency of being right, because it was extracted, FORCED out of him once he was caught.

[eridees]

That is where you are wrong. It was enviable. There was no way on God's green earth that a man of color would be able to run a for president without addressing race. If it wasn't Rev. Wright, the bigots in hiding such as Sean Hannity would have made something up that would have made this speech necessary. And just for clarification, how was his speech not honest. Unless you know what is in his heart, how can you be the judge of his character. And please don't start with the "20 years in the pulpit" argument. Even if you refuse to admit it, you have friends, family members, and co-workers who may have said some things you may not have agreed with. So my question to you,did you end your relationship with them?

[CitizenE]

The world for the next President of the United States will time and again confront him or her with challenges often complicated by one's loyalties, blood, shortcomings. What I want, among other things, of someone who will lead me as a citizen of this nation, is not someone so perfect he or she anticipates every element of these inevitables that will rise up and bite him or her, sometimes after years gone by. All of us have had the experience of finding out that what we took for granted as being of lesser importance because in our tunnel vision we had already worked it for ourselves, profoundly disturbs other people often important. Of course, one hopes that prescience, like being able to see the dead end ditch Iraq was bound to be when I, a mere private citizen saw it, is one quality that concerns me. But far more important will be to adapt to crises whatever their source with grace, intelligence, and in a way that includes the American people. If we can't trust that our President on having a lapse of judgment will be able to confer with us in a way that makes the proverbial lemonade out of the bitter lemons and right the ship of state, well, then, what happens to democracy? I am put into mind of a comment our current Vice President Cheney gave in response to being questioned about how the American public thought that the war in Iraq had been a disaster, so to speak. "So?" he responded, while our current President metaphorically looked in the mirror, preened himself, and did a jaunty strut.

[RButler]

In his stupid arrogance Obama says he wants to have an open discussion about race except he frames it in a way that he has the last word about how it should go. His missteps like about his grandmother 'the typical white person' shows how he has his own issues but he's pretending to school us on the subject. No thanks. Not from you, Barack.

[RuralLib]

AlejandroK,
What the heck are you talking about? He was caught? It was forced out of him? Do you mean that somebody gave him a Heimlich and out popped profundity? Maybe I am too hard on you. Maybe you mean that you longed for such a speech, but you wanted it early in the campaign. Consider the possibility that the public was not ready until Barack Obama was better known. Even now, the speech is often described as "risky."

[MEPosey]

Isn't this amazing. Not one comment yet. The shoe is on the other foot and what persons have been blogging for the past several days is the honest to God truth. The only time people get excited is when a black man speaks his mind. He can say the same thing as white preachers but no one blinks when it comes from them. What is that smell? Could it be the malodor of HIPOCRACY?

[craigstone]

i'm a progressive and not a Krautheimer fan......but obama just made excuses for wright. This is not guilt by association but guild his own actions, condoning and excusing and perhaps disagreeing in silence while still providing huge monetary support to wright's church. This is why he cannot win the white house. Pat Robertson tried from his questionable church where he says "controversial" things and he failed miserably. History is repeating itself. Despite the continuous trashing by the media, hillary still polls better than obama against mccain. why does obama insist on taking the dems down with him? It's important that we unite the party if we want to win the whitehouse and we need to pick someone who can win.

[desmirl]

Hillary voted to authorize Bush's invasion of Iraq. Hillary voted to fund Bush's occupation of Iraq. Hillary voted for Kyl-Lieberman, a transparent okay for Bush to invade Iraq by declaring part of Iran's military a terrorist sponsor. HILLARY CLINTON IS A WARMONGER and her legislative record is pathetically inept. And you want people to VOTE for her?

[deeplogic]

The problem with Obama is again illustrated in the speech and Wright situation: he had a chance to do something positive, but didn't. Imagine if he had talked to Wright and managed to reduce the vitriol in his sermons- how good would that have been?. But he just listened passively. If he can't move people who are close to him, how is he going to "unite" the country? Obviously, he talks a good game but can't do anything. He is too passive, and too afraid. I don't see any leadership here. And that's the real story here- missed by all the fawning media and the guilty liberals.

[rrafiringa]

You might want to see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ&

[RButler]

You've got it exactly right. He thinks he can sit on high and pontificate but doesn't do the work to make things happen.

[DocSmith]

Incorrect sir. He is on the record on various media circles that when he heard controversial statements, he would talk to his pastor. This was the reason he did not allow him to prayer at the opening of his campaign because of Dr. Wright's controversial nature. He was not in church when the "spliced, spun" comments constructed by the media. I'm sure he did not have perfect attendance in church.

I think people who are intelligent and open, will look at the discernable facts about this. THIS WHOLE THING WAS POLITICAL. This is not about his faith or ideology. It was a pre-527 "swiftboat" tactic because some had already made up their mind that he was "too good to be true". So they dug and conspired. NOW, we know that what the media put forth was a COMPLETE distortion of the facts.

