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TechnographRev. Wright's good outweighs the bad
By Paul Cruse III
Posted: 4/8/08 Section: Opinion Columns
Barack Obama has faced many attacks; from the nonsensical comments about not wearing a flag pin to the allegations of secretly being Muslim, the junior senator from Illinois has been forced to defend himself on more nonpolitical issues than any other candidate. After adequately defending himself from every other accusation, critics now are harassing him for his membership in Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.
The church's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has been called every name except the one his mother and father gave him. He has been called insanely stupid, unpatriotic and a black supremacist, just to name a few. All these ad hominem attacks stem from a few sound bites of him accusing the government of manufacturing AIDS or how 9/11 was a hoax.
Anyone who knows the Rev. Jeremiah Wright or has taken the time to research him will learn he is far from "un-American" or "unpatriotic." During the 1960s, Wright left college to voluntarily enter the Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. After his tour ended, he stayed in the service as a naval medical technician, and during that time he received numerous White House commendations.
In addition, Jeremiah Wright is far from being "insanely stupid" because after his service in the military, he went to the University of Chicago where received a master's degree in theology and ministry.
Rev. Wright has dedicated his priestly career to his community. His church has more than 50 humanitarian ministries, including a technology center dedicated to teaching community members job-related computer skills. In addition, Trinity sponsors more than 30 college scholarships, including one personally funded by Rev. Wright himself.
Admittedly, he does focus on the plights of black people because the majority of his former congregation is black but that doesn't make him a "black supremacist" or "Africentric." To summarize a point made by Martin Marty, a professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, Trinity is no more "africentric" than synagogues are "Judocentric" or Chicago Irish parishes are "Celticentric." They work to help their members.
The church's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has been called every name except the one his mother and father gave him. He has been called insanely stupid, unpatriotic and a black supremacist, just to name a few. All these ad hominem attacks stem from a few sound bites of him accusing the government of manufacturing AIDS or how 9/11 was a hoax.
Anyone who knows the Rev. Jeremiah Wright or has taken the time to research him will learn he is far from "un-American" or "unpatriotic." During the 1960s, Wright left college to voluntarily enter the Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. After his tour ended, he stayed in the service as a naval medical technician, and during that time he received numerous White House commendations.
In addition, Jeremiah Wright is far from being "insanely stupid" because after his service in the military, he went to the University of Chicago where received a master's degree in theology and ministry.
Rev. Wright has dedicated his priestly career to his community. His church has more than 50 humanitarian ministries, including a technology center dedicated to teaching community members job-related computer skills. In addition, Trinity sponsors more than 30 college scholarships, including one personally funded by Rev. Wright himself.
Admittedly, he does focus on the plights of black people because the majority of his former congregation is black but that doesn't make him a "black supremacist" or "Africentric." To summarize a point made by Martin Marty, a professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, Trinity is no more "africentric" than synagogues are "Judocentric" or Chicago Irish parishes are "Celticentric." They work to help their members.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 9
Mangale
posted 4/08/08 @ 11:20 AM CST
Paul Cruse, we are STILL waiting for your apology in what regards the abominable patch-job you have done in your "reporting" the Jena case.
Before you do that, you have no authority, no credibility to speak of, on any subject you care to offer your "insights" about. (Continued…)
Disgusted
posted 4/08/08 @ 11:29 AM CST
Once again, Paul Cruse demonstrates himself to be the same race-baiter, hypocritical advocate for minority privilege - HIS minority privilege, obviously. (Continued…)
Eng. Graduate
posted 4/08/08 @ 11:40 AM CST
Cruse, you say you cannot judge a man's career according to a sound-bite.Do you mean something like this?
From Associated Press:
//Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first presidential candidate to call for Imus to be fired. (Continued…)
Thomas Sowell
posted 4/08/08 @ 12:06 PM CST
The Audacity of Rhetoric
By Thomas Sowell
It is painful to watch defenders of Barack Obama tying themselves into knots trying to evade the obvious. (Continued…)
Disgusted
posted 4/08/08 @ 12:16 PM CST
Another alternative point of view, much better articulated than Cruse's sophomoric "he ain't that bad" apology.
The Speech: A Brilliant Fraud
http://www. (Continued…)
TruthSeeker
posted 4/08/08 @ 12:22 PM CST
Mr. Cruse, here are 22 questions which were formulated for Senator Obama. As long as your article is focused on the issues related to reverend Jeremiah Wright and to his relationship with Senator Obama, feel free to jump in and answer some or all of them. (Continued…)
Michael
posted 4/08/08 @ 1:45 PM CST
Everyone is welcome to there own opinion, if you all feel that Paul's column is such a big threat to humanity, by all means lets call the FED's?
David Johnson, UIUC
posted 4/08/08 @ 4:44 PM CST
Um, the black version of "at least Mussolini made the trains run on time".
Paul Cruse, I hope you won't take this personally, but your good does not outweigh your bad. (Continued…)
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