Religous Politics?

Foxx,

As always, there are two sides to a story.  First, the legal aspect.  As far as I can tell Wright did nothing illegal.  Some may not like the content of what he said or the location.  But since was not encouraging people to commit a crime, was not endorsing a candidate, swaying his congregation against a candidate, he's not going to run afoul of the IRS.  Many people don't like the content of his speech.  Neither do I.  Tough nuggies.  Some folks may not like the idea, but he's got the same First Amendment rights as you & I.

Mixing religion & politics.  Once again, there are two sides with many subtle variations in between.  On the far religious right, you have those who advocate, in public & on the public record, that we should conduct ourselves as a Christian nation, with our laws being based on biblical interpretations.  Unfortunately, they never come out to publicly say on WHOSE interpretation or WHOSE bible & what will happen to those who don't accept their version.  See how it gets a bit sticky, constitutionally speaking?

On the far left, we have some who would ban all religion regardless of denomination.  A bit sticky there also as far as the Constitution goes.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it & whom you ask, the people in the middle of the pack far outnumber the whack jobs on the extreme fringes.  Not that we still don't have problems, we do.  Quite a number.  For as many people you ask about this, that is how many different opinions you will probably get.

Me, I'm an agnostic & I advocate the strict separation of church & state.  I think it totally unecessary & very dangerous to mix religion with the state.  Officially, do I want to rid society of religion?  Not in the least.  Like many others, I have to much respect for the ideals of the Constitution.  Keep your religious ideas, regardless of the religion in the heart, in the mind, in your home, your religious activities, your religious schools & your places of worship.  Keep it out of the government, out of my face & especially out of my wallet.  But get rid of religion?  Absolutely not.  (First of all, I wouldn't begin to know where to start.  After all, it's been tried before & failed on a grand scale.)  Have religion mix with politics?  Absolutely not.  JATFUR.

RichK

"Many people don't like the content of his speech.  Neither do I.  Tough nuggies.  Some folks may not like the idea, but he's got the same First Amendment rights as you & I." He sure does RK , but place those same comments in a white church and see what happens to free speech.

Freespeech,

The point I was making was that if one is going to comment on freedom of speech, one must realise that with only some exceptions, one must be ready to defend the right of one person, possibly shouting at the top of his lungs, that which we are vehemently against.  Many people, including me, don't like the content of what was said by Rev. Wright.  But we must recognise that he commited no crime & has the same rights as we do in opposing what he said.  That's just a fact of law.

Yes, I'm sure we would have the same reaction if the situation were reversed in perspective to a white preacher.  Hint.  Change the subject matter a bit & you'll see what I mean.  You seem able enough in the research department.  Go back & google some of the things white preachers have said.  I'll even give you a head start.  Falwell, Kennedy, Robertson & Dobson.  I'll even throw in a gimme.  Romney & Huckabee.  All white guys.  And they are just the tip of the iceburg.  Good luck & good research.  Just remember, the First Amendment is a double edged sword.  JATFUR.

RichK 

Marsha says:  This is just one personal experience, I've actually had a couple more but they would take too long to write about.  I think it's time for people to be people first, not their race, not their nationality.  If you act like a human being then I will treat you like a human being.  If you wear your race on your sleeve then that is what I will see, your race, not your humanity.  There are a great many people I admire and have been friends with that aren't white and if you looked at their lives on paper you could never guess what their race is and that is how it should be!

Sunflower says:  I so agree with Marsha - why can't we just treat each other as individuals?  

My story:   I was a senior in high school – a very rural school in upstate New York, whilst cows grazed in nearby fields.  The demographics in the county were:  99.5% White, .04% Other, .01%Black.  A cousin of the only Black family in our school system, arrived at the beginning of our senior year.  He was the most interesting, dynamic, and personable guy in our entire class of approximately 80 students.  I was fascinated by him as he represented a world which I could only dream of – New York City.  Our school had weekly dances, either live bands, djs, sometimes after ball games, and during off seasons, just ‘dances’.  One week, André asked my friend to accompany him to the dance and she had to turn him down as her very religious mother wouldn’t allow her to attend the dances (she did let her be a cheerleader, however).   

Finally, my point:  André then invited me to be his date for the dance, and although I would have gladly accepted his invitation, I knew that my father (a very good man overall), would have objected in a not so nice way.  So, I told André that I couldn’t attend the dance that night (I usually attended with or without a “date”).  I stayed home and never said a word to my parents about the invitation or the dance, but I always wished for a real backbone and that I had accepted the invitation and not taken the coward's way out.

Sometimes, even when you’re a kid, you just know when something is right or wrong.  My dad was a really good person, but developed his ideas about the racial divide when he was in the Army during WW II and witnessed the destruction of mind and body.  

It’s hard to imagine howFoxx, and others of his age and ilk could possibly write authoritative messages as if they had any idea!  

 Thanks,
JudyB