In Context

When did patriotism become fanaticism in America? Did I miss the memo? Or has it always been that way and there was just a brief respite from it during the 60's and 70's?

Ronald Reagan made America feel good about being the grand old U.S. of A. It was okay to be patriotic again. I believe Barack Obama is the same type of candidate, one who makes you feel good about being an American. Or at least he was until his critics and the ratings-seeking media began to paint him with a Jeremiah Wright "hate" brush.

Six seconds of a sermon. That's what is played over and over again. The sermon itself is at least 25 minutes long. Have you listened to the whole thing before you rushed to judgement or are you basing your decision on 6 seconds? Even Hillary Clinton's former pastor, Dean Snyder, the senior minister at the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington D.C., defended Wright.

In a statement Snyder released last week he noted that Wright was an outstanding leader. "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."

I listened to the sermon. In fact, I tuned into another sermon this past Sunday. I wanted to judge for myself if this man was a racist hate monger or not. He isn't. His sermon, although peppered with many political comments, was very traditional Christianity. And traditional Christianity is about love. He even talked about loving your enemy.

Here is a link to it on Huffington Post. This clip is over six minutes long not six seconds. Listen and decide for yourself.

I realize that some people may still take offense to his sermons. Those people who close their ears to any criticism of America or its president without judging the merit of the statement will not like what he has to say. America is not always right but saying that doesn't mean I don't love America. I don't always agree with or like some of the things America does. That doesn't make me unpatriotic or a traitor.