Reverand Wright Wants Obama to Lose?

While it might be highly presumptive of me, I think that Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's spiritual adviser, might actually be happy if Barack Obama loses his bid for the Presidency. After all, this is a man whose hate-filled tantrums from the pulpit are all about division and not the unity of race in America. Think about it. If Barack Obama is elected President in this predominately White country, Rev. Wright would be proven wrong on a number of counts. His belief system of Whites attacking and using Blacks would be torn into shreds. What, then, could he preach about after that?

For some civil rights leaders, keeping the thought alive that there is still a "massive" racial divide in this county is a form of job security. They would rather ignore the fact the Black middle class in America is one of the fastest growing economic classes in this country. They ignore the accomplishments of people like Condi Rice and Colin Powell. This is primarily because they are aligned so closely with the Democratic Party. They would prefer to refer to them as "Uncle Toms" and "Black servants" of those White masters, the Republicans. They seem to be blind to how prevalent mixed marriages have become in America; a significant "sign" that we are well into the societal acceptance of Blacks in America as true equals. Finally, Wright seems to blame this White-run government for the AIDS epidemic in Africa and among Blacks in this country while completely ignoring the billions of dollars that this current government has contributed to combating the AIDS virus in Africa. He also seems to ignore the history of AIDS in this country and how it actually infected the American homosexual community, first.

This is not to say that there aren't any racial problems that still exist in America. But, everyday, the races are increasingly coming together. Racial unity is a function of time and togetherness. When segregation was abolished by the enactment of civil rights legislation in America, the healing clock started. And, as had been said quite often: "time heals all wounds!" People, like Wright, would prefer to dwell on and promote the evils of the past as a means of keeping the distrust and anger and racial separation alive. That's why his Church is called a "Black Separatist" and "Afro-centrist" type of Church. His is not the message Martin Luther King. His is hardly the message that was contained in the most monumental speech on Race in America. That speech was Martin Luther King's speech of "I have a Dream!" It is important for us all to remember the following words from that speech:

"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

In that speech, Dr. King recognized that "freedom" was the first step. He, then, said it would "speed up that day when all God's children -- black me and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics -- will be able to join hands..." Dr. King recognized the concept of "time" when he said the words "speed up". He did not say that racial equality and unity would happen the very day civil rights were given in this country. There is no message of hate in those words. It is a message of coming together. It is a message of hope. And, for sure, it is a message of going forward and not looking backwards. It is a message that Reverend Wright and others in the Black leadership seem to -- and, maybe, want to -- forget.

As a closing note: Some liberal broadcasters had said that Barack Obama's speech on race was the most significant speech on race since Abraham Lincoln. In saying that, they completely ignored the words, actions, and contributions of Martin Luther King. Instead, they took Obama's speech, which was really intended to be a "political patch-up job" and a weak justification for the hateful rants of his spiritual adviser, Jeremiah Wright, and tried to make it into some Messianic message of racial healing in America. To that, I can only say: "How sad!"