Obama Speaks Out Against Forces of Division Today

[slinkerwink]

March 15, 2008

Let me just close my initial remarks by talking about bringing this country together. You know, Bobby Kennedy gave one of his most — gave one of his most famous speeches on a dark night in Indianapolis. Right after Dr. King was shot. Some of you remember reading about this speech. Some of you were alive when this speech was given. He stood on top of a car. He was in a crowd mostly of African Americans. And he delivered the news that Dr. King had been shot and killed. And he said, at that moment of anguish, he said, we’ve got a choice. He said, we’ve got a choice in taking the rage and bitterness and disappointment and letting it fester and dividing us further so that we no longer see each other as Americans but we see each other as separate and apart and at odds with each other. Or we can take a different path that says we have different stories, but we have common dreams and common hopes. And we can decide to walk down this road together. And remake America once again. And, you know, I think about those words often, especially in the last several weeks - because this campaign started on the basis that we are one America. As I said in my speech at the convention in 2004, there is no Black America, or White America, or Asian America, or Latino America. There is the United States of America. But I noticed over the last several weeks that the forces of division have started to raise their ugly heads again. And I’m not here to cast blame or point fingers because everybody, you know, senses that there’s been this shift. You know, that you’ve been seeing in the reporting. You’ve been seeing some of the commentaries of supporters on all sides. Most recently, you heard some statements from my former pastor that were incendiary and that I completely reject, although I knew him and know him as somebody in my church who talked to me about Jesus and family and friendships, but clearly had — but if all I knew was those statements that I saw on television, I would be shocked. And it just reminds me that we’ve got a tragic history when it comes to race in this country. We’ve got a lot of pent-up anger and bitterness and misunderstanding. But what I continue to believe in is that this country wants to move beyond these kinds of divisions. That this country wants something different.

I just want to say to everybody here that as somebody who was born into a diverse family, as somebody who has little pieces of America all in me, I will not allow us to lose this moment, where we cannot forget about our past and not ignore the very real forces of racial inequality and gender inequality and the other things that divide us. I don’t want us to forget them. We have to acknowledge them and lift them up and when people say things like my former pastor said, you know, you have to speak out forcefully against them. But what you also have to do is remember what Bobby Kennedy said. That it is within our power to join together to truly make a United States of America. And that we have to do not just so that our children live in a more peaceful country and a more peaceful world, but that is the only way that we are going to deliver on the big issues that we’re facing in this country. We can’t solve health care divided. We cannot create an economy that works for everybody divided. We can’t fight terrorism divided. We can’t care for our veterans divided. We have to come together. That’s what this campaign is about. That’s why you are here. That’s why we’re going to win this election. That’s how we’re going to change the country.

[slinkerwink]

1. that was his speech today

[me b zola]

2. Thank you for posting. (n/t)

:thumbsup:

[boston bean]

3. Too bad he listened to divisive speech for over 20 years,

Named a book after his divisive preachers sermon

used that same sermon for inspiration for his 2004 DNC speech

And now lies when he says he never heard it.

[Vinca]

4. On the plus side, at least he wrote his own book. nt

[Texas Hill Country]

9. maybe...

[Cha]

99. yeah, hilary..he did.

I know you're jealous and full of sour raisins.

[bain_sidhe]

12. I was going to rebuke MassDem

for harshing the mellow, but this works too.

Nice snark!

[JoFerret]

38. And he's a good writer. No doubt about that

But very divisive and full of platitudinous tripe and tommyrot.

[slinkerwink]

5. ha!

[writes3000]

10. Yes because you were there beside Obama all 20 years.

You were sitting in the pew next to him as Obama heard nothing but hate speech.

You cringed during Barack and Michelle's wedding ceremony, when Wright espoused hate rather than love.

You worried that the Obama's children would be in danger, because Wright screamed so much hate during their baptism.

You were there for each of Barack and Wright's strategy sessions, where they talked about helping the poor as a way to hate them.

Yes, you know it all.

You, the know-it-all.

[Unbowed]

168. Know-it-alls...aren't they the ones who have to stand on their heads in feces in one of Dante's

rings of Hell?

Funny how so many people that are self-proclaimed experts have nothing factual to back up their comments. These "link-less channelers" always seem to claim some kind of profound awareness, but their mewling rarely rise above the level of unsubstantiated smears.

[Terri S]

19. Here is the sermon Senator Obama based the title of his book on

link

Maybe you should look over 20 years of his sermons before you categorize them from a few out-of-context sentences thrown together by Fox News.

I read some background on Rev. Wright. Seems he got 3 presidential commendations from President Johnson. Yep, seems he's been a real evil hate-monger for years, huh?

[lligrd]

182. Wow, What A Neat Sermon Thanks For Posting The Link

"What Hannah wanted most out of life had been denied to her. Think about that. Yet in spite of that, she kept on hoping. The gloating of Peninnah did not make her bitter. She kept on hoping. When the family made its pilgrimage to the sanctuary at Shiloh, she renewed her petition there, pouring out her heart to God. She may have been barren, but that's a horizontal dimension. She was fertile in her spirit, her vertical dimension. She prayed and she prayed and she prayed and she kept on praying year after year. With no answer, she kept on praying. She prayed so fervently in this passage that Eli thought she had to be drunk. There was no visible sign on the horizontal level to indicate to Hannah that her praying would ever be answered. Yet, she kept on praying.

And Paul said something about that, too. No visible sign? He says, "Hope is what saves us, for we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man sees, why does he have hope for it? But if we hope for that which we see not (no visible sign), then do we with patience wait for it."

<snip>

There may not be any visible sign of a change in your individual situation, whatever your private hell is. But that's just the horizontal level. Keep the vertical level intact, like Hannah. You may, like the African slaves, be able to sing, "Over my head I hear music in the air. Over my head I hear music in the air. Over my head I hear music in the air. There must be a God somewhere."

Keep the vertical dimension intact like Hannah. Have the audacity to hope for that child of yours. Have the audacity to hope for that home of yours. Have the audacity to hope for that church of yours. Whatever it is you've been praying for, keep on praying, and you may find, like my grandmother sings, "There's a bright side somewhere; there is a bright side somewhere. Don't you rest until you find it, for there is a bright side somewhere.""

[JackORoses]

32. how can you judge 20 years of sermons on the less than 5 minutes that you have witnessed?

answer: You cannot.

Why are these the only clips we have seen? Because these are the most negative ones available.
I dare you to find anything else.

[slinkerwink]

35. I've heard my priest speak out against abortion and gays

But that's only a few times during the year. The abortion speech usually comes around Eastertime.

[Texas Hill Country]

44. are you running for prez? is this your personal mentor and moral guide?

I bet Obama and Wright were much closer than you and your priest... just a guess.

