In case you've been MIA like I have for the past few days, you may not have noticed that after hearing clips (taken out of context) of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons rebuking the less than honorable actions of America and of Barack Obama's speech on race last Tuesday, White folks are MAD! We all have seen those Girls Gone Wild commercials with the girls showing all their business, well white folks are lifting their shirts up all over the TV and they don't care who's watching. I've been reading articles and blog comments and I'm almost amazed at how brazen people are with their negative opinions of Black America. ...I said ALMOST amazed.It's funny to see how people who have an ingrained sense of entitlement react to being criticized or having their dirty deeds aired. Check out this blog entry by Pat Buchanan "A Brief for Whitey". He is so p.o.'ed about a negro having the audacity to suggest that white America is not the savior of blacks. Black folk better be thankful for being brought to this country as slaves, for being given food stamps and welfare, Section 8, Medicaid, and soup kitchens (I'm not making this up...read his blog). Rev. Wright needs to kiss the ground in thanksgiving of the wonderful privileges and advantages of being an American (bow and kiss the ground...isn't that worship Mr. Buchanan?). Wow.
The irony of all this is that at first they were implying that Barack is a Muslim. Now, they have quickly abandoned that theory and allowed him to be a Christian, but not just a good Christian like them...oh noooo. He's a bad black Christian. They have beef with Barack Obama for staying in his church for 20 years. They want to believe that Barack secretly agrees with everything his pastor said and that he has a burning hatred for this country. They don't care that they have to insult every black church in the nation in order to substantiate their point. Nope. They are white, they are right, and how dare anybody suggest otherwise?! God bless America!
Can I let you in on a little secret Pat? The Christ whom you claim to follow was not considered a friend of his nation. He didn't flow with the status quo. He stood out on controversial issues. He made incendiary and inflammatory statements about the government and it's leaders....yet, you have called yourself a follower of Christ for how long now? Forgive me, maybe your church doesn't read that part of the bible. I guess you're one of those Christians who only adhere to the parts of the bible that validates your agenda.
Not all white people agree with the ignorance of Pat Buchanan. There are many who repudiate that foolishness, just as not all black people embrace the brutal truth of Rev. Wright's messages. But I tell you one thing. Pandora's box has been opened and the conversation about race is now happening all around us.
The race conversation will not be televised. It will take place in homes, churches and on jobs. It will take place in boardrooms and courtrooms, in classrooms and on playgrounds. On the golf course and on the basketball court. Unfortunately, what we have to realize is that this dialogue won't be pleasant to the ears. A lot of feelings will be hurt (black & white) and a lot of toes will get stepped on. In order for a wound to properly heal, you must first get to the root of the problem. There may be bacteria and the stench of infection. There may initially be pus. It may be ugly, uncomfortable, or itch a lot. It's not a pretty process, but eventually after the worst part is over, the wound starts to heal and only memory will serve as a reminder of the pain.
The ugliness that we hear right now, however unpleasant, is absolutely necessary. In order for this conversation to progress and prosper, we have to allow people room to be imperfect, to misunderstand, and to misinterpret. We have to be big enough to forgive and humble enough to admit our own shortcomings. We have to take into account a person's life experiences and not dismiss them as less important than our own. We have to expose, and then we have to cover. But, most of all we have to listen and after we have heard and understood...we have to Change.
Yes We Can.
|