1. I've been disappointed as of late in both my life and the political world unfolding around us. It has been hard to frame my thoughts without being to harsh on myself and others, so I refrained for awhile. Ten on Tuesday gives me a chance to point to those things without getting too emotional about them.
2. I am frustrated with my career. It's hard for me to admit that.
3. I feel like the game is happening on another field and I am a spectator and not a player.
4. It's not as easy as asking the coach to join the team. He demands to see me play first. The only problem is no one is willing to play with me because the coach won't vouch for me.
5. I am similarly frustrated with this absolutely asinine election where we define people by their associations (her husband/his pastor) without getting the whole story.
6. I want us to be better. Why not watch the whole sermon from beginning to end? Why not watch the entire National Press Club speech and questions from beginning to end? Why not watch the Bill Moyers interview with Jeremiah Wright from beginning to end? It is not the time to allow others to draw conclusions, state them as fact and then as a people blindly accept those conclusions as our own. We need to think for ourselves.
7. I am not asking that everyone agree with the statements made by Jeremiah Wright (I certainly don't agree with all of them), but if you watch all three of the previously mentioned videos, you may find yourself nodding in agreement from time to time. You may also find that you are offended, but at least it is you that is offended and not someone telling you you should be.
8. I know that Barack Obama came out again and denounced Jeremiah Wright's statements on Monday, but I don't think even he watched the entire thing. He said "he heard that Wright had given "a performance" and when he watched news accounts, he realized that it [was] more than just a case of the former pastor defending himself." (AP) I think it is sad that Obama clearly didn't watch the entire thing before commenting. For all the theatrics in the Reverend's statements there was a lot of value in his opening argument (what I heard and came away with from that portion was of a Black church focused on "liberation, transformation, and reconciliation." Nothing wrong with that. It was later during a string of questions and answers where we got the stranger side. Of course the media edited the material down to soundbites for the newscasts- that's how this whole thing began. And when you watch the entire thing you'll notice the first person to roll their eyes is the woman asking the questions.
9. I think I saw Cornel West in the audience at the National Press Club.
10. In my college philosophy class we read Cornel West's Race Matters. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.
2 comments:
There is no road map to life. There are no directions telling you what step to take next in your career or who to support in an election. You have to map out your own terrain and that is difficult and unnerving. I think that is why people become sheep, following the lead of the press. It is somehow easier than being the courageous lion that makes its own path. Chin up, stick with your instinct and let your spirit roar!!
Jodi,
I love you
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