I spent the majority of the day yesterday watching the inauguration, enjoying the historical significance of the event and the true excitement expressed by the large crowds and the people all around me. I was a bit disappointed about the boos heard from the crowd when Bush was announced because no President deserves that whether you agree with him or not. However, I enjoyed most of the day very much. I thought Rick Warren gave a very good prayer that completely obliterated any criticism that could be made toward him as an inappropriate choice. I enjoyed Obama's speech. It sounded great, although there were a few things in it I know I would disagree with, the speech itself was a good one. Of course, he's always been good at giving a good speech. This day seemed to be the embodiment of Dr. King's speech when he said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This was a magnificent event celebrating exactly that sentiment, right up until the benediction was given. I was listening to this prayer, given by Joseph Lowery, and couldn't believe that I'd just heard what I'd heard. it was completely contrary to the spirit of the day, completely untrue of modern America and deliberately derisive, which is contrary to Obama's lip service to unity and inclusiveness. Worse still, USAToday reports that Obama smiled when it was uttered. The quote is in this USAToday article but I'm going to reprint it here.
"help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right"
Now, most of this prayer was quite beautiful in a way and did in fact express the sentiments of the day, but I'm sorry. I understand this man lived through the civil rights movement and this is probably a statement expressing the hurt of his lifetime. It is a great thing that he'd move from civil rights activist to giving the benediction at the inauguration of an African American President. This is what he and Dr. King were fighting for. In fact, I agree that the black men should not be asked to get in back and they aren't anymore. Nor do I think brown should be asked to leave town and I don't see that being the case anymore either. Those concepts are laughable to almost all Americans today, regardless of race, but what was the rest of this about? White will embrace what is right? This implies that he believes we haven't. At least I can only assume that this is what that means. Who wrote his speech? Sounds like a line from a Jeremiah Wright sermon, which may be why our new President didn't recognize it as blatantly racist. So, I ask this. There was so much controversy over Rick Warren leading up to the inauguration and he made a beautiful prayer, a Christian/Jewish prayer, but a nice prayer nonetheless that was certainly offensive to nobody, except that small minority of people who don't believe prayer should be included in these events at all. However, Rev. Lowery's prayer was far from inoffensive. Imagine if Rick Warren had given the line Rev. Lowery used in his prayer. I'm sorry, but that is a classic double standard. Having been wrongfully oppressed in the past doesn't give someone the right to be blatantly racist. So, what was the worst part of the day for me? This line in this prayer was horrible. It ruined to tone of the rest of his prayer and it basically stated to that ALL whites are to be painted with the same brush as those racists who resisted the civil rights movement. It was inappropriate at best and racist at worst and therefore should not have been said. What is worse overall isn't even that Obama is reported to have smiled during this line but that non, not one, of the major news sources seems to have reported on this at all, and what reports I have seen don't condemn it, but rather are reporting it positively. Really? Rick Warren can be lambasted in the press for being against gay marriage, but Joseph Lowery barely gets a mention for being against whites? Hmm...
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