Posted on 05/02/2008 8:20:05 PM PDT by kathsua
I disagree with Rev. Jeremiah Wright on many things, but as an American I believe that he has the right to believe whatever he wants to believe and express those beliefs.
My father believed the rights of freedom of belief and freedom of expression were important enough to risk his life in Europe in World War II. I believe those rights were important enough to risk my life in Vietnam.
I disagree with Rev. Wright that the U.S. government is responsible for the HIV virus, but as an historian I know that some of our ancestors gave small pox infected blankets to the Indians.
America has a long tradition of belief in conspiracies. Many believe there was some type of government involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the fall of the World Trade Towers. I disagree with those theories but see nothing wrong with people wanting to have such beliefs.
Wright's statements about 9/11 being punishment are consistent with a long religious tradition dating from biblical times. Religious leaders have often explained calamities as punishment for sins. I disagreed with Rev. Martin Luther King's statements about the Vietnam War, but I recognized that he had a duty to speak out against what he believed to be wrong.
One of the functions of religious leaders is to condemn what they believe people or nations are doing wrong. If we want to truly guarantee religious freedom, we must allow them to continue to do so even if we disagree with them.
If anyone is to blame in the controversy, it is Senator Barack Obama not Rev. Jeremiah Wright. No one held a gun to Obama's head and forced him to attend Rev. Wright's church for 20 years. If Obama had serious disagreements with Rev. Wright, Obama should have left the church instead of belatedly condemning Rev. Wright for holding various beliefs.
Obama's behaviior is scary in someone who wants to be president. Presidents can become intoxicated with the powers of the presidency. A candidate who makes a practice of condemning those he disagrees with as a candidate might attempt to punish those who disagree with him if he's elected.
Rev. Wright's statements about HIV might not make sense to most of us, but many of those who are condemning him believe ideas that make even less sense.
For example, many of them believe that carbon dioxide which is less than 0.04% of the atmosphere has some type of magical power to control the temperature of the atmosphere. They believe this even though the process they talk about is inconsistent with the laws of physics and with scientific experiments. They claim the earth is getting significantly warmer, even though they admit that the average temperature they use changed by only 1F during the entire 20th Century and such change represents only a 0.17% increase in temperature. Such a small change could indicate nothing more than differences in equipment or differences in the characteristics of the sites containing the equipment.
>Ward Churchill stood up for his beliefs.
>Al Gore stands up for his beliefs.
>Jimmy Carter stands up for his beliefs.
A Vice President and a President; this is a sad list. Let’s hope we make a better decision this November.
If he were a patriot 40 years ago, he'd be a patriot today.
I'm frequently amazed by people who think freedom of speech also means freedom from consequences.
You can't criticize Rev. Wright, he has a right to say whatever he wants.
Not necessarily. Benedict Arnold, along with many others, went from patriot to traitor.
I believe the analogy fits America perfectly. And if it ceases to fit, it will be because America ceased to exist.
I agree. Freedom of speech benefits the audience in more than one way — an informed opinion is nigh impossible if you don’t know the speaker’s position. Wright is doing us a favor.
Wright also helps clarify BHO’s “personal judgement”. If we are to believe BHO when one of the reasons that he would sit down and talk with the Iranians involves his ability to accurately judge the character/intent/whatever of Ahmedinajad — it helps us to see how utterly clueless Obama was about the character of Wright. After 20 years of an association with a person, you would think you would know them better (unless OBH is lying when claiming ignorance of Wrights previous crazy statements & sermons).
Bottom line — Obama either completely misjudged Wright’s character after two decades of association with him -or- he’s lying about it. Either way, how can he be trusted to judge the character of those who are openly hostile to the USA?
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