I Cannot Associate Myself With Obama

The talk of the town, if you watch the news, though not exclusively devoted to the 2008 presidential race; does center on Barack Obama and the speech he gave today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I watched the speech hoping to be swayed in favor of Sen. Obama; I was sorely disappointed. There is in my opinion, no way for Sen. Obama to redeem himself in association with Rev. Wright. Not only has the senator refused to disassociate himself with his former pastor, he has also admitted to what he denied only last Friday; that he (Obama) has in fact been in church and heard firsthand the mean minded and highly prejudicial convictions espoused by Rev. Wright. “Yes,” Obama said today, “I have sat in church and listened to his (Rev. Wright’s) controversial remarks… He has a profoundly distorted view of America.” I am appalled at the news sound bites that I have heard, both from Rev. Wright and Sen. Obama both of whom have a significant and devoted audience. I understand that the Rev. has a right to free speech, but it makes me furious that he has attacked the United States of America. Flawed as we are; I believe this country to be occupied by good, hard working and determined people who will never stand idly by and watch as people like Rev. Wright try to rip this nation apart by causing a hateful racial war. White as I am, I refuse to deny the history of this country of mine and I just as vehemently refuse to disassociate myself with the progress we have made in addressing the consequences of all prejudicial and mean hearted convictions. It is my firm conviction that I am not alone when I say that the color of someone’s skin or their ethnicity makes no difference. We are all of us responsible for the moral development of future generations and I believe we are up to the task of instilling high standards of acceptance and forgiveness in the hearts and minds of this nation’s young.

That said, I also believe there were valid and important points made in Sen. Obama’s speech. He addressed the challenges poor white people face on a daily basis and many other things that crossed racial boundaries. He referenced blood relatives on three continents and his black father and white mother. Sadly for me, he was unable to say a thing that justified his association of twenty years with a man who said the kinds of things that Rev. Wright did.

I am trying to keep an open mind about all the candidates in both major parties. It is… difficult.

There is always hope.