Sound Bite Versus Reality
Since the Trojan Horse the divergence between appearance versus reality has been a motif in literature. The beast turns out to be a prince. The three witches tell Macbeth he’s safe until Birnham Wood moves to Dunsaine Hill. Which appears impossible. But happens.
Today it could be Sound Bite versus Reality.
And Reverend Jeremiah Wright is the figure of the moment.
The Reverend – like most characters – has his flaws. He did seem to enjoy the media circus at the National Press Club a bit more than was natural. He is more than a little bit of a showman. And he seems to have a split personality. On Bill Moyer’s program he was erudite, thoughtful and articulate. On the other hand the New York Times described his performance a few days later at the National Press Club this way: ‘Everyone has a crazy family uncle …’
He speaks from the pulpit (and at the Press Club) in highly dramatic rhetoric that is one of the oratorical traditions in the Black Church. His style may fit his parishioners at Trinity Church like a glove. But on the stage of Presidential politics it’s like a jolt of electricity. It shocks.
On Fox News the conservatives are vilifying Wright as an unpatriotic nut (Ollie North says he’s a walking recruiter for Al-Qaeda). And when you’ve had enough of that you can flip over to MSNBC and watch the liberals, who support Obama, rant that Wright is a self-absorbed ego-maniac who betrayed Obi-Wan to get his fifteen minutes of fame.
But, beyond the ranting (which like rain and drought is with us always) the question is: Are the sound bites accurate?
Does Reverend Wright really want God to damn America?
And does he really blame America for 9/11?
Reverend Wright says no. And he’s trying to make his case.
He says his speech after 9/11 – when he said, America’s chickens are coming home to roost – wasn’t a candidate making a political point but a minister talking about the consequences of vengeance. You can argue with his interpretation of scriptures. And facts. But his point that the combination of war and vengeance leads to death of innocents is not loony. It’s a debate that’s been going on about the morality of what we now call ‘total’ war for centuries. There’re a lot of people in Georgia who still think General Sherman’s March to the sea is a pretty good example of the immortality of ‘total’ war. Wright’s point is unpleasant. He’s saying America – like just about everybody since Caesar marched into Gaul – has practiced total war. And that there are consequences.
That may be too fine a point for a sound bite or a political campaign but it does put the meaning of Wright saying, America’s chickens coming home to roost, in a different light from the interpretation on Fox News.
And what about Wright saying, God damn America? Here again he argues he is talking as a minister not a politician. His context is God can bless or curse a nation for its actions. He says, ‘Governments change, governments fail, governments lie,’ then explains (or tries to) how he looks at the failures of different American governments. To take an example, one of the things – I think – he is saying is that given his perspective (representing one particular African-American point of view) he sees a straight line between the treatment of the American Indians, slavery and support for apartheid in South Africa. And, I think, he is saying those are examples of things governments do God would condemn. But of course, being part showman, he put it a lot more dramatically. In terms of damnation.
Now, I’m sort of from the John Wayne school of Indian affairs. But I can see that Rev. Wright, given his particular historical perspective might think the Apaches got a raw deal. And he might, naturally, have a little more empathy for them – as members of a fellow minority that had a tough time – than me. In response I’d say, His way of looking at things is a little loopy, and would probably disagree with him about what is immoral, but it’s hard to argue with his point governments have been known to commit immoral acts.
So do the sound bites mean what the political pundits claim? No. Can Wright explain that in the age of the sound bite? Well, give him credit, he’s not afraid to try. His problem – and Obama’s too now – is he does not have the experience to carry his message (or defend himself) on the modern political stage. The press – on both sides, liberal and conservative – is devouring him alive. But for completely different reasons. One’s out to use Wright as a sword to destroy Obama. The other’s out to cut Wright to pieces to protect Obama. Either way, when they’re done Wright’s going to look a lot worse than a loony uncle.
So, why did he try? Well, Reverend Wright may be part showman. But he’s all true believer. No one was speaking up for what he believes. So he stood up and had his say.
And that, from Obama’s point of view, is a catastrophe. Obama’s now got Wright in the political arena trying to explain racial differences and at least one black perspective on religion and history and American politics, and the press and politicians are saying, Well, that sounds crazy to us.
But, in fact, a lot of what Wright is saying incompetently – to explain what Obama himself called racial alienation – is what Obama should have tried to say competently. The lead debater here should be Barack Obama. Not Jeremiah Wright. If an Africa-American is going to be elected president he’s going to have to build some racial bridges that don’t exist. That’s going to be hard, rough-edged work. It’s going to be messy. And Obama’s going to have to risk being eaten alive by the pundits and politicians and a lot of his own friends to do it – which may explain why he hasn’t even tried. He dodged – artfully – in Philadelphia and now that Rev. Wright’s charged into the arena, Obama’s about faced, said he’s Shocked. Just shocked, and charged for the tall grass as hard as he can.
This is one debate Barack Obama has to win. But, instead, he’s looked at the videos and decided crossing the gap between sound bite and reality is a formula for political disaster. The sound bite, he’s decided, is too much for him to overcome.
