| By Nick - Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:51 pm EDT |
Tags: anti-american, anti-american sentiment, former pastor, hillary, Hillary Clinton, Jeremiah Wright, obama, obama\\\'s pastor, pastor, sentiment, wright
Anti-American Sentiments
The phrase "anti-American sentiments" is and has been ubiquitous in the mainstream media ever since clips of Barack Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright have surfaced and been circulated on cable news and the internet. His statements have been branded as anti-American. It seems to me that the phrase is very loaded and complex, but not entirely clear. It deserves dissection and reflection.
What does it mean exactly? Is it an objective or a subjective idea? America is not only a place, but a conceptual being, ever-changing and dynamic. It represents many ideas and people. It would be nice if the media discussed its meaning, but that may be too much to ask of them. Think about what it means to you. For the purposes of this article, it means simply what the words say (and the negative connotations inherent in them): opposed or against America.
Is that what the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is? Opposed to America? Why doesn't he get the hell out of here then? Maybe, he is not actually "anti-American." Who can be sure? However, he is certainly critical of the American government's actions and has made it known in a very inflammatory way that has made it very easy to make the leap to the label anti-American. In spite of this swift mental transition, if one considers the greatness of our constitution, they will remember that it is the right to denounce and disagree with the actions carried out by our government that helps form the foundation of our democracy. If we could not or did not, then we would probably have a monarchy. Yet, thankfully we get to recognize, speak about, and attempt to fix past mistakes and injustices.
Despite the fact Wright has the right to voice criticisms of former and present U.S. actions--no matter how rabble-rousing they may seem--we should also discuss the huge response that he has elicited. It seems that people are afraid of him and feel a strong responsibility to denounce his words. What is behind this fear?
Could it be that people fear a revolution in America's African-American community? Are people afraid that Wright, an influential pastor in the United Church of Christ, is spewing anti-American sermons to countless congregations, inciting impassioned rhetoric that eventually will rally the masses of African-American parishioners to fight against America?
Could it be? Does he have such power? Is he dangerous? The media, the GOP, and Hillary all have an interest in having you (or in Hillary's case, the superdelegates) consider the idea (tune in!), but this notion is completely ridiculous. All the same, he is anti-American so he is opposed to America.
However, fearing Wright is irrational. Alas, it is very easy and many people disturbed, angry, afraid, or outraged.
Be that as it may, we should not fear Wright, because, first of all, he is extreme and paranoid, stating that the U.S. government had a plan to spread HIV among African-Americans. Most people in America find this absurd and therefore he will discredit himself. Second of all, U.S. foreign policy should be criticized. If it weren't we'd be lacking a major characteristic of a free and open society and we wouldn't have constructive discussions about the decisions we make abroad (discussions that are sorely needed).
People might say that I am giving the incendiary pastor a free pass. Maybe I am. But in all fairness, we are paying increasingly more attention to what a Christian pastor is saying about America than what our lame duck president does with the remainder of his time in office, or perhaps more importantly, what our megalomaniacal vice president is doing.
Therefore, yes, I am saying that what Wright has said is not a relatively huge deal. We are still in Iraq and Afghanistan, still not getting anywhere with Iran, still in a recession, and we are in the midst of electing our next president. The words of one ex-Marine former pastor are not in the forefront of my mind.
Notwithstanding, if we are going to be preoccupied with Wright's angry oratory, then we may want to try to figure out why someone, who believed in America so much that they gave up their college deferment to serve in the marines and subsequently on Lyndon Johnson's medical team, has altered his beliefs and is now so passionately resentful of his country.
!
Comments are closed for this post.
The dude's a hypocrite, a charlatan, a liar, a fraud. He's not just "An American who loves his country but is critical of it".
That said, I agree, he's an unimportant issue that we're spending way too much time on.
By the way, you lump Iraq and Afghanistan together at the end there... Iraq aside, is there any good reason we shouldn't be in Afghanistan?
Maybe his sour feelings are just to propel himself among his followers. Maybe the reasoning behind his resentment has merit. I don't know, but investigating his reasons seems to be a better response to his rants than simply labeling him anti-American and racist.
As for Afghanistan, I think it's a fight that we need to be involved in. If we don't go after the people who killed 3,000 innocent Americans, we would not only be vulnerable to more attacks, but we'd also neglect the responsibility of bringing murderers of American citizens to justice. I admit, I'm a bit of an anti-war peace-lover and might endorse a peace at all costs route, but I feel strongly that pacifism would be wrong in this case.
When I mentioned Afghanistan at the end, I just wanted to make the point that there are issues that are actually important as opposed to the Wright issue.
By the way, I'm a fan of your username.