[slinkerwink]

51. I've known my priest since I was baptized by him

He says pretty crazy stuff sometimes, but the congregation ignores it for the most part since it's all about the community that we come almost every Sunday for.

[jaysunb]

61. So what if they are ??

I'm beginning to get pissed with this infantile behavior that you and others are exhibiting.

Were you worried the last time some presidential candidate trotted down to Bob Jones U for their blessing. Or Liberty. Or ran our Country into the ground based on their law degree from some asshole preachers subversive school. Does it bother you at all that these same "respected" white ministers are all Klan loved and supported ?

Do you really believe we Black folks don't see the double standard and recognize what two faced serpents all these people and their apologist are ?

I suspect you're sitting somewhere around Travis County having youself a big laugh at the suicide mission this party is on as they alienate their base. ( black voters )Keep it up. Maybe Al Sharpton or Louis Farrakhan will have to step in and remind Black people of some history and the role WHITE preachers have played in our misery. Keep it up.

:evilfrown:

[movonne]

72. Yes it really bother me...they have no idea what the black people

have been through...and I can certainly understand how that preacher said the things he did...and I really didn't see any lies there...

[ampad]

85. You start talking like that

and someone is sure to call the FBI on you, you know with you getting uppity while black. You are right, us black folks are not stupid we see the double standard being played right before our eyes. My family and friends see the double standard and if some in the Democratic party want to keep this up and alienate us then go ahead; just don't expect black folks to back you up with votes when the time comes. All this fake outrage about racism and such, whatever. What it all comes down to is a select few white folks who don't want to know the truth about black America. You see they feel uncomfortable, we cannot have them feeling uncomfortable now can we? Close your eyes, plug your ears don't look if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

Most of what Rev. Wright said is reality not to mention I have seen and heard such words come from the great Chomsky, where is the outrage there? This manufactured patriotism is a joke as well. God damn America! grab my pearls! please don't call the FBI and get me sent to gitmo, please.

I understand that some people want us black folks to sit back and be quiet because after all what do black folks have to bitch about, I mean really? If they think we will not stay home in November then think again. I will vote for whoever wins fairly but if they try to take Obama down because of select phrases and words from this Rev I and many other black people will sit this one out. I know some would like to have it both ways. They would like black folks to stay loyal no matter what but I think black folks are going to stand strong on this one.

I don't think it has as much to do with Obama as it has more to do with a good majority of black people agreeing with what Rev Wright had to say. I guess I better go break the news to my half white children and my white husband that I am racist :eyes:

[jaysunb]

100. Won't your Hubby be surprised ! LOL

:hi:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

148. do you believe in Jesus Christ? Should Fox news decide what pastors may say?

If we are to let talking heads tell us what to be shocked by, then
we are stupid.

[ampad]

71. Well you know Hillary didn't read

the NIE before she signed the IWR. Please don't expect her supporters to research 20yrs of sermons before they go spouting weak talking points. NO, it is much easier to take the clips that someone spoon feed you and make your observations from that. It's too much work to watch the sermons in full context and all.

[therookie]

105. Listening to Others speak divisively

I work in a diverse environment and have had people with dissenting views around me much of my professional life. Personally, I find it a checks and balance of the conscience. You can tell by listening to Obama that his brain doesn't work that way, but that doesn't mean that he is unable to hear. I have many black friends and acquaintances who have various versions of that Pastor's opinion. When I hear it, I am not disgusted. I listen and it causes me to reflect on how things that happen in America and even within our own families impact others in ways we aren't event aware of. It is good cause for conversation. And I think that not having that conversation makes it stifling. After all, we do have a first amendment and depending on the condition of the person speaking, various versions of an event will unravel. I think it is an important part of dialog. That could actually be what honed Obama into the broad person that he is. Rejecting talk because it is dis-pleasurable I think doesn't solve anything, because it leaves the person who feels a certain way stuck. We can help each other by having dialogues. Well, that's my take on it.

[Duncan]

116. What is so devisive about what Wright said?

US foriegn policy does feed terrorism, there is racism inherent in US domestic policy, There are racists in public office. To deny that these are truths is ignorant at best. That Obama's pastor spoke these truths with poor word choice has no relevance whatsoever to who Obama is. I'm not a big Obama supporter, but this does not hurt my opinion of him, it actually helps it because he is being illogically and unfairly bashed over this.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

118. How do you KNOW that what Sean Hannity cherry-picked was representative

of the typical Jeremiah Wright sermon? Wright's successor said that Wright had preached more than 3500 HOURS of sermons over 36 years. As I understand it, there has been for many years a market among seminary students for audio and video of Jeremiah Wright, because he is regarded as one of the very best serminizers of his generation.

Many seminary students evidently have bought Wright tapes to LEARN how to preach.

But you evidently trust Sean Hannity to be "fair and balanced".

See a thread on just who Jeremiah Wright is at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5100515

[ekwhite]

133. Let's take a look at that sermon...

"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" - Rev Jeremiah Wright.

What about that sermon is incorrect? The government has sold drugs in black neighborhoods to finance CIA operations. The government has built bigger and bigger prisons, privatized them, and incarcerated unprecedented numbers of black Americans. The government has given disproportionately larger sentences for possession of crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine, when the effect of the two drugs is the same. The government has passed three strikes laws that put people into jail for life for minor offenses.

I will disagree with the God Damn America statement. We have already damned ourselves.

[earthlover]

176. America Bless God is more theologically sound than God Bless America!

And if you are blessing God, you love God's creation and each other.

The idea of using God as a rallying cry of patriotism is theologically absurd. Who are we to tell GOD to bless any country? That smacks of blasphemy in my view.

I would not have expressed things the way Wright did. But he did make a point. God is not going to bless people doing injustice towards our fellow man. That is what God damns. So be it.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

145. are you a Christian? figure you must have some authority to condemn this pastor

Are you a Christian? Do you even care about God or anything or are you just
using this as a tool?

[ima_sinnic]

156. awww, poor widdle Hillary supporter, must keep milking & distorting the only bad thing

he can find in Obama's record, since there is nothing good that can be said about HillBilly, nothing that can recommend her as anything except a status quo-loving corporate ass-kissing war-mongering McCain endorser. Nothing to do except continue to try to distract people with this nonissue of what his pastor said at some time in one sermon.

The faux outrage about Obama's preacher is wearing thin. As pointed out somewhere else, why aren't you concerned about what anybody else's minister might be saying?

As an atheist, I could give a flying fuck about what any god-worshipper says about anything to do with people living in the sky, dispensing favors and smiting people who don't bow down and kiss their heavenly ass. I could also give two shits if a black preacher has the fucking balls to come out and say what needs to be said: this is a genocidal country that is built on stolen land, on the backs of human beings who were sold like cattle and then treated like shit for another more than a hundred years, along with anybody else who wasn't white (no matter how trashy and deviant), and then on resources stolen by corrupting elections and waging wars all over the world.

