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God works in a mysterious way...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
God works in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. how well do we know it. And no better example is there than the current brouhaha over the statements by Rev Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of United States presidential hopeful, Mr Barack Obama.
From the video clips shown ad nauseam by the Fox news network, we have not seen any evidence that the firebrand preacher is anti-American and racist, as his conservative detractors are making out.
But what we see is a rare opportunity for Americans to face one of their most pernicious sins - that of unbridled racism - and bring it out in the open, in a way that it has not been done before.
We have, from the outset, been watching with great interest the emergence of Mr Obama, from a position as a junior senator to the presidential front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination.
The 2008 contest has been like no other we have seen. A victory by either of the two Democratic candidates will create political history in the US - Mrs Hillary Clinton as the first woman to win the nomination and the presidency, or Mr Obama as the first African-American to do so.
But in addition to the interest he has generated as a black man, Mr Obama has brought an agenda of change, a promise to unite the fractured nation, projecting himself as a man who can climb above racial barriers. The American people appear ready to support his message and he has won more primaries, caucuses and delegates than Mrs Clinton.
Not unexpectedly, the issue of race, never far below the surface in America, has emerged, with the Fox network stoking the fire by digging up several sermons by civil rights minister, Rev Wright, in which he harshly accused the US of several atrocities.
Fox, which has always shown its leaning towards the conservative party, has been doing its best to shape Rev Wright as a hate-filled, anti-American racist who was the pastor of Barack Obama, drawing the conclusion that Obama is therefore unfit to be president of the United States. We completely fail to see the logic of this one and we hope that the American people will see it for what it is - a blatant attempt at appealing to the racial tensions that have always kept America from being the truly great nation she should be.
However, there may be a greater purpose for this turn of events, because it has provided the US with an unprecedented opportunity to face this terrible problem. We would like to believe that God has a hand in it.
With the intense interest generated by the Democratic contest, and Mr Obama, in particular, the entire US seems to be at a point where everyone is listening. In previous attempts to discuss race and its dreadful consequences, the parties have always gone to the table with firm, preconceived positions that remain as firm at the end.
In that respect, Mr Obama's decision to use this once-in-a-blue-moon moment created by Rev Wright, to address the pain, anger and distrust generated by racism was a master stroke of brilliance. As the son of a black father and a white mother, he could hardly have been more suited to do so.
This Easter, Christians and spiritual people everywhere have a lot for which to give thanks. God does, truly, move in a mysterious way.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
God works in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. how well do we know it. And no better example is there than the current brouhaha over the statements by Rev Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of United States presidential hopeful, Mr Barack Obama.
From the video clips shown ad nauseam by the Fox news network, we have not seen any evidence that the firebrand preacher is anti-American and racist, as his conservative detractors are making out.
But what we see is a rare opportunity for Americans to face one of their most pernicious sins - that of unbridled racism - and bring it out in the open, in a way that it has not been done before.
We have, from the outset, been watching with great interest the emergence of Mr Obama, from a position as a junior senator to the presidential front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination.
The 2008 contest has been like no other we have seen. A victory by either of the two Democratic candidates will create political history in the US - Mrs Hillary Clinton as the first woman to win the nomination and the presidency, or Mr Obama as the first African-American to do so.
But in addition to the interest he has generated as a black man, Mr Obama has brought an agenda of change, a promise to unite the fractured nation, projecting himself as a man who can climb above racial barriers. The American people appear ready to support his message and he has won more primaries, caucuses and delegates than Mrs Clinton.
Not unexpectedly, the issue of race, never far below the surface in America, has emerged, with the Fox network stoking the fire by digging up several sermons by civil rights minister, Rev Wright, in which he harshly accused the US of several atrocities.
Fox, which has always shown its leaning towards the conservative party, has been doing its best to shape Rev Wright as a hate-filled, anti-American racist who was the pastor of Barack Obama, drawing the conclusion that Obama is therefore unfit to be president of the United States. We completely fail to see the logic of this one and we hope that the American people will see it for what it is - a blatant attempt at appealing to the racial tensions that have always kept America from being the truly great nation she should be.
However, there may be a greater purpose for this turn of events, because it has provided the US with an unprecedented opportunity to face this terrible problem. We would like to believe that God has a hand in it.
With the intense interest generated by the Democratic contest, and Mr Obama, in particular, the entire US seems to be at a point where everyone is listening. In previous attempts to discuss race and its dreadful consequences, the parties have always gone to the table with firm, preconceived positions that remain as firm at the end.
In that respect, Mr Obama's decision to use this once-in-a-blue-moon moment created by Rev Wright, to address the pain, anger and distrust generated by racism was a master stroke of brilliance. As the son of a black father and a white mother, he could hardly have been more suited to do so.
This Easter, Christians and spiritual people everywhere have a lot for which to give thanks. God does, truly, move in a mysterious way.