Wright or Wrong

Anatoly Kirichenko
Wright or Wrong

When Reverend Jeremiah Wright decided to support Senator Barack Obama as the candidate for the Democratic Party, no one really noticed. As soon as video was released demonstrating the views of Reverend Wright, it was major news. Today, anyone can visit Youtube.com and quickly find the controversial words and speeches given by the reverend. Many of his views are heretical, and they are considered completely wrong and irresponsible by many Americans. The issue of whether or not he is right in expressing such views, or whether or not Senator Obama agrees with him, is not as important as other issues that underlie this subject. More significant is the fact that this situation has sparked an enormous deal of controversy and questioning into the very heart of the African American culture. Another important subject is the media interpretation of this event. The media chose to cover this scandal and give it so much attention. If it were not for this, most Americans would probably not consider this issue to be very significant.

After this Reverend Wright gave sermons in which he denounced the U.S. government, mocked our way of dealing with other nations, made false claims about government conspiracies, and said other things that were difficult for many Americans to hear, many began to question whether or not Obama actually agreed with such views. Since, after all, Reverend Wright was an important influence on Obama and actually baptized him. Aside from this, many Americans began to wonder whether such views in black churches were common, or whether or not Reverend Wright was an anomaly. Apparently, many other black churches also express such views, and much dialogue was had about whether or not there is something inherently wrong in this. Overall, this is having a negative affect on the Obama campaign. The idea in the mind of many Americans is quite simple: Obama has a pastor who is racist and denounces the nation in which he lives, therefore, since this pastor was an important influence on Obama throughout his life, he must also share such views to some extent. If this is the case, then as president, Obama would act against the American interest. If we really think about this, we should realize that there is something inherently wrong in analyzing Obama from this perspective.

Realistically speaking, it is very unlikely that Obama himself espouses such views. Although he may attend a black church because he is part of this community and because he is associated with the various people who are part of the church, it does not necessary mean that he agrees with the view of the reverend. In many social situations, we choose to deal with and have relationships with people who we do not necessarily agree with. After dealing with these people, we do not necessarily form their views or change our opinion about certain matters. If we have friends, for example, that do not take the same stance as we do on some issue or a friend who has a very false belief, we can maintain our relationship without adapting that particular view. In the case of Obama and Wright, it is my opinion that Obama is not a very religious man and does not keep religion very close to his heart. In his speeches and in the platform on which his party stands, religion exists somewhere in the background and is not a very significant issue. Considering this is the case, Obama most likely does not agree with the views of the reverend, and it is possible that he attends the Sunday gatherings more as a way of showing his support to the black community and his willingness to be "religious." I do not believe, however, that Obama has any strong loyalty to the church, and I am not under the impression that he takes seriously the views expressed by individuals such as Reverend Wright.

Although it is interesting to consider the radical nature of the person who is Obama's reverend, we must understand their relationship with a grain of salt. Obama does not hold the anti-American and fallacious views expressed by Reverend Wright. If he did, it would be expressed in other situations and people would understand that he is not a proper candidate for office. In our particular situation, to make parallels between the views of Obama and Wright is simply unreasonable. To say that there is anything ideologically wrong with Obama simply because his reverend has such views is narrow-minded and demonstrates a poorly reasoned opinion. We must judge Obama based on his actions, his loyalties, and those who finance his campaign. I specifically do not write that we can judge him based on his words because we cannot—a person, especially a politician, will say just about anything in order to get elected.

When the media chose to focus on the issue of Reverend Wright and Obama, they did it because they knew it would become controversial. By getting everyone involved (white people who are racist and who are not racist, black people who are racist and those who are not racist), the controversy became a divisive issue. The media made such a big deal of the scandal that Obama made a long reaction speech to the words of the reverend in an effort to save his image. The media can do a great deal of harm as well as good by telling people what to focus and what worry about. By highlighting the issue of racing and make it seem central to this election, the media successfully got more people to pay attention to the news (and to watch the advertisements). The coverage of Obama and this scandal, which implies that he part of a church that espouses such terrible un-American views, is used constantly by the media to make people more and more interested in watching. To make people watch and to arouse controversy is the goal of the media because it increases ad revenues, but people who watch the news rarely realize this and belief that the issue of the Reverend Wright and Obama is really a central issue worth debating. In reality, the issue is not half as serious as the media makes it out to be, and instead of focusing on the experience of principles by which the politicians lead there life, the media wastes valuable time highlighting issues that are much less relevant.

After the words of Reverend Wright, many Americans began to question the nature of black churches, and they began to wonder if reverse racism was common amongst African American communities. The answer to this question is obviously complex and varies on a case-by-case basis, and looking only at Reverend Wright without doing further research will not get us very far in our answer. Also, to state that Obama is a racist or also holds the kinds of views expressed by Reverend Wright is simple-minded and most likely untrue. Analyzing the situation carefully, we will quickly come to the conclusion that Obama has his own views and that they are less radical and more in line with other Americans. Also, the spin that the media puts on stories such as this one is extremely important in swaying public opinion. If the media did not focus so much on the issue, Americans would not even put much thought into this issue as a whole.