And I'm not even that big an Obama fan. I started out wanting Kucinich, then went over to Edwards. At least Obama is not under the thumb of Rupert Murdoch and the other corporate overlords and doesn't kiss John McCain's fucking ass. And he doesn't continue to harp on HBilly instead of campaigning on his own merits and ideas. At least with Obama there is a hope that Bush et al. will be brought up on war crimes, which we KNOW ISN'T going to happen with the HBilly-Bush dynasty.

So stuff a sock in it.

[arikara]

183. If a person were to walk out...

...every time they heard something they didn't agree with, it wouldn't be long and there wouldn't be any place left to go. Obama didn't say the words, his preacher did. And Obama says he didn't hear them spoken at the time.

Go after his policies. But this whole preacher thing is just plain stupid. Divisive. Swiftboat II. Blowjob redux.

Anyhow, the Mr and I (two white middle aged non-religious types) heard the so-called incendiary remarks being played over and over... and we sure didn't disagree with any of them. He didn't say anything that wasn't true. At least he wasn't calling for the eradication of a complete religion like McCain's preacher.

[K Gardner]

6. "little pieces of America all in me" K&R

[VolcanoJen]

7. Watching it on CNN, when he used that line it tore me up.

:hug: K Gardner :hug:

[K Gardner]

23. Me too *sniff*

[boston bean]

25. if he truly believes that how could he listen to a preacher who hates half of him.

[FrenchieCat]

27. The same way you listen to yourself hating Obama......

[boston bean]

37. huh

[ekwhite]

143. One race, human. What a great thought. N/T

[goclark]

184. Ain't that the truth!

Who are these people that have never felt the sting of Racism to lecture us/or Obama about the way that victims of racism should feel.

I am so inspired by Obama because he wants to get beyond race. He knows that will be hard for Whites and Blacks. But he wants us to sit down together at the table of Brotherhood.

He had the "experience" of being a community organizer so though he may have been blessed with a college education, he really knows people that are living the way Rev. Wright described.

Rev. Wright was not speaking directly to Obama! He was the pastor of a church that included many upper class/middle class Blacks as well as those that have been "left behind."

He was expressing the feeling of those left behind and yes he did speak with the "Black Rage" that lives in many souls.

Langston Hughes was so eloquent when he wrote, "A Raisin In The Sun."
That is what it feels like, even now, as an African American.

PS/ Let not forget these WOMEN who think that SEXISM is only addressing WHITE Women.

Odd that they seem to forget that WOMEN come in many hues. For them to forget is the pit of SEXISM and RACISM.


Geraldine does not speak for me ~ I did however vote for her. I voted for her because I did not realize then that she only wanted to represent WHITE women -- how sad.

[JackORoses]

40. because the preacher doesn't hate half of him, dumbass

The preacher is not a racist.
Pointing out racial injustice and the facts as they exist in this country is not racist.

In fact, rich white people do run this country.
In fact, Hillary has never been called a N-----.

Find me a quote where he preaches racism.

[movonne]

74. What is it that the preacher said that has not been said here??...many

truths were said...I want to know what was sooooo offensive to you???please tell me...

[gaspee]

185. How about

that the government created AIDS to kill black people? Do you agree with that?

[ekwhite]

186. No. The AIDS virus was not genetically engineered

That was an ignorant statement. I would prefer to say this instead.

The government did not give a shit about AIDS/HIV when it was confined to just gays and blacks (in the Reagan years). The government fought against giving low-cost AIDS treatments to third world countries because it might cost the pharmaceutical companies some sales. The government has demonstrated again and again that it doesn't care about black people. Or gays. Or poor white people.

[gaspee]

194. Agreed (n/t)

[catgirl]

80. Grrrr (nt)

[cali]

101. Because his preacher doesn't preach hate of whites

go I'm sick of white entitlement and racists.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

150. Tell us about YOUR faith, who YOU worship, about YOUR pastor

how has it affected your life, or not affected your life.

DO you believe that a President MUST be a Christian?

Do you believe that the media has the right to say what is or isn't divisive?

It seems to me that the big corporate interests would have more reason
to want to shut Obama's pastor up.

[chascarrillo]

169. Give it a rest.

Good grief.

[Hepburn]

175. Jeeeeeeeeez........

.....you truly are clueless. Get well soon, OK?

[otohara]

106. That Rocked

In the beginning he was thanking some labor people for coming, including Boiler Makers, the kids went crazy and he said, not that kind of Boiler Makers.

[bain_sidhe]

8. Lovely.

I really think this is the way to go, and I applaud Obama for taking this tack.

Good Job.

[slinkerwink]

13. he's got to keep up how forces of division are distracting attention from issues

[Swamp Rat]

11. k&r

[nsd]

14. Nice. Thanks for posting this. /nt

[loveangelc]

15. Good for him!! I really think this will not even be an issue for a while, at least until the debate.

[slinkerwink]

16. he has to say "this is all they've got because they don't have the issues

to campaign on."

[Me.]

17. Powerful

Which road will each of us choose to travel down this November. the well trod path of division or will we take the road less traveled?

[slinkerwink]

21. yeah, thought this was great.

"He said, we’ve got a choice in taking the rage and bitterness and disappointment and letting it fester and dividing us further so that we no longer see each other as Americans but we see each other as separate and apart and at odds with each other. Or we can take a different path that says we have different stories, but we have common dreams and common hopes. And we can decide to walk down this road together. And remake America once again."

[BlackVelvet04]

18. What a fucking hypocrite.

Why didnt' he stand up and say that to his own church?

[boston bean]

22. this is the BO MO, piss on your leg and tell you it's raining. nt

[BlackVelvet04]

24. Yep. n/t

[GoldieAZ49]

31. I wonder who's eyes Michelle wants to scratch out today

now that everyone knows of the 'ministry' they subscribe to

[movonne]

78. Stop taking Judge Judy's sayings...

[writes3000]

28. Ummm, he's been saying it for YEARS now.

But I see your another expert on everything that's been said and done in that church.

PS - Ugly words ultimately reflect back on the person who's saying them.

[boston bean]

42. His words mean less and less every day. I was never sold on his words

and I'm definitely not buying them now.

[scheming daemons]

86. They never meant anything to you.... You're a cynical person who doesn't believe...

that America can be better than it is.

I've read your posts.... you sound more like Hannity than Hannity does.... and you need a little self-reflection to decide just who you are and what you imagine America can be.


You're full of piss and vinegar, and it is a horrible way to go through life.

[slinkerwink]

109. all I hear from the Clinton camp is anger

[woolldog]

120. And cynicism.

They are the most cynical, bitter people. There's no point to them and their posts other than tearing people down.

[slinkerwink]

121. what do they have against hope and unity?

