Obama

The Curious Case of Racial Discourse

Daniel Hodge — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:50:01 -0700

President Obama has his hands full. On one end, if he presses too hard for equality and justice, he will be crucified for “playing the race card.” On the other side of it, if he sits still and says very little, at the end of his presidency not only will Blacks remonstrate but many other ethnic minorities will bawl for justice and equality against the beast of racism. In the recent weeks, we have seen the struggle President Obama has had; Shirley Sherrod is case in point. Moreover, now you have Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters being probed by the ethics committee; both are African American. Does race play a role in all this? Of course.

This country has never dealt with its deep embedded history of racism. From the U.S.’s inception (and beyond for that matter) racism has been at the forefront of politics, the economy, and “expansion” (e.g. Manifest Destiny). During the 1960’s we had a small window of opportunity to engage and embrace these issues; the time was ripe and open for the conversation. However, after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, many people felt as though racism was a “dead thing.” The problem then gets placed under the carpet to seethe, simmer, and eventually boil over leaving ethnic minorities to blame when they call out for justice. Hence, it stands to reason why we have these eruptions in the news of racially charged cases, politics, and narrative.

The President is caught between doing what he knows is the right thing in terms of leading out on the issues of racial inequality, and getting re-elected. This was evident in the swift firing of Sherrod over some drummed up charges made by a fanatic who plays on emotion and people’s fears. The Obama administration reacted, partly, out of self-preservation; no one wanted to be blamed for harboring a “racist.” Republicans would have eaten that up; just in time for elections. Moreover, if Obama pushes too hard on race he does run the serious risk of being assassinated. Keep in mind he already has the security level of a president being threatened constantly. Moreover, the patterns for ethnic minorities, in particular, who speak out against racism get publically shunned and as NY Times writer Matt Bai puts it have “public outrage and humiliation” to contend with—consequently one of the major problems.

Once again, Obama is caught in the middle…what do you do? This goes deeper than what we actually see on the surface though. The country is still shocked that a negro is even in office. Many in the South, who still feel sensitive over that Civil War thing, look at Washington in complete contempt. Why? Well, there are a list of reasons. For example, no matter how educated, smart, sharp, wise, or polished a Black man is, they are still looked at as less than, incompetent, and or placed in positions of power because of some type of Affirmative Action or quota needing to be met. That is a stereotype long-lived and extremely difficult to overcome, if even able to be overcome.

In my classes, I have students take a social photograph of their school. I ask them to see who is in power, who has decision-making power, and who is in charge. I ask them to notice blue-collar jobs around school and who performs the grunt work. I then ask that they observe the gender and race of each of those positions. Overwhelmingly, White and male is in the power seat while ethnic minorities are in positions of service with the least power. But what is even more imperative to note is that most White students do not seem to care; in fact, most say that “God put them there” and why would we hire a minority over a “qualified” White person—the sub text being that the minority is not even qualified to begin with and that Whiteness must be some divine and pious appointment.

No matter how many books I publish, degrees I get, intellectual words I use, suites I wear, or shined up grins I give, when I walk into that all White classrooms, I am still battling those historical stereotypes and images placed upon me by years of media and social conditioning of Blacks. Thus, it is even more an issue for someone in such a public office such as the presidency.

For White’s who are new to this issue or even tired of this issue, it is very difficult to have these types of conversations. Many White’s have rarely had to comprehend White racial identity and or be placed in constant situations where they haven’t had the choice of being the minority. Therefore, since White’s still control most of the power in this country, it complicates the issue even further. Someone like me is looked at as a complainer, someone who is playing the victim, playing the race card, not being able to pull my self up by my bootstraps, or, even worse, not having enough faith. The conversation is even muddier when I speak with a White person who sincerely believes that I bring these problems on myself by talking about them and or entertaining the idea that racism still exists.

The President has a hard road ahead. Maxine and Charlie are two long standing players in Washington and if Obama were to call out the obvious for what is happening to them, he too would be called a racist and lose those precious votes come next election—a problem in and of itself.

So, where do we go with this? What do we do with the curious case of race and racism? Do we all just “take it to Jesus?” I wish it were that simple, because even there—in theological discourse—we see the power of racism as well. Non-contextualized Gospel messages, one size fits all salvation approaches, one style worship only being accepted, Westernized styles of devotions, disenfranchising “other” labels, the dampening of variety in approaching God, and even interpretations of sacred scripture have all been shot through racialized lenses. In fact, when Rome concentrated power of the church, they castigated any other form of worship and theology; it was their way or nothing. In effect, anyone who didn’t practice church the way they laid it out was condemned and excommunicated. We have some problems.

