Mike Dedwylder is a junior majoring in architecture. He can be contacted at [email protected]. I’ve been hearing a lot about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright scandal lately, and I can’t help but wonder why people are buying into such an obvious load of crap.
First off, whoever created the videos that have been floating around managed to find two minutes worth of crazy talk from 20 years of sermons. I’m sure that if anyone is recorded for an hour or two, once or twice a week for that amount of time, a video could be spliced together of some strange opinions. Way to bet against the odds on that one.
Beyond that, however, is the fact that people are saying this will affect the way they vote. Incredible. Since when is judging a person based on their peers acceptable? Suddenly, it seems as though the presidential primaries have become a bad episode of “Saved by the Bell.”
In a deft political maneuver, which could never have been foreseen by anyone other than the best analysts, Hillary Clinton chimed in by assuring us that she would have distanced herself from a person such as Jeremiah Wright years ago. I am surprised that she didn’t enlist her army of robot Chelsea Clinton telemarketers to taut the fact, but then again, she doesn’t consider Mississippi important to her campaign.
Also, as long as we’re judging people based on whom they choose to associate with, why haven’t I heard anything about her husband? I guess having an intern perform fellatio in the seat of the federal government and almost being impeached earns you more street cred than reprimands.
Conveniently, this news made headlines as soon as it was proven that Clinton had been “embellishing” the truth as to her experience in the field of international relations.
I consider myself non-partisan and hate sounding biased. However, the stance taken on this issue by most people is dumbfounding. I would think that the citizens of a country grown increasingly disillusioned with authority, not to mention a feeling of separation from their government, would so quickly turn on a candidate who put his political career at risk to stand by a long-time friend. That single action shows a level of conviction, possibly even honor, that has been sorely lacking for the past eight years.
I don’t agree with what the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said in the clips. In fact, I don’t agree with a lot of Obama’s platform, but I do agree with Obama’s reaction to the situation. He can be held no more responsible for the statements of his pastor than you can for the statements of Michael Venyah. The fact is, people hear what they want to hear and then exploit that for personal benefit. Sad, cynical, true.