[hfojvt]

181. she cannot be that cynical

she believes that Hillary is gonna work for ordinary working class Americans. That seems hopelessly optimistically naive to me.

Supporters on each side believe in the goodness of their candidate and now in the perfidity of the other. For myself, I believe in the one who opposed the war over the one who supported it. I believe in the one who taught constitutional law over the one who practiced corporate law. In the one who doesn't have a spouse who spent eight years selling out the liberal left.

[JoFerret]

128. Empty platitudes delivered

in a preachy style that tries to convey the notion the words come directly from god.

[JoFerret]

166. I read one of his books - the fathers one

It was well written, a bit long, and I came away with a sense that this man does not know who he is or what he is or what he believes. His mother sounds very interesting. Too bad she is not here now to help us understand this man and why he is what he is.

He is a very divisive figure because it is all about him. The Obamas seem entitled to me. Spoiled petulant children with a streak of resentment in spite of their privilege And that tapped so easily into Wright's deep and angry theology based on division and resentment as ways to redress the past and present injustice.

[JackORoses]

45. you must not go to Church.

A Church is like a family.
You cannot hold the entire family responsible for the words of one member.

That is also why Barack didn't leave the Church. It is more than just a preacher. Many Hillarites seem not to understand this simple idea.

[Bluenorthwest]

171. I was raised in Baptist Church until

one day the preacher, who had married my sister and baptized us all, started talking politics. My mother got up in the middle of his sermon and lead us out the door. And she agreed with the preacher's politics. She said politics is not meant for God's house, for the sake first of the church and second for the nation.
So some people understand that one's duty to ethic and principle is not checked at the sanctuary door. One does not wink and nod at that which is simply wrong. If my mom could get up and leave, well then, those who don't have other ideas of right and wrong. You can sit and listen to heresy in the church and call it funny somehow. I can not, and will not. I don't back your candidate nor Hillary, but also in our new chruch I was taught that calling people names is a sign of disrespect. Another one is thinking that because one does not agree with you, they 'don't understand'. Perhaps you don't understand. Perhaps all the nasty preaching in church harms the church and the community. I think it does.

[movonne]

77. Oh, for God sake ...try and say something positive...I'm sick of this

crap....

[JoFerret]

89. Or to his own father figure pastor

But - maybe he did.

But there is something unfathomable about this Wright crap. You can't have it both ways.

[OhioBlue]

112. how do you know he didn't give

a similar speech at his church?

and... well, he's on national TV in a national campaign, so he's saying it right now.

btw - he wasn't the Pastor at his church.

[faithfulcitizen]

137. what? Why can't you help yourself from shitting on a very nice post?

you people just suck.

[ThatBozGuy]

141. Your numbers of supporters of you and your ilk are falling dramatically,

ANTI supporters, "Ill back anything but" supporters, couching your fear and impotence in commentary, but now its like cockroaches and the lights been flipped on and many of you scurry to hide and run away, and the ones left out our getting stepped on daily and you will eventually be squished.

Its an entropy cycle and your desperation as well as your inelegance and vulgarity are the only things a few of you bond under.

I challenge you to write a paragraph of the positive for your candidate, as in string together a large block of your own words, not cut and paste, because I believe you will show yourself for what you are, not Ms Clinton's supporters, many of whom I think are very smart and educated about their candidate, but simply anti-social haters taking out the perceived failure of what ever source of your pain and your life failures under the guise of fake support.

To Ms Clinton's true supporters continue your success of pointing out your candidates positive contributions and good luck in seeking her nomination.

To the bottom feeder one sentence anti support trolls and haters of anything and anyone, enough is enough.

Good day, we have a Democratic presidency to fight for and you are no longer welcome to waste our time or energy.

DU for the Democratic President 08

[Skip Intro]

146. Amen.

[GoldieAZ49]

20. "the forces of division have started to raise their ugly heads" - and is preached

at the church you take your daughters to

"there is no Black America, or White America, or Asian America, or Latino America" and yet you and your family spend 20 years in an Afrocentric Church



He has every right to be a member of the church of his choosing, but he insults our intelligence to think we don't see the hypocrisy of his words from his actions

[tekisui]

30. Have you considered that he may believe that it is necessary for

his daughters to be raised in an afrocentric church, to empower them? To give them the strength and confidence to be better people?

Rev. Wright has not spewed 20 years of hate. He has made what appears to be 5 minutes of controversial comments.

[GoldieAZ49]

41. Have you considered that it would be more empowering

for those daughters to worship God in an integrated church so they feel equal instead of hearing the pastor yelling about white people and using racial slurs?

Really isn't a message of UNITY is it?

[tekisui]

50. We still have a long way to go to even understand the problems of

race in this country. A little black girl may not get the opportunity to feel and be "equal" in an integrated church. Once they have a strong self-identity apart from the institutionalized racism, they will be stronger and more able to confront, challenge and rise above. They may be more able to learn that they are actually equal in an afrocentric church that teaches them that, than in a one that ignores the real troubles and pains of racism.

[GoldieAZ49]

63. We have a diverse racial mix in our church we are all equal, we are all Gods Kids

what better environment to grow up feeling equal than being equal

[tekisui]

70. That's good that you've found that.

Where I am, in the South, there are very few integrated churches. I even went to an all white school. I am sure in Chicago the divisions are more prevalent than the integration. In inner cities, and the deep south, it is much less likely that two children, of two races will grow up equally.

[Usrename]

132. What makes you think Obama's church is any different?

What makes you think your church is good and his is bad?

[tishaLA]

55. You realize his church IS integrated, right?

Probably more integrated than 90% of churches in America. You know that phrase "11 a.m. Sunday is the most segregated hour in America"? It was brought to you by another radical African American minister named Martin Luther King.

[BumRushDaShow]

64. How many integrated churches really exist in the U.S.?

I mean seriously? Very few. And no, I don't count "integrated" as 2 lone blacks sitting in the pews with a sea of white all around them.

The REALITY of this country is that by law, we were forced apart. And that law existed in some areas, all the way through the '60s. Blacks and Whites aren't even buried together for the most part. De facto segregation in housing has essentially kept this nation divided in those areas where there are multi-ethnic groups - whether it be neighborhoods, schools, churches, and even worksites. It will take a long time to remedy this fact and it is changing slowly, but still has a ways to go.

[GoldieAZ49]

76. by law? Now? You do realize "the 60's" ended almost 40 years ago?

