Good men speak the truth

Wright is right

It's been a few days since the whole controversy surrounding Obama's pastor Dr. Jeremiah Wright blew up.

So far I've been treated to outraged condemnations of the man from the usual suspects but what I want to focus on is not the controversy but what the controversy tells us about this country.

At some point, certainly not very soon, we will have some dialogue about the Iraq War's beginnings.

There will be inevitable recounting of the lies told by Cheney, Powell, Rumsfeld, Bush and Rice in the lead up but that still won't touch on why we've ended up spending so much blood and treasure in a failing effort in that country.

We are in Iraq because the majority of the people in this country have the mentality of children with regard to the consequences of our actions.

To many people seem to think that we can say what we want and do what we want, even if that means trampling on others freedom and killing people and we shouldn't face any penalty for those actions.

We are in Iraq because of our own hubris. The same way we ended up in Vietnam.

Normally we don't get to see the seething rage that is the product of such callousness.

We are thousands of miles away from the people that we abuse and what we do see is carefully sanitized by our idiotic media so that populace doesn't get upset.

At home, whites have forced the silence of African-Americans through intimidation.

Jeremiah Wright blasted through that wall of fear and ignorance and is now paying for it by having his name and his works smeared.

African-Americans have been the victims of domestic terrorism through enslavement and discrimination for more than 400 years.

Of course there is anger within us at this country and at the people who have benefitted and continue to benefit from the racism in our society.

But we are not supposed to talk about it let alone shout and rage about our continued abuse.

We can't express the ambivalent feelings that we all have towards being black in America.

But Jeremiah Wright spoke up and that is a crime.

Well Dr. Wright I salute you. For continuing the great black tradition of daring to speak the truth in a time when no one wanted to hear it.

Here's to you Dr. Wright.

Don't let the fools bring you down.