Reflections on Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright's controversial remarks

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright is an interesting character. I actually saw him speak earlier this year at a memorial service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. where he brought attention to the fact that- out of all the King memorial services he had ever been invited to- he had never heard anyone bring attention to King's April 4, 1967 speech criticizing the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. I spoke to him after his presentation and he gave me his business card (which I still have in my wallet).

Known for his stance of being “unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian,” Pastor Wright has grown in popularity recently due to his reputation for outspokenness against the U.S. government and his relationship with his most popular church member, presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Dr. Wright has recently been in the news regarding some quotes taken from a sermon he gave over 5 years ago from his pulpit at Trinity United Church of Christ located on the southside of Chicago, Illinois. When I first heard excerpts of Dr. Wright's sermon, I thought he had gone off of the deep end. I wasn't surprised to also hear that Senator Obama had publicly distanced himself from Wright and denounced his remarks as "divisive."

But after some reflection and investigation, I’ve come to believe that despite some abrasive phrasing, Dr. Wright was accurate in his sharp criticism of America’s oppressive policies and actions on both domestic and foreign soil. My only issue with Dr. Wright’s sermon has to do with his occasionally coarse and offensive phrasing of ideas (unlike Dr. Martin Luther King’s more diplomatic yet equally sharp critique of the U.S. in his anti-war sermon from April 4, 1967). But I don't think we should stop at the point of offense. We need to listen closely to hear the concern behind the commentary. In the sermon excerpts that the media has been quoting lately, Dr. Wright is “spot on” when he refers to the U.S. government’s treatment of young black males:

“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…We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.”

In all fairness, behind what many have deemed as unpatriotic, divisive, inflammatory and insensitive rhetoric, Dr. Wright is telling the truth about America's history. Yes, the idea that we sing “God Bless America” as if God would bless America above all others is arrogant and narcissistic. Yes, the Bible mentions plenty of instances where The God of Israel orders the slaughter of innocent people and our government has also commissioned the killing of innocent people. Yes, throughout history the U.S. government acts as if it has been divinely ordained to conquer and control other cultures, peoples and the resources of the earth. Yes, it is highly likely that recent attacks on the U.S. are merely responses to our often violent and suppressive foreign policies and actions. I think Dr. Wright is right to critique those things and I wholeheartedly agree with him on these matters.

Now, I definitely think Dr. Wright could have presented his ideas in a less abrasive way- without all the “God damns” and “God damn Americas” when he might have been more accurate to specify what he meant by "America"and whether or not he was referring to our country's ideals, the people, or the American government and the decisions of its legislative and executive branches. I also don’t think it helped matters much for him to allude to Malcolm X’s infamous “chickens coming home to roost” quote- which was originally given in response to the news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination- itself a phrase that carries within it the heavy baggage of racial tension, a negative view of Islam, and smacks of unpatriotism during a time of intense anxiety and hostility in regards to race relations. But. in reality- and as Wright alludes to in his sermon- he was quoting Edward L. Peck, who had allegedly spoken out about America's foreign policies in an interview the night before Wright's sermon.

While I think Dr. Wright could have maintained effectiveness by rephrasing his ideas, and went too far with his "God damn America" line, I sometimes think we miss the point and get offended by the way someone presents their words and ideas without really hearing the hurt, rage or concern behind them. I think it would be an injustice to ignore the validity of Dr. Wright’s words due to our being offended by his presentation because I believe he has brought to light some serious truths that our country needs to confront. In a way, I am glad the media keeps replaying the quotes from his sermon because I hope that more people can hear the hurt and concern behind what many have deemed as being unpatriotic, divisive and inflammatory rhetoric and investigate the matter for themselves. Since Wright's remarks became public, many skeptical of media slants have scoured YouTube and internet search engines searching for audio clips and transcripts of Wright's sermon so that they can hear it in context for themselves.

Dr. Wright is retiring soon, but in the future, we may find ourselves remembering him as one of those prophets who never fully understood or appreciated during their lifetime. We'll see.

