“The thing that would really help him is if Reverend Wright came out and apologized,” said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative group that studies religious issues and public policy. One of Mr. Wright’s most criticized comments is his assertion that corrupt United States foreign policy brought about the Sept. 11 attacks; now he must retract that statement, said Mr. Cromartie, just as the Rev. Jerry Falwell apologized after he blamed the attacks in part on gay people and those who have performed abortions.
There may be similarity in what Falwell and other right-wing evangelists said about the relationship between 9/11 and our national sins, e.g., gay rights, abortion, i.e., God was punishing us, and Wright's controversial statements regarding the relationship between 9/11 and our national and international policies. However, I personally would argue that there is a difference. And, secondly, I would agree with some of the more controversial statements of Wright.
First, I would argue that the right-wing evangelists were attacking what I consider to be private morality of individuals while Wright was attacking national policies that were directed against people or nations, or, as serious, policies that purposefully avoided involvement with others in need.
One could say that I defend Wright's remarks (admittedly, taken out of context, they are very, very strong) since I have stated similar things, at least with some of those close to me (even though some of them would disagree with me).
The bottom line is that I too share anger at our political leaders who have not provided leadership in areas I consider paramount, e.g., health care and education. I cite my personal letter to the National Democratic Committee that was attached to a donation. In this letter, I expressed my anger with President Clinton who I criticized for being driven by polls rather than conviction about what would be good for our nation. I indicated that he had the capacity to bring our nation to places it never dreamed possible if he had used his innate skills and intelligence. My anger at Bush et al. regarding their policies that have ruined other nations, created more terrorists, wrecked our nation's moral standing in the world, destroyed our relationships with other nations, wrecked our nation's financial status, has been shared with many, to the point of irritating if not offending some.
I can understand why those who are black would be angry, just as I can understand why some of us whites are angry. It is hard not to believe that our biases against the Palestinians did not ultimately result in a disastrous situation made worse in the Middle East. It is hard not to believe that our support of Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war did not result ultimately in his thinking he could go into Kuwait. It is hard not to believe that our support of the Taliban in order to wreck the Russian economy did not result in the disaster that Afghanistan became. It is hard to believe that if we had provided more benign leadership that the extreme anger demonstrated by the radical Islamists may have been ameliorated. And surely, since 9/11, if we ever had made the commitment to use would our moral authority and the now estimated $3 trillion costs of our wars, to finance our needs as well as support the initiatives of other nations who would have benefited by our generosity, that we would possibly not be in such a horrendous situation that gets played our repeatedly in our news.
Those who now argue that such controversial statements of Wright have no place surely do not see the world as I do. While I admit that I wish that he was slightly more politically nuanced, I can understand that the rhetoric of a pastor can overreach to make a point. Surely, I made similar statements when I was in such a position. I was then angry at the Catholic Church for not doing more to promote unity. I was angry at white people who escaped urban areas to avoid the hassles of dealing with minorities (even though I subsequently was guilty of the same thing to ensure my children's well-being). I was angry at the narrowness of those who were considered religious authorities. In fact, this anger is still present, even if dissipated by virtue of my lack of involvement.
The long and short of it is that there are things that are worthy of anger (not to the point of violence).
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