So, yesterday Hillary said of Jeremiah Wright, "He would not have been my pastor. You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend." A week ago, Clinton's pastor, Dean Snyder, the Senior Minister of United Methodist Foundry Church, had this to say:
"The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth."
Does this mean Hillary should "choose" to attend a new church? After all, her pastor is aggressively defending what she has described as "hate speech."
* With Tom Lehrer's "New Math" ringing in my ears I initially titled this post "The Commutative Property." But Plank poster clifton generously pointed out that I was citing the wrong mathematical property.
--Christopher Orr