Rmj at Adventus had the jump on the media who had the jump on the Bill Moyers interview with The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, which had not even been aired yet. Of course, we are not permitted to watch the show and decide for ourselves what to think. We must hear the high-paid talking heads tell us what to think.
From ABC, the network who brought us the recent great debate, with the help of the two outstanding (for their failure) moderators, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulas (remember them?), we get this:
"If he [Wright] was a Barack Obama supporter, I think he would pull himself off of the stage at this point," said National Public Radio senior political analyst Juan Williams...."If you're with the Barack Obama campaign this morning, you're pulling your hair out," said Williams.
....
"Nothing good comes of this for Barack Obama," concurred ABC News political contributor Cokie Roberts...."Even though he was defending himself, quite nicely, he said Barack Obama spoke as a politician. That is the last thing Obama wants people to think of him as. He has approached the American people as a pastor-type himself," said Roberts.
Oh, Juan, you are so not cool. I have heard you be not cool so many times I don't question my assumption of not-coolness in watching and listening to you. I'm afraid my opinion on your lack of coolness is quite settled.
And Cokie, my home girl, you so need to retire. I see you and Steven riding off into the sunset days of your retirement. Take it from me, your Louisiana sistah, retirement is goooood. On one occasion, I emailed them voicing a wee bit of criticism regarding the opinions in one of their joint syndicated columns, and Steven responded with a personal attack. I criticized their words, and Steven attacked me for daring to voice disagreement. He called me names. I wish I had saved the email. The names were not naughty, but they were not nice, either.
On Friday evening, I watched the Bill Moyers' interview with The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ. I sat transfixed for the whole hour, and the time zipped by. It was a great interview, and Wright did not frighten me one single time. Moyers played longer clips from some of the controversial sermons, so that the viewer got more of the context than from the sound bites which have been circulating on the tee vee, and then he let Wright comment afterwards.
What I hear from The Reverend Wright is a caution against vengeance and a message of hope going out to his congregation, some of whom may have very little in their lives to give them hope. Perhaps Obama learned his message of hope from his pastor. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing if he learned hope from his pastor? Wouldn't any preacher be happy if even one person in the congregation learned hope from a sermon?
In the coming months of the campaign, you will hear the same sound bites from Wright used to vilify Barack Obama. You will hear them ad nauseam. Oh the stupidity! Oh the ignorance! I can hardly bear the thought of what's to come. The folks in the sorry, sorry media will have no knowledge of the tradition of prophetic preaching in black churches. They will know nothing of black liberation theology, except that it's a very scary thing. Ooooh. It might make black men angry, and what's scarier than an angry black man? White men? Well, they can get angry. Sometimes they look very manly when they get angry, but an angry black man is a whole other thing.
Look, I know very little about the traditions of preaching in black churches, but I know more than the ignorant, but extremely well-paid talking heads in the media, who will spew their drivel over the coming months. If they wanted to, they could learn, but methinks they believe that they already know it all. After all, theirs is the conventional wisdom, and we must listen to them.
Bill Moyers is a national treasure, and I fear he may be the last of his kind. We must value him while we still can.
Here's the link to the video and transcript of the show. When you have time, if you have not seen the show or read the transcript, I suggest strongly that you do, because then you will have a frame of reference from which to judge the idiocies that you will see and hear and read in the media.
At Adventus, you can find a second post by Rmj which includes lengthier quotes from the transcript, if you cannot get to read the whole thing or watch the video. The show will be replayed on public television stations. Check your local listings.
I was only able to watch a part of the interview, and like you, I did not feel threatened at all.
ReplyDeleteThe free press that our forefathers supported has disappeared and in its place we have just another arm of the corporate/political system. It is a sad commentary.
Jim, and the media folks are so smug and self-satisfied. Thinking seems to have come to a full stop. The herd instinct has taken over.
ReplyDeleteHooray for Mimi! You said it all, my dear. I just want to echo what you say about Juan Williams. They tried him as a talk show host back in the early 00's and he was a miserable failure. Now he's worse as a commentator. Ditto Cokie, whom I once adored when she had George Stephanopoulos's job at ABC.
ReplyDeleteTerry, I had to do this post, just to vent, or I would have exploded. I never thought much of Williams, either. When NPR hired him, I was quite disappointed. And yes! What happened to Cokie? I used to like her too, but she's become conventionally boring.
ReplyDeletehuh, I heard Juan Williams speak once, on the civil rights movement, and actually, in that context, he was quite good. I also like what he says about Thurgood Marshall. But I have to concur, he is disappointing now.
ReplyDeleteI think the press keeps hearing about how they are giving Obama a "free pass", so they are doing everything possible now to change that.
And I sure wish they'd use some of that on McCain!!!!!
Journalists are supposed to be "quick studies" on disparate topics. Would it break their fingernails to pick up the phone and call a seminary or college history of American religion professor? Or ask a colleague who covers the religion beat, or attends a traditionally-black denomination or was raised in one? Rate this preacher on 1 to 10 chili peppers hell-fire scale - is he mild, average, angrier than Moses was when he saw the golden calf?
ReplyDeleteNancyP
Diane, you're right. McCain's the one who gets the free pass from the media.
ReplyDeleteNancy, they're lazy. They think they know it all and they don't rouse themselves to double check. I read somewhere that Wright would be about in the middle - say a 5 or 6. That sounds about right.