John Wayne for President

My friend Thad put up a post on his blog about Obama and asked for my response. Here it is. I'm not sure that it will sit well with everyone who visits me or those who are not realists and choose to believe that race is no longer an issue. Also, it's quite different than my usual homey observations and I admit I had to dust out some cobwebs.

Let me begin by saying that Barak Obama is one heck of an orator and debater, alleged plagiarizing aside. Apparently, so is his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Here's a full quote from his speech, parts of which you may have already heard: "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America'? No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

I have no argument that God will damn a nation for killing and not loving your neighbor and pride and intolerance, etc., etc., etc. Look at Sodom and Gomorrah and the entire kingdom of Israel. However, I believe that this kind of language is inciteful and doesn't belong in a church for a number of reasons.

First, it's really political. Politics and religion don't mix. Look it up in any one of the documents written by our founding fathers. This is something that my own church found out the hard way while in its youth. You're left to ask, what does the church endorse? That means God endorses it, too, right? Well, that statement tells me that members of that church believe that America is evil, she doesn't deserve my respect or support and that the government is purposefully peddling drugs to minorities just to lock them up in prison. If that's what Rev. Wright believes, I don't have a problem with it. It becomes a problem when he uses a religious forum to tell this to people of faith...people who believe what he says and hear it as doctrine whether it's opinion or not.

Second, a statement like that is also a call to action...the wrong action. Rev. Wright was part of the Civil Rights movement. He obviously wants change, heck so do I. But I'm not going to pit white against black to get it. That statement is so full of animosity. The Lord would teach to love your neighbor and respect the laws of the land. America is "damned" because of it's people...white, black and otherwise...who twist the laws out of greed and self-satisfaction. The Lord would teach us to respect America (give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's) while peacefully, albeit firmly, pushing for more moral leaders.

So, that said, let me ask you this. If this is what is preached from the pulpit on a regular basis (and I say if, because I don't know), is it possible for Obama to make it through 20+ years as a member and not have this same view of the world? Probably not. A lot of people are comparing this to the scandals in the Catholic church...Does a parishioner leave his faith because of something one person, a leader, does? I think that's a stupid thing to do. You don't become inactive in your faith because of imperfect people. You discipline them and move on. But we're comparing apples to oranges. Child abuse was never preached from the pulpit during Mass. Therefore, it is not interpreted as a tenet of Catholicism. Because Rev. Wright unleashed opinion during a church service, his opinion is now viewed by the world as a standard of belief for that church. If Obama truly cared for his pastor and his church, as he claims to, but not for his pastor's rhetoric, Obama should have spoken privately with Rev. Wright long, long ago and urged him to stick to doctrine or step down.

Ultimately, I agree with Thad. Still, it may surprise somr of you to know this doesn't really bother me as much as it does others...only because I feel like there's more to this than what I'm hearing. Once I research it out, it may hit the fan. Who knows. But the main reason I say Nobama for President is that he is inexperienced and naive. Sometimes I think he's looking through rose-colored glasses. He states the problem, talks a lot about the ideal, but doesn't really talk about the in between stuff. Mostly, I get "If I'm president everyone will get along and be rich and prosperous and there will be no more war and we won't even need a military." Puh-lease. Not happening until Armageddon and the earth has been destroyed by fire (for which we will need a military, oh president-hopeful).

Here's the ultimate dilemma...vote for Hillary, the most unfeminine feminist ever; vote for Obama who doesn't know what he's doing unless someone else has already thought of it; or vote for McCain who is basically a Bush-type, of whom I grow weary. My dream president is really John Wayne (another blog entry entirely), but since that's not possible, I'll just have to find a way to make due with what's already there. Pretty much nothing.