I first visualized this piece as being a self-righteous diatribe on the subject of blame. I was going to point out that our society is moving further and further away from acceptance of the responsibilities for our own actions. We have rationalized the word "blame" away... almost into extinction.
As I worked my way into this epistle, I was going to point out that Obama has become almost "Clintonesque," in the sense that he first appeared on FOX and denied that, over a 20-year period of going to "that church," he had never heard the Reverend "Wright" say a "wrong" thing. As that obvious fabrication festered over the weekend, Obama's camp realized that their numbers were dropping and they had better do some serious damage control.
So, Obama went on nationwide television and came "clean." Yes, he had been to "that church," yes, he had heard some of "those words," yes it was disturbing to him, and the good Reverend was retiring and no longer active in the Obama campaign. Then, he stepped into the bucket of poopoo that this article was going to be about. He started to justify the offense.
Does this all sound like Bill Clinton, or not?
"The man is like a father to me. He married us, he baptized our kids, my mother was white, we lived in a poor neighborhood, my father came from Kenya, the slaves were mistreated, the subject of race in this country has been simmering for decades......" Therefore, and in the best interests of the future of our country and the coming together of black and white... and brown.... let us forget the mistakes of my past and press on to the greater mistakes of my future, because they should be automatically excused as well. Is it not natural that those last words would follow?
I was going to elaborate on this. We have become a nation of people who are unwilling to accept the blame for our actions. The girl literally screwed a governor out of his job, but that's okay because she had a troubled childhood and left home at the age of 17. The guy shot his mom and dad to death and stuck an axe in his sister's head, but that's okay because he was getting a failing grade in math. That guy over there grabbed a shotgun and a pistol and killed 43 people, but that's okay because guns should be outlawed.
Actually, Obama's speech would have played much better with me if he he had stood before the nation and said, "Yes, that's my church. Yes, I go there most Sundays. Yes, I know Reverend Wright said those things. But, that doesn't mean I am guilty of saying or doing wrong things myself by association. Judge me not for my associations and what they say, judge me for what I do and how I, Barrack Hussein Obama, act. But, sadly, by the end of his speech I halfway expected him to start discussing the definition of the word...."is."
Were this guy to become our President, and were Al Queda to invade our country and bomb our bridges and kill our citizens, would Obama say.... "That's okay, because they live under rocks in the desert and they don't eat well?"
Then, I was going to start alluding to my own life, and to expound on the fact that "guilt by association" is not a fair way to judge people. And this is where I ran into trouble.
I spent over 30 years in the casino industry at upper management level positions. In my early days in Vegas, there was no way that someone in my job would not encounter, or even "associate" with, some pretty dark characters. Does that mean I ever killed anyone? No. Does that mean I never got a hooker for a customer?
Wham! I hit the wall of my self-righteousness.
Have I ever lied? Have I have stolen? Have I ever used the "N" word? How many of us in this country in this year of 2008 can deny ever doing something wrong in our lives? Now that is a profound realization and most difficult to put your arms around and embrace. Maybe, it dawns on me, we should not be so quick to judge Barrack Obama.
Does that mean that I am going to back Obama and vote for him? Hell no, he's way too far left for me. Besides, I think there's more damaging stuff to come to the surface about Barrack. But, I'm not going to throw him under the bus for attending "that church," either. If any one needs to be thrown under the bus first for their misdeeds, it's the Clintons. That's a fact you cannot deny if you give it enough pause to fully consider it.
So, don't be in such a hurry to cast the first stone. Judge not that ye be judged.
In closing, this will offend some but, it will also serve to exemplify how I view race. To me, there is no difference between brown and black and white. It's what is in the heart and soul of the person wearing that skin that matter to me. For that reason, and that reason alone, my opinion of the Reverend Wright is that he's nothing but a damned nigger.
I said it, I meant it, and I accept the blame for doing it.
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