Sound Bite Versus Reality
Since the Trojan Horse the divergence between appearance versus reality has been a motif in literature. The beast turns out to be a prince. The three witches tell Macbeth he’s safe until Birnham Wood moves to Dunsaine Hill. Which appears impossible. But happens.
Today it could be Sound Bite versus Reality.
And Reverend Jeremiah Wright is the figure of the moment.
The Reverend – like most characters – has his flaws. He did seem to enjoy the media circus at the National Press Club a bit more than was natural. He is more than a little bit of a showman. And he seems to have a split personality. On Bill Moyer’s program he was erudite, thoughtful and articulate. On the other hand the New York Times described his performance a few days later at the National Press Club this way: ‘Everyone has a crazy family uncle …’
He speaks from the pulpit (and at the Press Club) in highly dramatic rhetoric that is one of the oratorical traditions in the Black Church. His style may fit his parishioners at Trinity Church like a glove. But on the stage of Presidential politics it’s like a jolt of electricity. It shocks.
On Fox News the conservatives are vilifying Wright as an unpatriotic nut (Ollie North says he’s a walking recruiter for Al-Qaeda). And when you’ve had enough of that you can flip over to MSNBC and watch the liberals, who support Obama, rant that Wright is a self-absorbed ego-maniac who betrayed Obi-Wan to get his fifteen minutes of fame.
But, beyond the ranting (which like rain and drought is with us always) the question is: Are the sound bites accurate?
Does Reverend Wright really want God to damn America?
And does he really blame America for 9/11?
Reverend Wright says no. And he’s trying to make his case.
He says his speech after 9/11 – when he said, America’s chickens are coming home to roost – wasn’t a candidate making a political point but a minister talking about the consequences of vengeance. You can argue with his interpretation of scriptures. And facts. But his point that the combination of war and vengeance leads to death of innocents is not loony. It’s a debate that’s been going on about the morality of what we now call ‘total’ war for centuries. There’re a lot of people in Georgia who still think General Sherman’s March to the sea is a pretty good example of the immortality of ‘total’ war. Wright’s point is unpleasant. He’s saying America – like just about everybody since Caesar marched into Gaul – has practiced total war. And that there are consequences.
That may be too fine a point for a sound bite or a political campaign but it does put the meaning of Wright saying, America’s chickens coming home to roost, in a different light from the interpretation on Fox News.
And what about Wright saying, God damn America? Here again he argues he is talking as a minister not a politician. His context is God can bless or curse a nation for its actions. He says, ‘Governments change, governments fail, governments lie,’ then explains (or tries to) how he looks at the failures of different American governments. To take an example, one of the things – I think – he is saying is that given his perspective (representing one particular African-American point of view) he sees a straight line between the treatment of the American Indians, slavery and support for apartheid in South Africa. And, I think, he is saying those are examples of things governments do God would condemn. But of course, being part showman, he put it a lot more dramatically. In terms of damnation.
Now, I’m sort of from the John Wayne school of Indian affairs. But I can see that Rev. Wright, given his particular historical perspective might think the Apaches got a raw deal. And he might, naturally, have a little more empathy for them – as members of a fellow minority that had a tough time – than me. In response I’d say, His way of looking at things is a little loopy, and would probably disagree with him about what is immoral, but it’s hard to argue with his point governments have been known to commit immoral acts.
So do the sound bites mean what the political pundits claim? No. Can Wright explain that in the age of the sound bite? Well, give him credit, he’s not afraid to try. His problem – and Obama’s too now – is he does not have the experience to carry his message (or defend himself) on the modern political stage. The press – on both sides, liberal and conservative – is devouring him alive. But for completely different reasons. One’s out to use Wright as a sword to destroy Obama. The other’s out to cut Wright to pieces to protect Obama. Either way, when they’re done Wright’s going to look a lot worse than a loony uncle.
So, why did he try? Well, Reverend Wright may be part showman. But he’s all true believer. No one was speaking up for what he believes. So he stood up and had his say.
And that, from Obama’s point of view, is a catastrophe. Obama’s now got Wright in the political arena trying to explain racial differences and at least one black perspective on religion and history and American politics, and the press and politicians are saying, Well, that sounds crazy to us.
But, in fact, a lot of what Wright is saying incompetently – to explain what Obama himself called racial alienation – is what Obama should have tried to say competently. The lead debater here should be Barack Obama. Not Jeremiah Wright. If an Africa-American is going to be elected president he’s going to have to build some racial bridges that don’t exist. That’s going to be hard, rough-edged work. It’s going to be messy. And Obama’s going to have to risk being eaten alive by the pundits and politicians and a lot of his own friends to do it – which may explain why he hasn’t even tried. He dodged – artfully – in Philadelphia and now that Rev. Wright’s charged into the arena, Obama’s about faced, said he’s Shocked. Just shocked, and charged for the tall grass as hard as he can.
This is one debate Barack Obama has to win. But, instead, he’s looked at the videos and decided crossing the gap between sound bite and reality is a formula for political disaster. The sound bite, he’s decided, is too much for him to overcome.