[BumRushDaShow]

97. Do you get out much?

You do realize that de facto segregation still exists, don't you? The 1964 Civil Rights Act continues to be amended even up until the 1990s. The Fair Housing Act happened in 1968 and municipalities are STILL dealing with the illegalities of the housing industry. Ever heard of "white flight"? I watched a neighborhood not far from me go from all white to all black in a 5 year period during the '70s. It took many local ordinances and regulations to prohibit practices (such as a proliferation of "For Sale" signs) that at the time stoked fear among whites and accelerated their stampede to the suburbs. Other practices such as realtors steering certain ethnic groups to certain neighborhoods or certain areas STILL existed all the way into the internet age, where FINALLY, an anonymous house buyer could see for themselves what was available and where... But this doesn't even guarantee that the person can still eventually buy the house if the realtor lies and claims the house is no longer on the market or other nonsense.

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified in 1868. Yet 100 years later, we were still passing friggin' laws to guarantee "equal protection" and are still fighting discrimination.

[Hepburn]

178. I will say this much for the JWs....

...I have NEVER seen any racial divide at a Kingdom Hall. Matter of fact, the JWs and former JWs I know have NEVER evidenced any prejudice against any race or ethnicity.

I would never be a JW...but I do have to stand up and say they appear to be very fair and equal on these issues.

[ekwhite]

190. You do realize Trinity UCC IS integrated, don't you? NT

[writes3000]

33. Obama is half-white. But I guess he's still too black for you.

If you go to a black church, clearly you're a racist.

Great argument there.

[GoldieAZ49]

53. I don't give a rats ass if he was purple

preach unity to the masses but practice divisiveness

[writes3000]

67. There's your bias and blindness.

Obama is a multi-cultural man. He is the embodiment of the union of races. For the last ten years, he has spoken out about bringing people together. He's spoken out in Black churches about the wrongness of homophobia. He's talked about wanting to rebuild the historical relationship into blacks and Jews. He's spoken out against xenophobia and religious bigotry.

But now, ALL of that is negated, according to your great wisdom, because he attends a church and had a pastor who said statements which Obama denounces.

You insist that Obama sat through 20 years of hate. WITH NO REAL PROOF.

I'm willing to be far more intellectually honest than you. I suspect Obama has heard his mentor make controversial statements before. I'm sure Wright talked about the painful injustices this country (historically dominates by whites) has done to people of color.

But unlike you, I don't think Obama cheered those comments or endorsed them. I think he spoke out to Wright and to his constituents. He's got a history of bringing people together.

And I bet he's done more on that measure than you or me.

[GoldieAZ49]

84. You "suspect" you don't KNOW - Here is O on YOUR bias and blindness

“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views,” Mr. Obama wrote in “The Audacity of Hope, his I’m-running-for-president book. “As such, I am bound to disappoint some, if not all, of them.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/us/politics/24obama.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1204250736-OyKeIHRcnJN5NQfgBvbzOw&oref=slogin

You go ahead and project your views on him, and enjoy your disappointment.

I see him for what he is, a politician using any advantage he can get away with to run for the highest office in the land.

[FrenchieCat]

36. I think you are insulting our intelligence,

because it is clear that Rich White People have been running this government since it was created. That is a fact, period. And if you hadn't realize that, perhaps the intelligence you claim as being your own isn't worth all that much.

Obama is talking about what we could be, one America.....not what we are, which is divided and divisive. Doh.

[slinkerwink]

39. I'm tired of all these divisions, to be honest, and I think many Americans are.

[GoldieAZ49]

49. I know I am

I would never go to a church that blamed jews, blacks, muslims, asians or any other group for any problem

[slinkerwink]

54. then almost all the world's major religions

will be counted out because that kind of stuff is mentioned in almost every church, temple, synagogue, mosque, etc.

[Bluenorthwest]

172. That is just not true

The vast majority of chruchs temples and synagougues do not preach hate and division, you are flat out wrong about that. Just wrong. A few do so, but by no means most. Maybe yours does, but one seeks what they seek, you know?
Most churchs have read the Sermon on the Mount. I have never once in my life heard preaching against another group, other than my own gay group, in any church. Nothing against other religions nothing against other races. In fact, the most rural, Pentacostal, down and holy rolling chruch I ever attened, with family out of town, constantly preached racial equality, and practiced it by traveling twice a year to worship with a mostly black church in the city, and that chruch also would visit the country twice a year. The preacher always held the visiting congregation up as a testamony to faith under adversity that we ourselves did not have to face.
That is more common. Never heard a word against anyone at most religious places, and I have visted them all over the freaking world, of all sorts and of all stripes. Most religious people focus on their own inner lives. It is in America only that some get off on the 'hate this one, hate that one, blame them all and call ourselves holy' trip.

[Hepburn]

179. You took the words right off of my...

...keyboard. I totally agree. All I see in religion is divisiveness. Doesn't each one of the major religions in their own way say that they have the ONLY path? That just makes me want to PUKE!

[FrenchieCat]

And so you shouldn't. go to that kind of a church......

But I believe that you are going down the road of oppressing the oppressed.....by demonizing based on soundbytes seen on teevee.

[GoldieAZ49]

79. If that is the environment they want they are free to have it

but I am not the one screaming at them about whites and calling out racial slurs that cannot even be said or damning the country they live

I am not their oppressor, sounds like that job is taken

[GoldieAZ49]

46. and he practices and is raising his daughters in the midsts of that divisiveness

Doh yourself

[tekisui]

52. Every person in America raises their children in the midst of those divisions.

We have to recognize the divisions and understand them before we can rise above them.

[FrenchieCat]

73. Like who died and left you to judge what's what?

Who are you to decide how Obama should raise his children?

Who are you to decide what is divisive from 10 seconds of carefully selected Teevee Soundbytes delivered to us by Fox news?

I belong to a church that is very similar to Barack's. My husband is a minister.
We have raised two daughters in that church. So what are you telling me about my children?

Maybe you should talk to Hillary about Chelsea and how she raised her daugther listening to her father lie to the country on national TeeVee about is lack of faithfulness to his marriage vowes.


You need to get hold of yourself and your double standards and go and hide.
You are stepping out of bounds beyond hypocracy dragging other people's children into this conversation. I'll remember this discussion forever.

[GoldieAZ49]

87. It is "hypocrisy"

walk the talk action speaks louder than words

and yes all those clips from different services, that is what I have seen and heard until I could puke.


I have never defended anything about the Clintons or any other politician and that is all Obama is, another politician.


you can take everything here personal if you want to, no one said anything about you or yours. Talk about identity politics!

Or is it faux outrage?

[FrenchieCat]

90. When you question how people raise their children.......with the tone that you used.......

you have become one of the extremists, and you are no longer one of us.


Goodbye.

[GoldieAZ49]

94. Gee, I don't have the audio version to get all the 'tones' darn it

oh and everything in moderation

[ekwhite]

193. Well let me say in my own words that I agree with Rev. Wright

God DAMN America - for slavery
God DAMN America - for genocide against Native Americans
God DAMN America - for the murder of Vietnamese, Chileans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Cubans, Guatemalans, Iranians, and Iraqis.
God DAMN America - for allowing wounded veterans to sleep under bridges.
God DAMN America - for supporting brutal dictatorships throughout the world.

