[Vision2020] Barack Obama's Unity Speech Today in Philadelphia

[Garrett Clevenger]

The words I've heard Wright say (and I'm not saying
I've heard all of what may be bothering people) give
me chills, as they seem true.  He may be saying it
angerily, and perhaps that threatens white people, but
it really isn't much different from what Ron Paul
calls "blow-back."  

We shouldn't be surprised that black leaders see this
and will use their pulpit to express their views.  I
don't blame them for being angry at white people.  I'm
not surprised that white people don't want to be
confronted with this and will use this to attack a
messenger.  Afterall, that's a tactic some people on
v2020 use, too.

People who aren't aware of the dasterdly deeds of the
US (ie giving Saddam Hussein money and weapons to kill
Iranians and Kurds, over-throwing the Iranian
governement, the Iran-Contra scandal, over-throwing
democratically elected governments in Central and
South America, funding Osama bin Laden, among others)
may think the US government is a shining light, but
the fact is, those in power in our country have
innocent blood on their hands, and they are way more
responsible for the resentment people feel towards the
US than any gay person could ever be.

911 did not happen in a vaccuum.  It is way past time
for people to recognize there is a bloody history that
the US has been responsible for.  Vengeance will
continue until we understand our policies have killed
many, many people.

You add this on top of the genocide of Native
Americans and dependence on slavery (overseas cheap
labor is not much different from slavery.  Slave
owners had to pay for food and boarding for their
slaves and in some sense had more at stake in insuring
that their slaves were healthy as opposed to
corporations nowadays who can find cheap labor to
exploit anywhere if their current work-force doesn't
work out) and it is no surpise that those aware see
the hypocrisy from leaders who spout Christian
viewpoints and allegiance to liberty.  If I were black
or brown, I would be pretty pissed at white people and
would do what I could to speak truth to power.

Most people are racist, mostly based on ignorance, and
that leads to distrust and divisiveness.  Obama has to
walk a fine line, and his speech seemed to try to
bridge the gap between our racist society and those
who do not want to be exploited by racism.

At least he ain't like McCain who at one point
understood the threat "agents of intolerance" pose (ie
Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell) and now panders to
similar men (John Hagee) who endorse him (Bill Moyer's
Journal highlighted this
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2008/03/are_candidates_responsible_for.html)

The bottom line: humans of all stripes can be
intolerant.  Is their intolerance based on ignorance
or power, or past abuse?  The key is forgiveness, and
it seems to me those intolerant based on past abuse
are more likely to be reasonable, and able to forgive
if given an opportunity, than those intolerant based
on power, thus Obama is more justified in his
association with Wright than McCain is in his
association with Hagee.  Thus, Obama is way more
capable of being the leader of the free world than
McCain is.