Is Wright actively campaigning for McCain? Because one could be forgiven for thinking so after watching his last speech to the NAACP. Now, after watching the full length of it, I am still left puzzled by why he chose to give that speech, and why he decided to discuss the issues that he did. On the contrary to what you may be thinking, I actually did not find much of his speech inflammatory. Most of his talk sounded more like a lecture, and certainly his comments about how those that were "different" has historically been castigated certainly are accurate. He also spoke about how society has changed, where today, those that are different are accepted. This was obviously a direct retort to those who argue that his prior incendiary comments were living in a racist past that no longer exists today.

 

However, the longer he spoke, the less sense he made. When he began to speak about how Black children were somehow genetically programmed to use their right brain, while White children were genetically programmed to use their left, Wright left open the door to those who may argue that racial behavior is genetically defined and thus some are "innately inferior". Wright goes on to speak about how these genetic codes come to play a part in the type of music that each race produces and why Whites use 7 musical tones while Blacks use 5 musical tones. Certainly, I will agree that there are significant cultural differences between groups of people. However, I think it is absurd to suggest that these cultural traits are inherently genetically derived. Also, Wright's constant obsession with the Black White dichotomy betrays a very ethnocentrically African American view of the world. Our globe is very complex and has hundreds of different ethnicities and traditions, to view the world through a simple Black and White lens betrays a great lack of understanding of this world.

 

Although I disagreed with some of Wright's comments, I agreed with the large part of it. I can even understand why he holds some of his more extreme views considering the era that he grew up in. I also strongly agreed with his comparison of his own military service with the lack thereof on the part of Cheney and other chickenhawks, a very important point rarely mentioned by our mainstream media. However, I have to suspect that he may care more about attacking his critics rather than holding back his tongue to save the terribly riddled Obama campaign. There is a time for the discussion of controversial issues and frankly, now is not the time. The Obama campaign has already been hit hard by both the original Wright controversy and also the "Bitter" incident. There may be some in our society that are patient and enlightened enough to understand where Wright is coming from, but certainly not the majority. Wright's views are controversial not because they are wrong, but because they are rarely heard. His views do not connect Obama with voters, instead, they turn off far more than they turn on. Therefore, Wright has been the primary cause for Obama's downward slide and as of last night, has continued to be.

 

Obama should have been a little more generous when the donation tray was coming through the pews.