God Bless America for Martin Luther King
God Bless America for William Penn
God Bless America for John Woolman
God Bless America for Elizabeth Cady Stanton
God Bless America for Sojourner Truth
God Bless America for Chief Joseph
God Bless America for Frederick Douglass
God Bless America for Abraham Lincoln
God Bless America for all of the people who have stood up against racism and 'manifest destiny.'
God Bless America for all of those who are willing to speak truth to power like Reverend Wright.

[movonne]

83. Frenchie...I wish you would post the pictures that you posted last

night on you own thread...it needs to be on the front page..

[CatsDogsBabies]

122. I was raised Catholic

ANd I am still Catholic. When I was growing up, I only saw a single African American in the church and I only saw them one time. Unfortunately there is widespread segregration in the Churches. Do you (the poster who is all upset that Obama went to an Afrocentric Church) go around calling most of the Churches in the U.S. Euro-centered or white-centered? I bet more white people go to Barack Obama's church than African Americans went to the Church I attended while growing up (since no Arican American families were members). Why don't we look at how separatist the white main stream churches in America are? Oh that's right, it is clear from some of these post on here that it is okay for whites to go to all white churches on Sunday morning, but it is all wrong and against white people if a predominantly Arican American congregation looks out for the Arican American community in its area.

[ekwhite]

189. Goldie - how many years have you spent in a white church? NT

[rucky]

192. Which actions are you referring to?

I know his platform and followed his speeches and voting record pretty closely, and there really nothing "Afrocentric" about it.

[GoldieAZ49]

26. Yo Bo, practice what you preach

I can't believe he can say this shit with a straight face, the Obamas must be having a damn good laugh at all those fools clapping along

[JTFrog]

119. As someone who stood and applauded the man at that speech today,

I could take offense to your comment.

However, realizing that you rely upon circular logic and fake facts, I find it hard to be offended.

[Sadie5]

124. Fake facts

O is a fraud, and using the RFK reference today sickens me. Can't this fraud O find any original material of his own. BTW:how many Afro americans were in that gym today. Plainfield is 99% White.

[JTFrog]

129. WTF is your problem? There was a very diverse mix of people there in that gym today.

Perfectly representative of the people that I run into every single day here in Indianapolis.

How many African Americans were in that gym today? Better question, what do you think the proper fucking quota should be?

I'm not sure I get your point.

[Skidmore]

165. I'm curious to know if your outrage extends to that Son of the South and first "black president"

Bill Clinton, who understands the subtleties of the language of race and still stood in front of people and insulted the nation's intelligence by introducing rancor and divisiveness. I wonder if you have concern about the internal consistency and integrity of his remarks and the effects it has had on the nation as a whole. Talk about a fraud. Fraud doesn't even touch it. And the additional insult of the nonapologies that followed doesn't pass the smell test.

[DemVet]

29. In other words, he's whining about how "unfair"" it is to...

...be criticized about the actions or words of someone in his campaign. I guess it was OK for Hillary and Ferraro, though.

[FrenchieCat]

43. He is not whining......

And why shouldn't he criticize actions and words of someone in his campaign? Is there a rule that state one should only criticize the actions and words of someone in someone else's campaign? :shrug:

Your point lost. :crazy:

[tishaLA]

58. Some people are in remedial reading classes, FC

don't worry about it.

[DemVet]

59. Read it again....you'll eventually understand....one would hope.

[Sadie5]

125. O was pretty good at that

until he was slapped in the face with the preacher's offensive remarks.

[therookie]

110. WHo is whning - it is the media begging for a remark

I would like to say something to those who like to just release a "jab". I understand that you are angry - even though I don't know about what. There is a lot to be angry about in America. Obama tried very hard not to respond to the Ferraro remarks, in fact, he went out of his way to be unavailable during all of the side show circus. He really just wants to talk about the issues. But when the media is mocking you because you aren't "throwing a good punch" and then they ask you a question where they are expecting him to throw a punch, Obama finally responded. He wasn't whining by any means. These are not the things he would like the cameras in his face about. He would like someone to ask him a genuine question.

If the media would actually do their job and provide "coverage" of the primaries, instead of going for sensation, we could tone down the exorcism of the Democratic primary. The media is having a day day simply because the people are reacting so strongly. This is great to them. I can prove it.

Every time that I send in a response that simply says - please cover the primary elections. Please stop making sensationalism just because you now have more readers than you ever had. This is irresponsible reporting. ... IT will NEVER get printed in the remarks - it goes into "being moderated" and then never surfaces. So, they only like to publish those inane remarks from people who are flapping in the breeze of the tornado they are providing. Let's just stop. I think Obama's advice can be taken on any contextual level.

We are Democrats. They are the media. They want to drum up things that will "scare" white people about black people. They want to make it look like VOodoo. They want everyone in a panic. Come on. I'm sure we have all been exposed to some level of dissenting views of our daddies and the presidents.

Peace!

[JoFerret]

34. What a bloody nerve. The game is up.

Has a divisive minister in his closet and then starts mouthing these platitudes.

Enough already.
The game is up.

[FrenchieCat]

48. McCarthyism suits you.......

and divisive the word you used; and you wear it well.

A Game is not what this is about, but you are so consumed, that this is what you are terming it.

I believe that you are part of the problem.
And one day, there will be no room for people like you,
who hate so well.

[JoFerret]

56. "And one day, there will be no room for people like you,"

Lovely.( Democratic cleansing here we come.)

(Do you even believe what you are saying and suggesting?)

We live in a racist society. I am racist. So is Hillary. So is Obama. And so are you.

It's what we try to DO about that that makes the difference and really matters.

Hillary's policies will make a difference to the issues that breed continued racism. Economic division, unemployment, injustice and ignorance.

Obama's would too.

It's just that she would be more effective at doing something about the economy, jobs and education.

But both would be an improvement.

[FrenchieCat]

62. That's right.....one day, there will be no room for people who

espouse that they are superior to all others in their views.

The day cannot come soon enough for me.

[JoFerret]

75. Wow! You know what you are saying, right?

You know where thinking like this leads, right?

(There goes unity and hope to put it mildly.)

Fortunately, I know that most Obama supporters/ voters/ followers etc. do not espouse these views.

[cornermouse]

164. I learned a long time ago to put Frenchie on ignore.

The only time I ever see her now is when I choose posts from the home page to look at before I sign in.

[GoldieAZ49]

92. Wow! So this is where you are coming from!

Shocking, to say the least, glad you are not now, nor ever will be, in charge.
So who are you to judge who is part of the problem?

By the way, not wanting to vote for a particular politician is not hate.

McCarthyism suits you.......
Posted by FrenchieCat

and divisive the word you used; and you wear it well.

