I know this has been discussed ad nauseum here and everywhere else. But, there is one aspect of the Reverend White clips that I have not seen anyone else note. If anyone here has, please forgive me.
To get this out of the way, I am a white woman in my early 30s. I am skeptical of organized religion because I have seen it do so much harm. I do consider myself a deist, though.
That being said, I am not really writing this because I want to chime in on whether or not Reverend Wright was wrong in saying what he said.
I just wanted to admit that I like listening and watching the clip of Reverend White's sermon.
I am not saying that I agree with the idea of creating a divisive atmosphere. I agree with Senator Obama when he says that our country has become so polarized due to our politicians. I believe that we need to get away from this.
I am just saying that I like listening to the sermons. He has a true gift for preaching. His oratorial skills are fantastic. Even his body movements are amazing. I find myself mesmerized every time I watch him. This is so very different from everything I have ever experienced with organized religion. My parents forced me to go to church until I was 14, and I was usually sent to Protestant churches. I found every sermon I sat through to be extremely boring. This is not to say that I did not like any of the Protestants I met. I found them all to be nice people. It is just that the sermons and the kind of religion put forth at these churches seemed so impersonal. Watching Reverend Wright, I can feel such an energy coming through, a real passion for Christianity and God. I admire this so much. Watching him preach, I get the feeling that he was truly connected to the people of his church, that he cared for all of them. This is something that I always found missing whenever I went to church. Looking back, I think this is the primary reason I stopped going the day I was given the choice.
Watching those clips, I feel a little envious of everyone that attends that church. I have never felt such a sense of belonging that the people in that clip truly seem to feel. This is a loss that has hurt me my entire life. Though I cannot condone the idea of dividing people, I would love the opportunity to sit in a church, among all of those people, listen to him give a sermon like that, and then discuss it with him and others there. I think it could truly be an enlightening experience.
Of course, talent aside, I would not be listening to it if I found it offensive. Though I have read he was a powerful speaker, I cannot even imagine enjoying listening to Adolf Hitler's speeches. Nothing Reverend White said in the clips I have seen offends me, though. I do not mean to imply that I am better than a person that is offended by his sermon. I just feel that I have a different worldview. I do feel frustrated that there seems to be such a backlash to it, but I understand that we all see the world differently.
I never intended my first diary to be about something that I consider to be trivial. It is just that I am kind of embarrassed to admit that I enjoy listening to him preach. There is so much controversy about it, and so much anger coming from some pockets of this country. This is not something I feel safe admitting to the general public. This site seems like the best place to speak my mind freely.
Having written all of this, I am unable to come to terms with whether or not it is wrong to truly enjoy a sermon that seems to offend so many Americans. I do not know how I could ever explain it to someone that is offended by it without offending that person even more. It seems like it would only create an ever greater division. It saddens me that I am so worried that I feel I must post on the internet rather than discussing it out in the open with people I see every day.