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By Stephen Tillet

As a pastor familiar with counseling techniques, one of the primary skills needed by people interested in resolving a dispute or difference of opinion is a willingness to listen respectfully, not dismiss or denigrate, the opinions of others, and approach the discussion as if the other participants might be correct - that they might have a point. That element of basic Dialogue 101 has been missing in the brouhaha over brief excerpts of a couple of retired Pastor Jeremiah Wright's sermons.

It seems clear that Wright is being used as a bludgeon to slow Senator Barack Obama's march to the Democratic Party nomination. Wright had been pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ for 36 years. His name has only become a household name as a result of this campaign.

In spite of the repeated denouncements and the heartfelt and personal speech Obama gave in response to this controversy, while seeking to address some of the concerns of "race" in this nation, the hysterical caterwauling about Wright did not abate.

I suspect that if Obama had dragged Wright onto the stage in chains and put a bullet in his head, he still would have been criticized for not responding decisively enough, or using a bullet caliber that wasn't big enough.

The fact is, Wright's sermon is consistent with Biblical tradition from the prophets and the words of Jesus, himself, who challenged the status quo and injustices with brutal candor.

In response to empty worship and disobedient lifestyles, the prophet Amos (Chapter 5, verses 21-24) shares God's sentiment with Israel "I hate, I despise you religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies...away with the noise of your songs."

The prophet Micah pronounced judgment against a disobedient people, as well (Chapter 2, verses 1-3) "Woe to those who plan iniquity to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses and take them. They defraud a man of his home (sound familiar?), a fellow man of his inheritance. Therefore the Lord says: ‘I am planning disaster against this people from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.'"

In Matthew Chapter 23, Jesus takes the Pharisees, the religious "establishment" of their day, to task for failing to practice what they preached. In verse 15 Jesus says, "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." In this same chapter, Jesus also refers to the Pharisees as "blind guides," "blind fools" and "white washed tombs." In verse 33 he says "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being damned to hell?"

Jesus was not exactly telling folks what they wanted to hear or currying favor with the powerful. He was not interested in "political correctness."

So what does this have to do with Rev. Wright, you ask? Speaking in the prophetic tradition of the Bible and his community, Wright raised some topics that the larger country would rather ignore and forget.

Recounting them does not make this former Marine unpatriotic. To the contrary, like Rev. Martin Luther. King's speech against the Vietnam War in 1967, for which he was roundly condemned, Wright calls upon the United States to remember her past sins, repent for them, and not to repeat those errors again.

That the medical establishment in Tuskegee, Ala. conducted a40 year "study" (1932-72) about the effects of untreated syphilis in 399 Black men in Alabama is historical fact. Indeed, when a whistle blower raised concerns about the morality of this experiment in 1966 with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) they reaffirmed the need to continue the study until completion (until all subjects had died and been autopsied).

So when African Americans today are asked, in a demanding tone, "You don't believe that our government created AIDS in a lab to help infect and depopulate resources-rich Africa (and other populations) do you?" History would inform us that the most sensible response would be "I don't know. ... I hope not." We hope not, but based on past performance, we can't be sure. Nothing unpatriotic or hateful there, just a "wait and see"-type self preservation.

While some of Wright's other comments were uncomfortable, they are supported by historical facts. The United States did nuke two cities in Japan at the end of World War II after it was clear, from President Truman's personal diaries and other declassified documents that the Japanese had signaled their intention to surrender.

Dropping those bombs and killing hundreds of thousands of people was not necessary...and the same would never have happened to Germany or Italy, in spite of their numerous wartime atrocities. The facts speak for themselves.

Japanese-Americans were locked away in detention camps, and their lands taken from them. The same did not happen to German and Italian Americans. That is historical fact. African Americans are among the most patriotic of this nation's citizens, fighting in each of this nation's wars for freedoms they did not enjoy at home, even to the point where Nazi POWs in the United States were allowed some privileges in captivity that Negro soldiers from this country were denied. That is historical fact.

Rodney King would have merely been considered paranoid, delusional, clumsy, or "resisting arrest" were it not for video evidence to the contrary. We have a very short memory in this country, but facts are facts and history is history.

Just because one does not like the inconvenient lessons of history, or being reminded of them, does not render them untrue, "unpatriotic," "anti-American" or "racist." And since this nation was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic, the Bible says in several places that "you reap what you sow." So our choice is either to learn the lessons of history, rather than ignoring or misinterpreting them for political convenience, or we will, indeed, reap what we are sowing.

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph encounters his brothers who sold him into slavery and tells them ‘what you meant for evil, God intended for good.'

What some intended for the simple and foolish purpose of trying to derail the Obama campaign, has now been used to invite the American people into an historic dialogue on race and class issues in America.

Until we address these concerns, we will never be able to put the sorry and pernicious legacy of racism to rest. We cannot ignore it away. We can only work through it, one painstaking step at a time. It took a long time to dig this hole, it will take time and concerted effort to dig out.

Is our country worth the investment, or are we willing to simply focus on campaign tactics instead? I think it's worth the effort. I pray a majority of my fellow citizens do, too.

The Rev. Stephen Andrew Tillett is senior pastor of Asbury-Broadneck UMC in Annapolis.

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