A Game is not what this is about, but you are so consumed, that this is what you are terming it.

I believe that you are part of the problem.
And one day, there will be no room for people like you,
who hate so well.

[JoFerret]

142. Thanks Goldies

Seems like I have upset the opinion gruppenfuhrer and broken the rule of "thou shalt not support any candidate but mine."


The punishment for so doing will be eternal damnation followed by extermination.

[GoldieAZ49]

144. Welcome - The more I see this kind of thinking the more I want ABO

That mentality is the last thing this country needs...nothing unifying about it!

check this out:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dominic-lawson/dominic-lawson-obama-must-beware-of-turning-into-a-cult-787298.html

Obama, of course, is a democrat as well as a Democrat; but there is something in this form of rhetoric that has echoes of fascism, with its idea that the squabbling of mere politicians should be overthrown in favour of one man's uniquely wise interpretation of the National Will. Phrases such as "everything must be changed" were also the stock-in-trade of fascist orators, raising hopes which ended in the most dreadful disillusionment – and worse.

[JoFerret]

167. Is this actually accurate ?

Obama has a stock line which seems to play straight into the notion that he is an instrument of the divine. To a number of audiences, he has declared: "My job is be so persuasive that if there's anybody left out there who is still not sure whether they will vote, or is still not clear who they will vote for, that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down on you, you will experience an epiphany ... and you will suddenly realise that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama."

(from your link)

That is VERY creepy. No wonder people with a developed crap detector see right through it.

[BumRushDaShow]

47. Thanks for posting this.

I had read it not long before this post appeared and appreciate that he has been able to take adversity and turn it around to bring about a thoughtful reflection on history and how one might strive to go beyond the type of ilk spewed in this thread, to bring about a meaningful change and a stronger America. The destruction of the American economy thanks to Bushco, is going to require every one of us to help solve it, and we can't do so when factionalized and divided. :thumbsup:

[DemGa]

57. I cannot believe this hypocrisy

"We have to acknowledge them and lift them up and when people say things like my former pastor said, you know, you have to speak out forcefully against them."

Obama sat for YEARS while this stuff went on and speaks up when he gets busted? Audacious indeed!

[IndianaGreen]

60. Obama didn't hug and kiss Ariel Sharon while calling him a great man

The Butcher of Sabra and Chatilla massacre passed Hillary's smell test with flying colors!

[Usrename]

136. It's three minutes of tape!

How do you make three minutes of tape last for YEARS?

Can you explain it, or is what you said really stupid?

[Scurrilous]

65. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Jensen]

66. K & R!

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[kwenu]

68. Wonderful Mr. Obama!!! The forces of division will not be allowed to derail your campaign.

:yourock:

[JustinL]

69. very nice

Obama continues to impress.

[catgirl]

81. This is why Obama needs to be the next president! (nt)

[ebdarcy]

82. K & R

[anonymous171]

88. K&R

:kick:

[globalvillage]

91. The video's up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsqDTVmlKk&eurl=http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGB8BL

[BumRushDaShow]

104. Excellent!! Thanks for posting that link!!

:thumbsup:

[usregimechange]

139. Thanks, I was looking for it

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

93. Great Speech! Thanks For Posting.

He's definitely still on his game on his end, that's for sure.

[slinkerwink]

95. thanks for the nice comments!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

96. Truth Be Told,

Going to bed last night, I was thissssssssssss close (use your imagination since you can't see my fingeres) to choosing within myself to officially become an Obama supporter. In the end, I just couldn't do it yet, because this whole recent flap does give me concerns as it relates to his electability. I want to see how it pans out and what kind of legs it grows. But I felt crushed last night going to sleep thinking about it. He's worked too hard and come too far to have something this stupid ruin it for him, even though it might. It occurred to me, that deep inside, I really kinda think it's him I want to pull this all off at the end of it all. But I also have to recognize that November at its core is what matters most to me, and this recent story could possibly put that at risk. So I ended up falling asleep still undecided, after all.

But I still don't want to see him falter. No matter what happens, I want him to remain the brilliant speaker he is and continue to motivate the masses. No matter how heated things could get here, I have never ceased for a second to remember that these are both dems, and both of which I respect the hell out of and feel are great dems and great candidates. I don't want to see either of them have to go through things like he's dealing with right now.

[slinkerwink]

102. I understand......

Thursday night was one of the worst nights in my life as an Obama supporter. I questioned the man, why he would go to church with a pastor like that, but after seeing the Obama article on HuffPo, the media tour, the Youtube pushback, and his speech today, I've felt a lot better today. I understand more about where Obama's coming from, and why he wants to move us past those racial difficulties. I now see Rev. Wright as a part of the old generation where that anger is still below the surface and bubbles up every now and then, and I see Obama as a part of the new generation where he wants to move past that anger. I've been thinking a lot about this in the past three days in reconciling my initial reaction to the Wright video, which was of shock, and to my reactions to the Obama campaign over time. The reason I now firmly believe that Obama doesn't believe in what Wright says is because of how he's conducted his campaign, and I don't hear Wright's words in his words.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

103. I Don't Believe For A Second That Obama Subscribes To Such Positions, And Never Did.

Not for a second.

But I also recognize that it isn't my perception that matters. It's that of the everyday voter. I can see this having a huge impact on their thought process, and that totally sucks. But we won't know how true that is for a bit yet.

[slinkerwink]

108. I'm aware of that, and I'm waiting for the polls to come out this week

[ekwhite]

195. OMC - I have come to respect you in the last few days

I don't think Senator Obama agrees with Rev. Wright's statements played in that 5 minutes of tape. You are also right that the average voter will look on any association with those comments as tainting our candidate.

I just can't bring myself to disagree with Rev. Wright though. I have seen too much shit go down in my life to disagree with him. There is no need to list the crimes - any progressive knows most of what has gone down in the last 40 years - but thinking about those crimes doesn't make me want to sing 'God Bless America' either. It would be better to ask for God's forgiveness than her blessing.

[grantcart]

98. great

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

107. K&R!

Thanks for posting this!

[rodeodance]

111. BO's problem is that he did NOT speak out until the Press caught him!

I don’t want us to forget them. We have to acknowledge them and lift them up and when people say things like my former pastor said, you know, you have to speak out forcefully against them.

[OhioBlue]

113. gawd... you make no sense. n/t

[rodeodance]

114. His church/paster was preaching God damm America! Wrong!

[usregimechange]

152. Caught him in church with people he doesn't always agree with? Shocker

[candice]

115. Karma is a bitch. You shouldn't have played the race card...

in South Carolina, which rippled over into the other Southern states in which the Democratic Party is predominately black.

It went in play again in Mississippi.

What does your campaign plan to do to "divide" North Carolina?

