Posted by
reasonmclucus on Monday, May 05, 2008 2:20:21 AM
The editor of the
Hutchinson, Kansas, News says "Rev. Jeremiah Wright
needs to shut up"
Barack Obama's supporters in the media are piling on Rev. Wright for
having the audacity to speak his mind and possibly harm
their candidate's chances of being elected president.
Forgive my cynicism, but they are ignoring the fact that Obama made
Wright a public figure by using Wright's church to try to convince
black voters to vote for him. Politicians have
been using church membership to win votes for generations.
I can understand criticizing Wright for his statements about
government
being responsible for the HIV virus, but why do some like the
New York
Times criticize him for his statement that the 9/11 attack was
punishment for various American actions abroad which killed innocent
civilians. Religious leaders have been blaming calamities on "sin"
since biblical times.
I have read the
sermon in question and see nothing wrong with it. As a
social scientist I look at human actions in terms of direct cause and
effect actions.
I would explain 9/11 in terms of the reaction of al Qaeda to having
our troops stationed in their Holy Land and the failure of the FBI and
CIA to do their jobs and prevent the attack. The FBI had a man in
custody who wanted to learn how to fly planes but not how to land them,
but no one at the FBI could foresee the obvious possibility that
someone was planning to hijack a plane or planes and deliberately
crash them. To me the 9/11 attack occurred because of incompetence at
the FBI and CIA.
Preachers look at events from the view point of moral issues of right
and wrong. Positive consequences are rewards for doing right. Negative
consequences are the punishment for doing wrong. Like the
prophets of biblical times Rev. Wright looked at the wrongs he felt
America had done and suggested punishment was understandable.
Those who condemn Rev. Wright for his statement about 9/11 reveal
themselves as anti religious bigots. They are the ones who should shut
up.