It is important to begin dealing with some of these issues. Recent tragedies such as Oscar Grant, remind us that we are nowhere near what we have come to idealize as a “great country.” We’ve cuddled the mythology of “justice for all” far too long without ever looking at what that really means for “all.” We’ve also ignored those voices on the margins who cry for equality and justice but are looked at as trouble makers, loud mouths, and unpatriotic. Moreover, we have looked upon God as a God who only really “loves” one type of people; multi-culturalism takes work—a lot of it. And we cannot falter just because it seems or appears that things have “gotten better” because for many they have not. We have a presidency with the capability of taking us into a new era of racial equality, but are impotent of doing so and caught in the cross hairs of special interest and votes.

Dear God, help us.

Interview with Jonathan Merritt

Dave Sterrett — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:39:57 -0700

Jonathan is a faith and culture writer who has published over 100 articles in respected outlets such as USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post's “On Faith," BeliefNet, The Huffington Post, and Relevant magazine. He is author of Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet (2010). As a respected Christian voice, Jonathan has been interviewed by ABC World News, NPR, PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Fox News, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Jonathan, you are very gifted writer. Briefly tell ConversantLife, why you wrote this book?

I felt compelled to write this book after having an epiphany in a theology class. It’s funny, really. I became an environmentalist at a Southern Baptist seminary. I was sitting in class and we were discussing the revelation of God, that God speaks to us through both the Bible (2 Pt 1) and nature (Rom 1). It occurred to me that most Christians don’t live a life of reverence towards God’s revelation in nature. For the next year, I scoured the scriptures writing down every time I read something about God’s plan for our planet. This became the beginnings of Green Like God.

Why do Christians, specifically need to read your book?

Because these things are rooted in the scriptures. Many Christians are completely oblivious to the creation care mandates throughout the Bible. We need to rediscover these forgotten truths. Additionally, we live in a world where people equate living an others-focused, sustainable life with being a good person. If Christians are seen treating the world and those who depend on earth’s resources in callous ways, it hurts our witness.

To the Christian, what are a couple significant passages in Scripture that speak of God’s love for creation?

In Genesis chapter 1, God created the earth. And we could just stop there. The fact that God made it is reason enough to care for it. But in the same chapter, God ascribes value to the planet by recognizing that it is “good.” In Genesis 2, God places Adam in the garden to “cultivate it and care for it.” In Genesis 7-9, God enters into a covenant “with every living thing…the whole earth.” In Psalm 19 and Romans 1, we see that the earth is here to declare God’s glory. Jesus asked us to love our neighbors and care for “the least of these,” and as we know, environmental problems disproportionately affect the poor. Finally, in Revelation 11 we find that God has set aside a time of judgment for “destroying those who have destroyed the earth.” And … this is just to name a few. We should never do anything that could be construed as worshipping the creation. But we should always honor the Creator who made a “good” creation and asked us to steward it.

For the most part, I agree with your ethical solutions. However, a page that caught me off guard, was page 66 that said in the margin, “The Bible doesn’t teach the sanctity of human life, but sanctity of all life.” You write, “Is human life sacred because it is human? No.” Jonathan, I disagree with this statement, but perhaps you could expound on your thoughts. I do agree with you that God is the creator of all life, but don’t believe that all life has intrinsic ‘sanctity’ (even though God did create it all). How do you define “sanctity of life?”

By sanctity, I mean sacredness imputed by a blessing from God. As we learn from the scriptures, God “loves all that he has made” (Ps 151). The Bible says he watches over deer and mountain goats during their pregnancy until they give birth. It says that he has given every star a name and he notices if a single sparrow falls from the sky. While we affirm that a human is worth more than many sparrows, we also realize that what makes something sacred is not “humanness” but rather that it has been created by God and is the object of his love.

On page 83, you say that one of the most common names you find in emails is ‘Al Gore.’ You provide a brief biography of Gore. What is your evaluation of Gore’s environmental philosophy of man made global warming?

I am not a scientist, and I have never done any research on climate change. I didn’t really address climate change in Green Like God except in an appendix. In that appendix, I build an approach to the issue based on Christians virtues (honesty, integrity, justice, and prudence). In the face of conflicting evidence like we are seeing on climate change, we should act prudently. As far as Gore, I believe he is probably a sincere person, but I happen to disagree with him on several things especially when it comes to some of his proposals to curb climate change.

How well has the Obama administration responded to the Oil Spill in the Gulf?

I’ve been disappointed at how the Obama administration has responded. The response was slow, foreign countries that offered assistance were turned down, and the willingness to meet with BP executives has been weak. I believe the American people are going to remember the administration’s failures for some time.

What are your thoughts on how churches could help this particular crises?

I think we should begin with mourning and prayer. Then we need to begin providing relief for the hurting people of the Gulf region. Finally, we need to require government officials to make sure the proper regulations are in place that will keep this type of problem from recurring. The eyes of America are focused on this tragedy. We have a great opportunity to turn their gaze on the Creator who stands behind the creation. I hope we do.

To what extent, do you believe the role of government should play in the protection of the environment?

I like what Russell Moore, Dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently said in response to the oil spill:

“Because we believe in free markets, we’ve acted as though this means we should trust corporations to protect the natural resources and habitats. But a laissez-faire view of government regulation of corporations is akin to the youth minister who lets the teenage girl and boy sleep in the same sleeping bag at church camp because he 'believes in young people.'”

The government exists, in part, to restrain humans from doing evil. At the same time, we have to remember that over-regulation or over-taxation is not an appropriate use of governmental power. There is a fine line between proper regulation and governmental overreach. I am not a policy expert, but we need some good Christian political minds helping us think through this.

Obama and Peace Prize: Meet Isaiah and Jesus

Richard Dahlstrom — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:33:43 -0700

"God has placed eternity in the hearts of men..." is one of those mysterious verses in the Bible that is best explained through illustration, by pointing at something and saying, "that's what it means". Now that Obama's been awarded a the Nobel Peace Prize before actually doing much of anything substantive to contribute to world peace, I think we have an example of Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Don't get all "Rush" on me, and scream about liberal conspiracies. Your tirade will cause you to miss something valuable.

Don't preach, either, about how Obama deserves this award, and how his presence at the table as someone who tries negotiating before bombs is enough of a cause for him to triumph over these candidates. He doesn't (deserve this award, not even by his own admission), and it isn't.

If we step back though, and take a deep breath, we might realize that Obama was granted this award, not for anything he's done, but for what his style represents. Rightly or wrongly, the committee was impressed with the removal of the defense shield in Eastern Europe, and his willingness to engage in dialogue with enemies with whom the previous administration refused to converse. Did you get that? They were impressed that he was reducing weapons and talking with his enemies.

Why be impressed with that? I'd suggest that the committee was impressed with that because our hearts long for the kind of world that will exist when Christ reigns. Someday, Jesus will say, "come let us reason together", and when justice rules perfectly, He's promised that we'll melt our weapons down and turn them into tools of agriculture.

Hmmm... Christ's reign looks like what again? Reason and dialogue, and a reduction of weapons. No wonder people like Obama. I'm not defending O's political strategy, nor challenging it. That's been done endlessly. I am saying that people like reducing weapons and talking for a reason, and the reason is because God put it in their hearts to like it - we're made for peace and dialogue.

Oh, and there's a giant warning here too. Humanity's greatest failures have come whenever people have promised the fruits of the kingdom without the reign of the True King. History has shown that there's only One who will be able to bring this about. Like or don't like O's strategy. But don't confuse it for the kingdom - to do so would be disastrous.

West and Wilson Deserve Each Other

Brett McCracken — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:39:22 -0700

I’m pretty sure that Kanye West and Joe Wilson have nothing in common. Kanye is a swaggerific hip-hop fashionista who wears Alexander McQueen suits and Yohji Yamamoto gloves, and whose vanity is only eclipsed by his ego. Joe Wilson is an extremely white, Southern Republican congressman who has never heard a Wu-Tang Clan song and who once voted against the removal of the confederate flag at South Carolina’s capital.

But West and Wilson do have one thing in common: Both men are tactless, disrespectful opportunists.

When Joe Wilson broke protocol during Obama’s healthcare speech and shouted “You lie!” it was shockingly disrespectful; Likewise when Kanye ripped the microphone from sweet little Taylor Swift and stole her VMA thunder. In both cases these men spoke out of turn in trying to prove a point but failed to prove anything but their own annoying dearth of class.

But worse than their actual transgressions were their flimsy, shotgun apologies West and Wilson quickly offered to shift the blame away from their own stupid actions. Wilson apologized soon after his “You lie!” outburst, but has since been refusing to publicly apologize again (instead he seems happy to be raking in the fundraising money as the GOPs new bad boy). West, meanwhile, wrote a bizarre all-caps apology on his blog just hours after his Taylor Swift assault, saying he was “SOOOO SORRY” but also “EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I’M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!! … I’M NOT CRAZY YALL, I’M JUST REAL.” Oh really, Kanye? So being “REAL” entails being an insensitive low-class pop culture predator? And then he goes on Jay Leno and tries to play the confused victim who is still in grief for his mother? Please.

The rush to apology seems indicative of our culture’s unwillingness to truly take ownership of wrongdoing. When we say or do something stupid, we are lightning quick to wash our hands of it—whether via “apology” or some other recompense—rather than suffer any consequences for our actions. But wake up, Kanye and Joe: If you want our respect, you need to get over yourselves, suffer a little bit for your offenses and NOT throw down a quickie apology wrapped in narcissism.

Obama's Conservative Speech

Brett McCracken — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:43:21 -0700

On Tuesday, President Obama—following the precedent of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush—delivered a “Back to School” speech to American students, beamed live via the Internet and C-SPAN into thousands of classrooms across the country.

It was a fantastic speech. Read it here.

I always love a good Obama speech. He’s a great, inspiring orator, and in recent years he’s delivered some of the best American speeches of the 21st century (such as this race speech from the campaign trail).

His speech to America’s schoolchildren was impressive as ever, and I hope that it inspired some children to want to learn, study, and succeed in school.

Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the speech, the buffoons of conservative talk radio and Fox News preemptively labeled the speech “socialist propaganda” and basically accused Obama of trying to indoctrinate America’s children.

Sean Hannity claimed that “it seems very close to indoctrination,” while Fox News commentator Monica Crowley said “just when you think this administration can’t get any more surreal and Orwellian, here they come to indoctrinate our kids”; similarly, Michelle Malkin claimed that “the left has always used kids in public schools as guinea pigs and as junior lobbyists for their social liberal agenda.”

Maybe I’m missing something, but a careful read of Obama’s speech reveals that it is far from a propagandistic sales pitch for the social liberal agenda. On the contrary; It’s actually borderline conservative. Why? Because the point of the speech is personal responsibility. Obama makes it clear that we all have circumstances that make achievement difficult. We have absentee fathers (Obama talks about his own), poverty, prejudice, and a whole battery of other challenges that make success in life difficult. But they are all excuses. Here’s something Obama said in the speech:

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Isn’t this sort of what conservatives are always saying? That it’s all about moving beyond handouts and pity and taking ownership over one’s destiny? Here’s another excerpt from the speech:

We can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

To me, the speech is about as American and far from socialism as you can get. It’s a speech about believing in yourself, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, overcoming adversity, etc. What was Fox News thinking in their overanxious denouncement of it?

Meanwhile, other conservatives—like Laura Bush and Newt Gingrich—have responded to the speech by praising it. Here’s what Gingrich said about it on the Today Show:

“If he could give a speech tomorrow night in the tone of his speech today to the students, this country would be much better off … It’s a good speech, I recommend it to everybody if you have any doubts.”

So, lesson for conservatives: Don’t be too quick to throw out something of value just because Obama’s name is attached to it. Maybe try listening to what he is actually saying and evaluating it on its own terms.

Will the real healthcare please stand up

Kristin Ritzau — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:11:28 -0700

There’s no perfect plan – there I said it. At least some people though are trying to find a plan. I’m sick to death of politics and even more tired of one sentence Facebook comments that start debates where people say things they would never say face to face or don’t understand.

Congress and Facebook have a lot in common. There is a lot of time spent on things that should not occupy that much of our attention and not enough time spent on issues that need our utmost commitment, awareness, and dedication. We have all but forgotten to work together.

One politician took to his blog this week rallying the Republicans to bring Obama down with his healthcare plan: “Go for the kill,” he said. Enough already. Why not invest your energy into a bipartisan plan instead of spewing venomous words that further cut into an already deeply divided nation? Why don’t we write letters to our representatives asking them to put down their paper and electronic swords and start working together – aren’t we on the same team? Maybe then our nation could stand firm on something again that is meaningful because right now all of the pundit and bobblehead chatter are cracking the foundation.

I received a bill in the mail yesterday from an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor for $145. I was there for 12 minutes. I am one of the “lucky ones” with insurance, but even with PPO, I have to go to certain doctors who are in-network or I am billed for things like this. It was an ear infection, plain and simple. Water was lodged in my ear and as it turns out, when left there too long, fungus can grow (I know TMI, but there you have it). Only a specialist can fix this. So on my insurance company's website I looked up who I could visit and went.

Little did I know the doctor I saw was in the process of suing my insurance company because he wasn’t contracted with them anymore and hadn’t been taken off of the list. On June 18th, he was still on the list, so I handed the receptionist my insurance card and she took it. As of yesterday, he’s not on the list anymore, thus I got a bill… for $145. I was told by the billing department of the doctor’s office that I could sue the insurance company. The insurance company told me I had to take it up with the doctor – my earache was turning into a giant headache.

In my mind this cat and mouse game shouldn’t be this hard – period. Yes, I get that doctors need to get paid, but $145 to clean out an ear and give me some ear plugs – seriously?

A couple of years ago I was sent to specialist after specialist when my muscles began twitching in my fingers and legs. They wanted to rule out the scary stuff. Each month, although insured, the bills rolled in. Our budget for health for one part time employee and one full time employee with benefits was over $500 … a month. We spent over $7,000 that year alone on healthcare and we’re supposed to be at our peak of health as young adults.

Getting sick now seems like a last resort. We eat organic; we take vitamins; we are health freaks. We wait out to see how bad a virus or infection will get to postpone the inevitable – the bills. We have tried natural remedies, Chinese herbs, and every kind of alternative nutty thing you could think of. We went "Western" too and tried the antibiotics and presciptions. But here we are stuck with costly medical treatments from various conditions.

I have a thyroid disease and this past December I finally took a pill that was smaller than the size of a baby aspirin to radiate it away. It was an extremely tough choice that took me a year to decide to do it. I explored all my options. In the end we went with what did make sense to us, but also what was the cheapest. That little radioactive pill cost us under $100, but to walk into the hospital, take the pill while the doctor watched to make sure I swallowed, and walk out (total time = 9 minutes) cost someone almost $4,000. I was glad I had insurance – it’s great when it works, but when it doesn’t, it’s awful.

Healthcare is one of the top reasons people file for bankruptcy and it’s not okay. It’s not okay when a mother questions taking her infant to the ER when she thinks he has developed pneumonia in the middle of the night for fear of the bills. It’s not okay when a person with serious medical needs becomes a pawn between the insurance company and doctor’s office. It’s not okay that a single dad working 3 jobs to support his family can’t afford insurance, and then is called lazy by some. It’s not okay that they system is F-ed up. (Oh how I really want to write that word).

So no, there is no perfect plan, but there needs to be a better one. One where medical facilities and insurance companies are not for-profits. One where people are people for richer or poorer, for better or worse, in sickness and health. We have divorced the idea in favor of green paper with dead presidents. We have forgotten what commitment truly is – to the sick, to the poor, to the orphan. We don’t know what it looks like to work together.

Here is my letter (and my cry): Please, please learn to work together in legislature and in your neighborhoods, not in a condescending way, but in a way of equality and good old fashioned citizenship. As humans let’s learn what humanity is once again and put the care back in health.

too late to apologize?

Kristin Ritzau — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:28:23 -0700

I woke up this morning craving toast. I’m not sure what it was about, but I started ransacking my kitchen looking for the loaf of sourdough I just purchased from the bakery. The bread is usually right next to the toaster, but it had taken a walk today. I have been known to misplace various items, so I went about tearing into cupboards and looking on every countertop in our house. Finally, as I stared at the lonely apricot jam sitting on the counter, I picked up the phone and called my husband. “Do you know where the bread went? I swear we had a ½ of a loaf left.” He started laughing and explained that he was feeling lazy so he stuffed the rest of the bread into his work bag and the huge tub of chicken salad and thought that he would just make sandwiches at work. I cracked up, “Are you making 12 sandwiches?”

Maybe it was one of those you-had-to-be there moments, but I was reminded that sometimes in our laziness and insecurity we take a lot for granted. (Thanks honey). It’s our assumption that we are doing the right thing and our unintentional actions become just that – lacking intentionality. I recently returned from a trip where we visited one of the Japanese Internment Camps in California from WWII. In stark contrast to the concentration camps I saw in Germany, the US has dismantled the entire thing, only leaving a couple of buildings. As President Obama toured the Cape Coast Castle this week in Ghana, I too wondered in California, what the walls and ground would say if they could talk.

As I watched the movie at the tourist center, my eyes welled up with tears as I saw the families being brought on trains and buses from my home state of Washington. They were forced to leave their homes, businesses, and friends to move 1,000 miles away and their crime --- they were Japanese. Their lives were turned upside down and even when it was over, they were not allowed to return to any of the Pacific Coast States. These were American citizens. In the 80s Reagan issued an apology to these citizens and as one man in the video said, “I finally didn’t feel like a second class citizen.”

A similar apology was issued by the Senate last month about the slave trade and certain people are up in arms. One radio announcer had this to say (taken from a CNN.com article)

"It's just a divisive grand-standing issue that makes no sense at all," said McDonough, a Republican radio host in Baltimore. "No. 1, I or my family have never owned slaves. We came to the United States from Ireland long after slavery had been abolished. No. 2, I think the apology has already been given in the way of 500,000 dead American soldiers in the Union Army who made it clear that they didn't approve of slavery and fought against it."

"There is no need for an apology; there is a need for people to come together and work for the general welfare of the nation," he said. "The president, I believe, will pretty soon appoint a czar of apology."

It’s a pretty bombastic statement if you ask me. Yes, I too am not part of a family that owned slaves, but what is wrong with the government issuing an apology for something that was indeed backed by the government? I actually think it is a fantastic idea to appoint a czar of apology. How great would it be to see people in leadership who knew when they were wrong and an office dedicated to reconciliation and making amends? I for one would be a huge fan of that.

I want people to feel at home and as a nation birthed out of immigration, there needs to be more ways to be intentional about making paths (not labyrinths) for people to be citizens in this country. Last night my yoga instructor said, “There needs to be freedom in stability and stability in freedom.” And instantly my mind started pondering this idea even though she was talking about warrior pose. When we become so “stable” that we lose our freedom to move and breathe, that’s just it, we have lost our freedom. Freedom to think, freedom to make choices, and freedom period. Likewise, when our freedom is so loose that there are no structures in place or guidelines, stability is not stable. When either side takes over, as was the case with the Japanese internment camps and slavery – both were taking freedom out of consideration for the sake of stability – people were hurt and people need apologies.

That’s why I want to yell at this guy who said that because when do we get to a point in our nation or even as humans when we’re too good to apologize? We might not have had a direct role in slavery, but we live in a nation where some people who have been here longer than us still don’t feel like it’s home and when our government issues an apology for their part in it, I will stand behind that. That’s good leadership. I wish the government apologized quicker than 200 years or even 45 years for the things they are doing now. We need to continually be looking at our freedom and our stability and not assume that one is more important than the other and make amends when one gets out of whack.

Just like looking for the bread this morning, even if my husband’s intentions were just that, unintentional, he still apologized. He didn’t get snarky and say, “Well suck it up, I needed the bread. Let’s just work together to come up with a solution and move forward.” That wouldn’t have even acknowledged what truly happened. When we have become a people that don’t apologize, I wonder what kind of people we are becoming.

Quote from: July 17, 2009 cnn.com : Obama on slavery: 'Capacity for cruelty still exists' By, Wayne Drash

The Contradictions of our President

Sean McDowell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:41:03 -0700

While my first passion (and formal training) is in theology and philosophy, I do love following politics. For balance, I regularly read the HuffingtonPost.com (liberal) Townhall.com (conservative) and watch CNN and Fox News to try and get multiple sides of every issue. For the past couple weeks, I’ve decided to pay even closer attention to the words of President Obama. In doing so, I’m amazed at how many times he directly contradicts himself. Yet what’s more amazing is that the mainstream media doesn’t pick up on these. Consider a few…

President Obama: Can we emphasize your Muslim roots or not? During the presidential campaign you strongly downplayed your Islamic background (strong criticism was leveled at those who included your middle name “Hussein.”) Yet in your recent speech in Cairo you emphasized your background and sympathy for Islam. In fact, you boasted of having “known Islam on three continents.” Which is it? And how far does your sympathy for Islam go? Why did you speak out immediately against the killing of Dr. Tiller, but were very slow in response to the murder at the recruiting office by an American Muslim?

President Obama: Are you a Christian, or not? You have claimed to be a Christian, and I give you the benefit of the doubt (as I would anyone else). Something you said recently, however, raised some concern. In your Cairo speech you said you look forward to the day, “…when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer." The term “peace be upon them” is used by Muslims to bless deceased holy men. According to Islam, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are dead prophets. Yet, of course, to Christians Jesus is the living and immortal Son of God. You may think I am making too big of a deal about this, but remember, you have recently claimed to be deeply versed in Islam.

President Obama: Will you step down from your presidency, since your race is being used as a recruiting tool for white supremacist groups? Last night CNN had a program about the recent barrage of “hate” crimes (the death of Dr. Tiller, the murder at the Holocaust museum, and the killing of the military recruiter by an American Muslim). A CNN expert pointed out that Barack Obama’s presidency, since he is an African-American, is being used as a recruiting tool for white supremacist groups and that there will likely be a significant increase in such attacks. Given that your primary justification for shutting down Guantanamo is that it is being used as a recruiting tool for terrorists, will you step down as president for the sake of consistency? You seem like a team player, so why not take one for the team? I actually don’t think you should step down. You won fairly and deserve the right to serve your term(s). But is consistency too much to ask?

President Obama: Are you against nations working unilaterally or not? In a recent speech to international leaders you said that no individual nation should work alone—it must work in partnership with other nations. However, you also recently told Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel needs to stop building settlements in the West Bank, as the U.S. would not tolerate such actions. Your Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, chimed in, calling for a “stop to settlements—not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions” from Israel in the West Bank (The Week, June 12, 2009, p. 21). In other words, Clinton is making unique demands that apply solely to Israel. Please clarify, for there seems to be a contradiction. If you are against nations making individual demands, then how can you level unilateral criticism at Israel? Are you reserving special condemnation for Israel that you won’t extend to Muslim nations? Sure, many Islamic nations would support your criticism of Israel, but that was not your justification.

It’s amazing to me that the mainstream media doesn’t pick up on these contradictions (except Sean Hannity picked up on the first one). Why not? The only explanation I can think of is its liberal bias. Check out this link for some recent stats that clearly show the media’s bias towards Obama. If anyone has another explanation, I would love to hear it.

David Letterman recently said that he doesn’t make jokes of Obama because he doesn’t provide any good material. Is he serious? This is hard to believe, especially since Obama claimed there are 57 states and also made derogatory comments about the Special Olympics. The media love for Obama is absolutely astonishing. It was best summed up by Newsweek editor Evan Thomas in an interview on MSNBC: "I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God."

Debussy, Debauchery & Dieu (A Weekend in Paris)

Brett McCracken — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:58:10 -0700

The weather was very temperamental in Paris today. It was beautiful, sunny and about 70 one minute, then dark clouds, cold winds and rain the next. I guess that’s June in Paris. It’s a study in contrasts.

My whole weekend in Paris has been that way. It’s been really beautiful and great one minute and really dark and ugly the next. Actually, this is an overstatement. It’s been mostly very good. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful museums, ate tons of good food (Macarons! Chocolates! Crepes!), and happened to be where the Obama family was on three separate occasions (Notre Dame Cathedral, a shop in the Latin Quarter where Michelle and the girls were, and on a bridge over the Seine when the Obama motorcade drove past).

Other highlights thus far have included wandering the streets aimlessly (Paris is great for finding undiscovered little non-touristy used bookshops and such), drinking buckets of café (espresso), and attending Mass Saturday night in the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral and church this morning at Hillsong Paris—an evangelical church in Southeast Paris. As I’ve said before, there’s nothing quite like sharing communion with Christians in churches throughout the world and singing worship songs in other languages. If the only thing all my travels have left me with is a broader, fuller picture of the worldwide body of Christ, then it has all certainly been worth it.

