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Originally Posted by Strangelet
Yes but they weren't callled unamerican. That was my point. Yes people railed against the absurdity of the comments, and even the hate it betrays towards certain minorities. But there was very little talk about it being hateful towards the country, and anti patriotic. Compare that to the outcome of Wright, and you see first and foremost a question of patriotism, a hate for america, and only sometimes a logical counter argument to the pastor's comments. This is the exact opposite response.
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In fairness, I think that the reason the "un-American" charge has come up is because of specific comments Wright made like
"god bless America? No...god DAMN America". My guess is that had he only made racially charged comments, then charges of "un-Americanism" very likely wouldn't have been raised.
My biggest concern with the whole Wright controversy is that it reveals a pretty blatant simplicity in the thinking of many people. The assumption being made by people who insist that Obama must share Wright's positions is a wildly unrealistic one - it's the assumption that if Obama, or anyone else for that matter, maintains a relationship with someone who holds a certain set of beliefs, then Obama
must automatically share all of that person's beliefs. I assume I'm not alone in saying that I have plenty of close friends with whom I have numerous differences of opinion....and it doesn't stop me from being friends with them. In fact, it tends to make for some of the most interesting conversations if you're open to discussing opposing viewpoints in a constructive way. Hell, that's why most of us are here in the world forums.
And I'd even go so far as to say that I'd probably be more troubled by someone who only associates with others who share identical viewpoints to their own. I believe Obama has shown a real ability to understand opposing viewpoints even if he disagrees with them, and then incorporate them into constructive solutions. But you can't understand opposing viewpoints if you refuse to ever be exposed to them.
Granted, many intelligent people are voicing concerns over Wright, but I think that the vast majority of them probably support an alternate candidate and are voicing their concerns as a means of trying to damage Obama's chances at winning the nomination. This, of course, bothers me because of it's dishonesty. I'm fine with people having their personal preferences, but it sure would be great if we could state our cases based on honest concerns rather than rhetorical b.s., ignorance, or flat out lies.
I just hope that people can keep themselves aware enough to make a choice that ends up being good for the country and the world we interact with so closely. My fear though is that people will make their choices based on ignorant or false charges.