Barack - The "A More Perfect Union" Speech

We knew this speech was coming. It's called "CYA"; Cover your ass (excuse my language). I read the entire speech on the Chicago Sun-Times site. As I have said before, Barack is a great speaker when he is given time to prepare a speech. I too can be a great speaker when I prepare and practice a speech. I had to do a 20 minute presentation of my senior project in college. Given that I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics, you can imagine that this was a bit of a challenge. I had to explain my project in detail. I explained how each part worked and the physics and math behind it. That's enough about me. Let's get back to the subject at hand. Barack, like many people, recognizes the issues between "black" and "white" people. While I am all for his message of uniting as a nation, this speech was simply lip service to that issue. Barack gave excuses for Rev. Jeremiah Wright's behavior. He stated that Rev. Wright grew up while there was still segregation. Barack also said of Rev. Wright "the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years [referencing the 50's and 60's]." Yes, the 1800's and first half or so of the 1900's were bad for African Americans. I acknowledge that. However, this does not excuse the behavior of Rev. Wright and thousands of other African American citizens.

So, let's analyze the speech a bit. At one point, Barack says, "I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy and in some cases pain . . . But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country." Then, Barack later says, "I can no more disown him [Rev. Wright] than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can disown my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed her by on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe." On one side, he's condemning Rev. Wright. On the other side and in an earlier quote, Barack is giving excuses for Rev. Wright's behavior and refuses to sever ties with Rev. Wright. Let me tell you something. If a Caucasian clergy started making racist, anti-gay, and/or anti-semitic remarks, I'd walk out of that church and never come back. I don't care if I had been going to that church for 2 years or 20 years. I'd be out of there and would not associate with that clergy ever again! Barack goes on to say, "Now some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing to do would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality." This speech was definitely well thought out. See how he takes the Rev. Wright issue and segues into the big picture of racism in America? First, Barack says that he is not justifying or excusing the inexcusable. However, he then says that, in essence, he hopes that this episode fades into the woodwork. Finally, he distracts you with the big picture of racism in America. He then goes on and on about racism and segregation. I am not saying that these are not valid issues. They are valid issues. Nevertheless, he's trying to draw the public's attention away from his family friend of over 20 years and focus it on racism in America. Alas, racism is something that really can't be fought on the federal level. It must be fought from the ground up.

The real bottom line is that Barack considers Rev. Wright family and is unwilling to cut ties with him. Furthermore, he does give "excuses" for Rev. Wright's behavior. Let me ask you a question. Regardless of your ethnicity or the color of your skin, would you still consider a clergy family if he/she made racist, anti-gay, anti-semitic, or other negative remarks? I can tell you that I would not. There are people who I considered close friends at one time that, in essence, betrayed me. I knew these people for over 10 years. Once betrayed, that's it. All ties were cut. Although this issue might still hurt Barack on the long run, I strongly feel that cutting ties with Rev. Wright would be the honorable thing to do.

Still, I regress to a statement that I made in an earlier post. Being that Barack and his family (allegedly) attended the church where Rev. Wright preached for over 20 years, they had to have been affected by his sermons. Also previously indicated, I feel that it is safe to say that many of Rev. Wright's sermons had the same tone of the excerpts that can now be found on youtube.com. Therefore, I feel that it is reasonable to conclude that Barack and his family share some of the same sentiments; even if only subconsciously. Has and will Barack and his family strive to rise above these sentiments? Quite possibly. However, I am still concerned that these sentiments could effect certain decisions that Barack would make as president. Thus, I hope that others take this concern into consideration.