He Has a Nightmare

The hysteria surrounding recent hermeneutical hyperbole from the mouth of Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, is another indicator of the gulf between two fundamentally different visions of the world. Obama represents the positive thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr., a non-violent approach to human relationships and to society at large: Give them a dream; bring people a higher vision and call it forth from them, while holding those in power accountable for the shortcomings of society.

Rev. Wright represents the combative voice of early Malcom X writings. Before that great African-American Muslim made his mind-opening pilgrimage to Mecca, his vision of the world was more like a nightmare: Conspiratorial actions by the majority society to destroy minorities and/or keep non-white Americans in economic, political, and cultural thralldom.

Having said this, let me add that both Malcom and Rev. Wright do make some valid points. Lingering racism is a cancer which may be in remission but has not yet vanished from the body of American life. And having taught public school I can verify that discontent for the members of majority culture by minority students sometimes breaks out in full indignation. One day an eighth grader student, a lovely young lady, blurted out in homeroom: "I hate white people!" I frowned and said, "Hey....I resemble that remark." She smiled warmly and said, "Oh, I'm not talking about you, Mr. Shepherd..." I knew she wasn't, but the frustration behind her declaration flowed partly from the fact that she lived in a sometimes-hostile world where she would always be a "minority" member.

The source of these conflicts runs deep. It has to do with people from different cultures sharing the same living space. There are plenty of locations around the planet where diverse peoples co-exist and co-mingle rather harmoniously; Brazil is everybody's favorite example of an integrated society, although it's less than perfect. However, in too many places people divide themselves along racial, ethnic, linguistic, or religious lines. I've seen this in middle school cafeterias and prison yards; by choice or necessity, birds of a feather really do together.

Yet, Dr. King's vision of a society of mutual respect, based on a positive vision of good will and cooperation, is ill served when ministers like Jeremiah Wright take the pulpit and declare that the US created the AIDS virus and set it loose on the black community: “The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied." Rev. Wright's comments do not just represent bad theology or rancorous thinking; these are paranoid delusions boardering on psychosis. Even if someone were to believe US government could get away with creating and releasing the AIDS virus without headline-hungry investigative reporters leaping on the story, how could a sinister central regime weaponize the AIDS virus? Consider how ineffective AIDS is as a weapon: there is neither an antidote nor protective vaccine for your troops, the disease is only transmitted by blood or bodily fluids, and it attacks everyone without regard to race, color, or creed.

In defense of Rev. Wright's prophetic tradition--if not his specific views--I recommend a fresh reading of the New Testament, especially for anyone who believes the Church should NOT address the social issues of the day. (Jesus did, and it got him crucified.) There are racial barriers still to overcome in this world. We have not yet arrived at ML King's vision of a society in which people are judged by not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. However, we are more likely to move toward a world of peace and justice if we shun the nightmares of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and keep our eyes on the prize, the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.