I'd rather be a good neighbor

Why are so many of us obsessed with the idea that we need to engage in constant combat with someone or something outside of ourselves? Why do so many of us only find ourselves uniting with others when we share a common enemy? Don’t we realize that this “warrior approach” only demonizes others and makes enemies out of those we are called to love and build relationships with? Have we not noticed our tendency to succumb to the tribal instincts within us that tempt us to classify unique and complex individuals into simplistic categories of “us” and “them”, enemy and ally?

Over the years I have heard many “church folk” talk excitedly about being either a prayer warrior, a soldier in the army of the Lord, or bearing the armor of God in battle with the spiritual forces of darkness. I realize that this is metaphorical language that uses military terms to communicate spiritual ideas. But I think many believers have literalized these terms and have adopted a tribal view of the world where those who are different from them are seen as enemies that need to be conquered, colonized, condemned or converted.

Over the last few weeks I finally realized two important things about myself. First off, I’m not at all interested in being a warrior. I would rather devote my energies towards being a good neighbor. I would rather live my life as someone who is humble before mystery, helpful towards others and honest with myself.

I think that is what the needs of the world call for. I don’t think anything fruitful can come from bloody battles in the name of terror and territory. If anything, I think the most important battles that we need to engage in are those psychological ones taking place in our own minds between the selfless and selfish aspects of our thoughts and actions.

Don’t get me wrong. I have seen enough to convince me that evil "walks the earth" as a real and destructive force in the world, but I don't consider it to be a cosmic being nor do I think we can vanquish it by destroying it or those who commit acts of cruelty towards others. I see evil as a manifestation of the dark sides of our own personalities and an energy that needs to be redirected into something constructive.

When I look at how modern nations seek to deal with the threat of terrorism, I notice that we spend too much energy dealing with the symptoms and not enough energy dealing with the root causes of what makes a terrorist. If they are hungry, they need bowls not bombs. If they are resentful and hurt, the last thing they need is for us to kill them or their loved ones and give them yet another justified reason to hate us. We are foolish to think that we can eliminate the threat of terrorism by becoming terrorists ourselves.

I am amazed by the fact that in our interconnected world community there are those of us who continue to believe that killing and torturing other people will make us more secure. I don’t think warriors have what it takes to vanquish terrorism. Weapons of force and intimidation are ultimately powerless when it comes to changing the human heart. Instead, I believe that our hearts of stone will only be softened by acts of compassion, empathy, hospitality, mercy and forgiveness. These are the “weapons” of the neighbor- the only weapons that can bring healing.

The second thing I realized about myself that I am more interested in having conversations than forcing conversions. The conversations I enjoy are not those that seek to manipulate and defeat others, but those which serve as opportunities to learn about others. Mind you, I think conversion (a change of mind and heart) is very often a good thing. But the decision to convert should be an individual’s free choice, not the result of manipulation or compulsion. We can’t change or control people’s minds or behaviors. We can only be ourselves and hope that in doing so we can influence others in constructive ways.

I think, in most cases, warriors and neighbors both seek to make the world a better place. But I don’t think that any good will come from efforts to dehumanize or destroy those who see life from a different perspective than we do. I guess it boils down to at least two very different ways of interacting with those we consider strangers. If we are focused on being neighbors then we will likely view strangers as new people to meet and experience. On the other hand, if we are focused on being warriors then it seems we will fear strangers as see them as threats that need to be eliminated.

I don’t believe any of us have the right to condemn or destroy anyone else. This is my conviction even though the Bible contains many different and sometimes conflicting images of God which would seem to say otherwise. But when I read the Gospel stories I find Jesus encouraging his listeners to love God and be merciful neighbors, not merciless warriors. Jesus sent his disciples (students) out into the world as vulnerable sheep amongst vicious wolves, arming themselves only with love, and commanding them to be as "wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove" (Matthew 10:16).