After watching Barack answer the charges of hate against his pastor, sadness came over me. Barack was forced to say he was never in church when Wright was giving sermons that might have been peppered with the kind of comments being played on TV. I’m sure that republicans, The Clintons and the media are digging to see if Barack was indeed at such a sermon. To show how ridiculous this thing was at one point Anderson showed Barack one of the statements he was condemning it went something like, paraphrasing” “Hillary has never had a cab whiz by her because the color of her skin was wrong, Hillary has no idea what it is like to be a black man and live in a country controlled by rich white people,” after showing the statement Anderson repeated this is one of the statements you are condemning, even Anderson knew it was ridiculous, because the statement is true.
I then watched as Anderson and David Gergen and Roland Martin went on to talk about how it is possible that Wright could be a patriot and could possibly love this country more than many people but feel that America has not lived up to what it could be, how we needed to dialogue about the issues behind the statements and see the entire ceremony before casting judgment. Imagine after backing Barack into a corner and after he had committed himself to a particular position the media was offering up another explanation for the same words that was before being characterized as evil and hateful. Making him denounce a man he obviously loves a great deal and who has had nothing but positive influence in his own personal growth. Great.
I could not help but think of the irony and how we have to thank George Bush. I have been living in this country for almost thirty years. I have always had an interest in politics, I love the game. Move and counter move. I have to admit that sometimes I get frustrated when I think someone should have made a particular point and it was lost by the distraction of media or moment. But the fact that we are in this moment just seems to be miraculous to me. Four years ago most people had never heard the name Barack Obama. Some saw him speak at the Democratic Convention but many did not. Most of the country was tuned out at that time. We have been in the spell of hatred and fear forced to accept an unjust war, and incompetent president and the crashing economy. All these things due to the worst president ever George Walker Bush Jr., and I just want to take this moment to say thank you George Bush.
I thank George Bush because without him I don't know if a Barack Obama candidacy would have been as successful. If Bush had not been such a complete disaster I don't know if the country would have been ready to embrace Obama. So, in trying to find something positive about the Bush administration, I chose to focus on this. When I focus on this I can not think of the soldier who is dying for no real reason. The mother who is on the brink of losing her job because her mega-corporation is forcing her to work ten hour days, knowing she is a single mother. The drug infestation in our inner city communities. I don't have to think about the teacher who is showing her belly ring to her students instead of taking great care of the precious minds that look to her for guidance. I don't have to think about reality.
I can hardly believe that Barack Obama is on his way to becoming the democratic nomination for president. A real chance to make change in America. I am so pleased with the outcomes in the past election that I have made a pledge that if Barack become the President, I will finally become an American. I have been living in this country for over 30 years. I was seven years old and it was the late seventies. Even though we could hardly watch television I developed a keen interest in civics and politics and what that represented to me. Living in the Bronx, New York, I saw and heard many things. I saw my middle income neighborhood transformed and become an extension of the ghetto simply because blacks moved in and whites decided to flee to the outer sections of the city such as Long Island and Westchester. I saw the schools that were excellent when I attended because they were still predominantly white deteriorate and become victims of under funding and uncommitted teachers because now there were many blacks. By the time I went to High School the transformation was complete. Schools that were once considered excellent were now considered the worst.
After watching Barack answer the charges of hate against his pastor, sadness came over me. Barack was forced to say he was never in church when Wright was giving sermons that might have been peppered with the kind of comments being played on TV. I’m sure that republicans, The Clintons and the media are digging to see if Barack was indeed at such a sermon. To show how ridiculous this thing was at one point Anderson showed Barack one of the statements he was condemning it went something like, paraphrasing” “Hillary has never had a cab whiz by her because the color of her skin was wrong, Hillary has no idea what it is like to be a black man and live in a country controlled by rich white people,” after showing the statement Anderson repeated this is one of the statements you are condemning, even Anderson knew it was ridiculous, because the statement is true.