[Barack_America]

117. Stunning. Inspiring.

Yes, THIS is what I've been working for the past several weeks registering people in some of the poorest areas of West Philadelphia.

This puts it all back into perspective.

[blue neen]

123. It is a stunning and inspiring speech

and is just what he needed to say today.

Thank you for the work you are doing. I got someone registered in southwestern PA this week. It was just someone who I had been talking to who comes in to where I work...he's a 62 year old white male who had never voted before, but he wants to vote for Obama! I may start getting more involved in the campaign soon.

[writes3000]

134. Congrats, Blue Neen! I love to hear that! Way to go! n/t

[JustinL]

161. congratulations!

[TriplePlay]

126. This is a fantastic response

Obama takes a 100 mph fastball and hits a homer.

He ties this controversy together with his central theme of one America.
He echos the speech of Bobby Kennedy, reminds everyone that his own makeup is diverse,and points out that this is an opportunity.

This is why he is more than a polititian... he is a leader.

[yellerpup]

180. That is an excellent response and analysis.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[elixir]

127. Unfortunately, Rev. Wright's divisive sermons are coloring Obama's image. It's not working out.

[high density]

130. Are you sure you want to play that game?

Guilt by association doesn't work out so well with Team Clinton either.

[Umbram]

149. Damn, Obama's not converting Clinton supporters...AND the sky is falling (nt)

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

151. Oh do tell us all about your "Christian" faith, please

give us all the details. I want to know on what basis you judge this man.

[TriplePlay]

163. I thought "Words Don't Matter" to you Hillary people

I heard Hillary say it, it must be true. Oh, but that was so last week.

This week not only the candidates words, but his preacher's words, which the candidate denounces, are enough to bring a candidate down.

If you feel words matter now, it's not enough to just say so, you must "Reject and Denounce" Hillary's Words Don't Matter statement.

[ekwhite]

131. Here is the speech that Bobby Kennedy made

I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.

In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black--considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible--you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization--black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.

Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.

So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love--a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

[writes3000]

135. Never read that before.

It's an amazing speech.

And it's very insightful that Obama referenced it today.

[Bluenorthwest]

174. I remember that speech

I was a child. That speech is part of why I oppose the divisive events that have defined this cycle from both remaining camps. McClurkin and Ferraro.
When Obama cites RFK, MLK and tosses out the fear of terrorism while still refusing to reject the tactics of his early campaign, or to promise those offended such slanders will not occur again, I find it to be cheap. Nice words, as ususual, but they are not a replacement for personal responsibility and actions. The bigots that attacked my family at Obama's own events he called 'good, decent, and moral people'. Bobby would not have called any bigot decent or good or moral. Sorry, but a bigot is a bigot, and some of them are Obama approved, it seems the only bigots he really opposes are the ones that hold prejudice toward him. If they hate me, they are good and decent. Even when they speak clearly for half an hour on the subject on Obama's own stage.
Obama has to get himself to the place of righteousness, or he can not lead. While he rationalizes and empoys hate speech against gays, he condemns the same thing when it targets the community he sees as his own. Like there are not gay black people. He is a hypocrite, and they are the worst of all liars.
I got zero problems with Wright. His hyperbole is shocking to many, but he never ever targets minorities or even the majority according to type, but by actions. Rev Wright has stood with gay people many times. I could offer great arguments and point about Trinity. But not as long as Obama stands there with McClurkin, his good and decent bigot. Not going to happen.
Obama's lack of self inspection and inward honesty is very troubeling. This speech he is giving, man, he is the one who set attack dogs to inflame prejudice against gay people. And he never apologized. A speech like this sounds great, but coming from a promoter and defender of homophobia and religious bigotry, it is false and empty.
Sorry guys, but there is no such thing as being 'just anti-gay'. A bigot is a bigot. A Fundy is a Fundy. A slur is a slur, a bashing is a bashing. Hard to look like a victim when your fists are bloodied with the propaganda of the anti-gay Right wing. In fact, the Obama campaign is guilty of baiting and bashing, without apology. And yet he dares invoke Bobby.
Get right, Barack, or leave great men like Bobby in peace. Corretta Scott King was a huge gay rights supporter, in the name of her husband. I'm sorry, King was not a McClurkinite. Nor was Bobby. Obama is the only one in the picture, blaming others for what he does too. Sick stuff. Blinders on, full bigot steam ahead. No apologizes, except when Obama is offended. Because by God it is all about Obama.
Myself, I await his apology for his sewing of hatred and ingorance against gay people. Then I might be able to listen to his self serving rhetoric with out puking.

[FrenchieCat]

155. Wow...thank you for that.

Do you have a link? Although I guess I could located it.


My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.

[JustinL]

160. video of this beautiful speech:

link

[jackson_dem]

138. Great timing, Barack!

:wtf:

This is like Spitzer making a speech tomorrow about the need to crackdown on prostitution.

[RiverStone]

153. Another example of Obama turning adversity to inspiration...n/t

[FrenchieCat]

157. That's the story of his life......

and that's why I support him.

[usregimechange]

140. What a historic speech!

[usregimechange]

147. kick!

[donheld]

154. Kick 2

[better tomorrow]

158. he must be reading DU......

and trying to tell all of us something.....

[indimuse]

159. I do NOT believe Obama ..anymore.

his words mean zero...did he even write that? c'mon..

[Perry Logan]

162. Apparently Obama's followers aren't listening to him.

[hilltop]

170. As time goes by

This has been handled badly and I fear may dearly cost either
that is the Democratic nominee in November.

Overdoing quotes of others can also wear very thin; expecially
when you are vague on details yourself.

Whether we like it or not the actual voters in November will
not act without acting on feelings and memories and biases
when they pull that final curtain. 
There are paper trails and audios and videos that did not
exist for George McGovern - we are creating an archive here
today.

Unfortunately dreams and wishes and ignoring reality usually
has disasterous consequences if one insists on following The
Yellow Brick Road template. 

Falling in love with love may indeed end in having to say
you're sorry....

Sorry - I myself am using trite soundbites and buzzwords now;
It's catching.

- But what do I know?
  
Sometimes a word is just a word..... 

Yet then again ofttimes it's a epitaph written crudely but
deeply in stone on a hill not so shining.

     


    

[yellerpup]

173. It is within our power to change division into unity.

We must not give up hope. Obama can guide us into a peaceful, ethical future. K&R for the inspiring words.

[meow mix]

177. K&R, nice. Obama should linger on this point for awhile theres some thick skulls out there

Hi Slinker! sorry about those old clark vs dean days...

[Major Hogwash]

187. We should come together and rebuke the forces of division,

Great speech.

[slinkerwink]

188. thank you!

[rucky]

191. "if all I knew was those statements that I saw on television, I would be shocked"

eom

[apocalypsehow]

196. Excellent.

:thumbsup: