nimh wrote:Talking of which...
Quote:Obama inspires racial dialogue in churches
Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama's historic speech earlier this month in Philadelphia on race relations has elevated the discussion about the issue to the point where it has worked itself into the pews and pulpits of Bay Area churches. Local ministers say they gave sermons about it on Easter, the holiest day of the year for Christians, and others plan to do so in the future.
These ministers - Pentecostals, Episcopalians and Baptists, Republican and Democrat, white, black and Asian - say Obama's honesty offers a steppingstone to wade into the volatile waters of race relations. They said his speech, which called for an honest dialogue about race, offered an opportunity to be open to others' experiences without automatically triggering the shame, guilt and strife such conversations usually entail.
"Obama is such a gift right now [..]," said Allan Collister, 64, who is white and is the pastor of New Church Berkeley, a nondenominational and heavily Asian church that's within the evangelical Protestant umbrella. "He treats with respect people he doesn't agree with. [..]"
In his speech, Obama spoke of the history of race in America, explaining the sources of anger and resentment by whites and blacks. He said these resentments are too often stifled in private conversation, and disregarded as illegitimate or racist despite seeds of truth. Obama said that has to change. [..]
'The most segregated hour'
Several ministers said there is no more appropriate place for the conversation about race to occur than the place where believers search for their greatest meaning. That churches themselves often exemplify some of the racial ills of the nation only emphasizes the need, several ministers said.
"The most segregated hour in America is 11 o'clock on Sunday morning," said the Rev. Arelious Walker, 77, pastor of True Hope Church of God in Christ, a Bayview district congregation of Pentecostals, primarily black. "That, to me, is unacceptable. ... It is not the plan or the will of God that a church be exclusive to one ethnic group."
Walker, who has a goal of raising the nonblack members of his congregation by 5 percent this year, said the speech "helps church people to confront their problems with race. I know some blacks don't even try to bring whites into their congregation, and I know some whites, they don't want to welcome blacks." [..]
Black, white and Asian ministers said the fact that many were shocked by Wright's comments speaks to the racial divide and unfamiliarity with anger and resentment in the black community.
Black churches play a unique role for a community historically disenfranchised from power - political, economic and otherwise. Wright gained national renown for the social services his church provides. Andrew Park said he would have not used Wright's language or examples. But he and others said the underlying issues can't be conveniently ignored by creating a caricature.
Affirming different cultures
Listening to Wright on YouTube, "I was saying 'Amen,' " said Park, 32, a Korean American and a Baptist seminarian who leads Oakland Mosaic Project. "The struggle of what race you are is huge in America, especially in an urban environment. ... As an Asian American, I could totally resonate with that."
Park said his sermon today, inspired by Obama's speech, would be about the story of Jesus engaging with a Samaritan woman at a well - a parable affirming acceptance of different cultures.
The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, the Episcopal bishop of California, said the Bay Area's diversity "already calls us beyond the dimensions of that speech" [..]. Andrus said people don't see others' hurts as easily as they see their own.
"I've become aware that each self-identified group within the diocese tends to suffer in isolation," he said. If it's segregated public schools, it's mostly black people who come to meetings. If it's about immigration, it's immigrants. If it's about sexuality, it's largely gays and lesbians. "St. Paul says that when any member of the family suffers, all suffer. Or when one rejoices, all rejoice. But we as a people live as if that weren't true."
Andrus, 51, said the largely white diocese is moving toward greater inclusiveness. Once every three months, for example, the diocese invites all the varied groups to provide prayers for their needs. Those are then woven together as one prayer in "services of reconciliation." It sounds simple, but it requires openness to others' pain.
"We have to build on the kind of openings that a speech like this gives us, and forgive each other," Andrus said. "Forgiveness is hard work. Reconciliation is also hard work."
"Historic" speech? Perhaps, but only if it opens the door to a truly balanced discussion of racial issues in America.
This quoted tripe is hardly evidence of such an open discussion. Instead it is just more of the tiresome and all too familiar scripted spew of White liberals suffering from an unwarranted burden of racial guilt.
I think Obama skirted the issue a bit, but he deserves considerable credit for addressing the issue of race with not only a monolithic condemnation of White America, but an attempt to express the perspective of the average White Joe and Jane. If anyone else tried to do so, imagine the scorn the Left would have heaped upon them. (Nixon goes to China?)
The reality is that while African-Americans have quite a lot of reasons to bitch and moan about their place in America, the entire issue of race is truly not
black and white.
Resolving disputes has been a fairly significant portion of the career I have built. I know with certainty that no dispute is resolved when one side insists that in all ways the other is not only wrong but immoral in its position.
There are a hundred cliches that relate the basic message informed by "There are two sides to every coin," and "It takes two to tango." Cliches form from traditional wisdom which, while not in all cases correct, enjoy a broad accuracy.
The truly exciting (and perhaps ultimately historic) aspect of Obama's speech is that he has entertained the notion that white perspectives on the issue of race are not necessarily unfathomable and immoral.
Up until now African-American "advocates" have pursued a game plan of aggressive equalization and relied upon Liberal White Guild to assist them.
The former is understandable, and in their shoes I would be as aggressive. The latter, though, is a short term, and ultimately inadequate means to achieve their goals.
The number of liberals with White Guilt is not likely to climb much beyond what it is, and so from a purely practical standpoint of dispute resolution, there is no profit in maintaining this approach, unless stasis is desired outcome (more on this later).
Dispute resolution requires an acceptance, to some degree, of the legitimacy of the other party's position.
(Of course one can be entirely Machiavellian and not care at all about the validity of the positions, but, from experience, this is much easier said than done. Those who can are formidable, as was Machiavelli, but it's a rare characteristic.)
If there is no willingness to accept that the other side might be justified in its position, there will be no reconciliation.
Obama has, at least, broached this truth, and, while he has hedged as best he can for political reasons, he deserves credit for the effort.
Unfortunately, there are any number of powerful people who prefer stasis (see above) to reconciliation. It is unfortunate that the Left seems to have x-ray vision in identifying venal white capitalist opportunists, but cloudy cataracts when it comes to the same variety of swine with a dark colored skin.
If we truly wish to resolve the issue of race in American than we have to stop providing opportunistic, venal, and/or racist African-Americans like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Jeremiah Wright with a Free Pass, and actually engage in a truly honest debate about their actions.
No more horse-sh*t about how the Tawana Bradley fraud was Ok for metaphorical reasons.
No more turning a blind eye towards the tactics of extorsion practiced by Jesse Jackson.
No more pathetic attempts to tell us that Wright's inflammatory spew was A-OK when viewed through a black lens.
From a purely objective perspective of dispute resolution, African-Americans, clearly, have the better argument, but the fact remains that if they insist on dictating the terms of resolution, there will be none.
Unfortunately there is a very powerful group of African-Americans whose personal interests are advanced by never-ending, unresolved dispute. Even more unfortunately, these modern day Othellos are seen as racial heroes.
The legitimately wronged will always maintain a certain sense of righteousness, but, as always, absolute positions never, without violence, result in resolution. The reality is that today, as we speak and write, there may be less than a hundred people alive who have directly experienced the degradation of slavery. How many people, today, are alive who suffered the humiliation of Jim Crow? And all the rest? Have they not experienced some negative impact of lingering racism? Of course they have but perspective is required.
African-Americans advocates should continue to remain in the face of White Society until true equality is achieved, however they retard their efforts by insisting on Manichean notions of race, where they are always The Good Guy.
I doubt Obama has the cajones to take this discussion to the next level, but I applaud him for taking it to level one.
Didn't realize it was a link. Just thought you felt the need to Spell that out in colors and captitalize it.