But there have been low points on my trip—mainly here at the end, in Paris. Here’s the scene from last night: I’m staying at a hostel in Paris, and it’s a very lively, party-type hostel for twentysomething backpackers from all over the world. This is always a risky situation for people who tend to be the quieter, not-partier sort. But until last night, things were going well. I had made friends with some of my roommates: some Aussie university students from Melbourne, a Texan soldier on leave from Iraq, a guy from Berlin, a girl from Rome (originally Ethiopia). We played cards late into the night, etc. Good times. Well, last night things in our room got thoroughly debauched. I was asleep (or trying to sleep, in that “please just let me sleep through this” sort of way) when the partiers (i.e. pretty much everyone in the hostel but me) starting filtering in, around 4am, drunk and with random hook-ups in tow. There was a lot of scurrying around and bed swapping among these kids, and before long the bunk apparatus on which I was sleeping began to shake in a decidedly risqué, thrusting, rhythmic cadence. You guessed it: the bunk below me was doubling as an hourly-rate cheap motel. And then minutes later, more shaking and muffled moans from the bunk to my immediate right! It was happening all around me. I was surrounded by sex just feet from where I was huddled under my sheets, trying to sleep. I felt so very violated.

This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced this at a hostel (there was another instance of bunk-shaking shenanigans with some drunk Serbians in London 3 years ago), but it was especially disturbing last night because these guys were people I’d gotten to know a little bit and I thought were a bit more principled than to pick up random people at bars on a Saturday night in Paris and have their way in a hostel room with them at 4am! While I was trying to mind my own sleeping business!

So that was one dark spot. The other one came this afternoon. I thought I would take a break from walking around the city (I’ve probably walked 10 miles a day at least) and take in a movie. After all, this is Paris. It’s probably the third most important city in movie history. So I bought a ticket in the Latin Quarter to see Lars von Trier’s new film, Antichrist, which will not be released in the U.S. until, well I don’t even know if it will be released. I guess I should have known from the title, but the film was utterly depraved and, in a word, evil. I walked out before it was over. For me, that’s saying something. I have been a fan of von Trier for a while (Breaking the Waves, Dogville, Dancer in the Dark… beautiful films), and I know that what he’s doing is simply being provocative and envelope-pushing, but there’s only so much of that that I can take. I couldn’t take this film. It depressed me, disturbed me, and left me wanting to go back in time to fifth grade, eating nachos at a high school football game with my Dad… back when things were simple and a lot more innocent.

But things got brighter quickly as I exited the theater, put on my iPod and found a place to get a dinner crepe. As I was walking around the Left Banke, taking more pictures and enjoying the fickle late-afternoon weather, I was thinking about darkness and light and how most everything has a little of both. A city as beautiful as Paris has both beauty and depravity at nearly every turn. In one corner of the city there are people worshipping God on a Sunday morning. In other corners there are students waking up hungover in some random guy’s hostel bed. On a bridge over the river Seine, a motorcade of dozens of cars and SUVs carries the President, First Lady, and their entourage. Under that same bridge there are homeless people sleeping on ragged, urine-scented blankets as wine tasting boat tours float by on the river.

The world is messy, complicated, beautiful, fallen. Paris is just a microcosm.

Being in this city, you can’t help but think. It’s a thinking city. This is the place where John Calvin went to school (le Sorbonne), where Descartes is buried, where so many philosophies and art movements and religious ideas were first thought up. And as this is the end of my trip, I’ve done a lot of thinking. I have had so many thoughts over the past few weeks, it’s almost unmanageable to process through them now. But I’ve been thinking—and today’s events got me thinking even more.

I’ve been thinking about the appearance of being Christian (and writing about this, for my book). What does this look like? How should we appear to be different? In a city like Paris where everything you do is seen (on the crowded Metro, in the jam-packed Louvre, in the all-too-public hostel room) this becomes a constant question.

I’ve also been thinking about death. I know: DOWNER! But in Paris I’ve seen a lot of graves. I’ve been reading about the Air France crash. Yesterday I made a little pilgrimage to the grave of composer Claude Debussy, buried in the Cimetiere de Passy. As I stood by his grave (listening to “Clair de Lune” on my iPod, of course!) I thought about all the life he lived and the passion that must have gone into his music and art. The joys and heartbreak; the toil, the stress, the reward of hearing the music performed by an orchestra. Did it matter at all now? To him, I mean? What would he think of me—some maudlin American tourist with backpack and map in tow—standing above his lifeless remains, listening to his music on some newfangled audio device?

I don’t know. All I know is that I left that cemetery, and I will leave Paris tomorrow and Europe Tuesday, with a newfound motivation to live a good, right, respectable life. I want to honor God with what I do and who I am, and I want to avoid being corrupted and stained and sidetracked by the things of the world. But I do want to continue drinking coffee and eating French desserts.