And let be truthful, if Obama was not as "cool under pressure" as he is and was more agressive, how would he be perceived? He is not George "We are winning in Iraq" Bush or Dick "So to our Pain" Cheney. He is his own individual and he is appealing to our better sense not to allow our minds be contorted by MSM agenda that makes its profit and ratings of the ignorance of middle America.

[hillarysupporter]

He's not walking the "talk". this should raise a red flag to voters.

[KOBISKING]

Last I saw, Obama is still beating Hillary in the Popular Vote, and Delegate Count. I'm sure you can always find a meaningless Poll to support your point-of-view. Personally, I'm glad we have someone like Obama running for our highest office. America needs change. We need a Politician who doesn't take the easy way out (like taking out family, friends and the little people) for personal gain. I'll take a man, like Obama, as my Commander & Chief anytime.

[NorVaGal]

Thanks, Michael, for sharing your experiences regarding the unfairness and hypocrisy of the differences in treatment of controversial statements by some white ministers and their supporters, in comparison to the treatment meted out to controversial black ministers and their supporters. Even now, I am hearing a growing chorus to the tune of: Oh, we're really tired of all of this. Let's just move on and not rehash what all of these other crackpot ministers have said. It's really not important, anyway. And yet, it was extremely important when being used as a cudgel to disparage and derail the candidacy of Barack Obama. Now that the spotlight is being turned onto the spiritual mentors of the other candidates, the roaches are scattering like mad!

I especially like your challenge to the purveyors of hypocrisy to to take the high road and repudiate their own demagogues. Will they be as courageous as Obama has been? Will America demand it? I think not.

To Craigstone: I am proud of Barack Obama for repudiating his pastor's words, but not the man himself. So often people criticize leaders for not having "loyalty" to their friends or allies, even when those allies have, at times, exhibited less than stellar behavior. Obama would have been damned if he did, and damned if he didn't.

Another Christian lesson is to hate the sin but not the sinner, because we are all sinners in one respect or another. We all hope for forgiveness when we fail to be the best that we are capable of being. Even GOD allows for "excuses", as long as we repent.

Unfortunately, Pat Robertson has been extremely successful in his ministry and has become a very wealthy man by preaching exactly the kinds of controversial opinions that you mention. I live in Norfolk, VA. Believe me, his church is alive and well and thriving with a large following.

As far as Obama taking the dems down with him, I believe that if his and Clinton's situations were reversed, and HE was the candidate who at this time had won fewer states, fewer pledged delegates, and fewer superdelegates, HE is the one who would have been drummed out of the race for the good of the party. He would have been roundly ridiculed for continuing a candidacy that has a slim to no chance of amassing the needed popular vote and delegate count, without the will of the people being overturned by a group of renegade superdelegates.

We will never be able to unite the party when loyalists of either candidate espouse cheating in order to win. To this day, many consider the presidency of GWB to be illegitimate for those very reasons. Gore won the popular vote and lost the electoral college due to the Supreme Court stopping the vote in Florida. We know how half of the country feels about that. What Clinton wants is for superdelegates to do the same for her, vote her in even if she loses the popular vote. She tries to equate the decision to deny a re-vote in Florida and Michigan with the debacle in Florida in 2000, but it won't wash because the state leaders CHOSE to flout the rules in Jan. 2008 and their voters went along with it. The Supreme Court gave Florida voters no choice in it's decision in 2000. And, if HRC succeeds, we will be just as morally corrupt as the republicans. And, Clinton will be just as scorned.

[Jenz0r]

I'm so glad you mentioned being proud of Senator Obama's choice to repudiate the words with which he disagrees, while remaining loyal to the man who is, as he says, "like family." I think it says a great deal about the integrity and honor of Barack Obama, and I was deeply moved by such a tremendously spiritual gesture.

[DemandTruth]

We might as well just give it up. The Republicans and the Regressive Religious Right will NEVER be held to the same standards as liberals and Democrats. Republicans can be as corrupt as they wanna be. They can be as hypocritical as they wanna be. They can be as amoral and criminal as they wanna be. They can be as powermad and warmongering and murderous and holier-than-thou and hateful and spiteful and vengeful as they wanna be. No problemo. No one is meant to notice or care.

But let ONE liberal or Democrat forget to cross a T or dot an I or wear their lapel pin, and the RRRs will shout it out to the world that those damned liberals are out to destroy America!

[ObserverinVancouver]

That is defeatist. Instead, people should be cataloguing the grossest sins of the religious right and disseminating them far and wide.

Billy Graham, the anti-semite. Caught red-handed in the Nixon tapes.

Bob Jones Univeristy with its virulent racism and anti-Catholicism - and all the politicians who spoke there anyway.

The Christian fundamentalists searching for the perfect red heifer who want Israel to occupy all of the Holy Land because that's the only way we can get Armageddon. And the ultra-Orthodox jews who are complicit in this.

It's a start. Quote some good stuff from the Bible at the same time. Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone. Judge not lest ye be judged.