OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT 2008

[spockster202]

I found this to be a balanced outlook on the whole Wright / Obama "controversy". Interestingly, written by a Catholic Priest.

No need for us to choose between Obama, Wright

May 4, 2008
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BY THE REV. MICHAEL L. PFLEGER

This has been a sad week for me. I have watched two friends whom I respect, admire and have a deep love for torn apart by pundits and editorialists, talking heads and political strategists!

It has been sad because both men, Sen. Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, love America, are passionate about its future and desire at their very core the best for this country and for each and every one of its citizens. I must also say that I find it quite hypocritical that conservative preachers and commentators who have identified themselves as the protectors and respecters of life are consistently silent on the issues of gun violence, poverty, lack of health care, poor education and the effects of racism and classism that are continually killing life in our inner cities. Yet when other voices identify these issues, they're called angry and unpatriotic.

There has been a strong desire and demand to make people take a side, draw a line in the sand and make a choice between Wright and Obama. I personally believe this is evil and unfair.

First of all, I don't understand why Obama and Wright are suddenly being held accountable and responsible for whatever the other says. This is not being done in either of the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain. So the question must be asked: What's the hidden strategy as to why this is being done to Obama and Wright?

Second, why are they seemingly being forced to not only be held accountable for each other, but to speak for and sound like each other? They are different persons, different personalities and have different purposes.

Finally, I understand, appreciate and believe we need both!

Obama has spent the past two years and years earlier in his political life presenting America a vision of hope. Hope as to who we can be, how we can be inclusive and different, how we can do politics differently, and how we can build a new and better America. This vision of hope has set a fire of enthusiasm, excitement and involvement across this country.

Wright, as a gifted preacher in the prophetic tradition, has spent his ministry identifying the sins, problems and stumbling blocks of racism, sexism, classism, poverty, inequality and the downright lies that must be acknowledged and eradicated if we are to build a new and better America. He has given hope to masses of people who have come to feel invisible in America.

We need a voice of hope that points us to a vision, and we need a prophetic voice that makes us uncomfortable and forces us to acknowledge our sins. Obama and Wright are, I believe, seeking the same thing, what the scriptures may call "a new heaven and a new Earth." Why are we trying to force them to drive down the same street in order to get there rather than being more preoccupied with arriving to the place of new beginnings and grateful to all the different voices that take us there? The true audacity of hope comes when it seems everything looks hopeless. Both Obama and Wright are calling us to hope -- but from their different vantage points.

I challenge us all not to get caught up in the trick to choose one or the other. Rather, let us be committed to the new day and the new beginning for America. And let us be appreciative and thankful for all the different and necessary voices who call us to get there! The truth is, we need Obama, and we need Wright, and if we are serious about wanting a new America, we cannot afford to throw either one of them under the bus!

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest, is pastor of the Faith Community of St. Sabina in Chicago.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/931164,CST-EDT-open04.article