I am certain there are those who will label me a racist, primarily because I am a Republican and Democrats love to yell “racist” if a white person speaks negatively about anything involving a racial component. However, I am not speaking negatively about any race, instead, I am speaking negatively about “teaching” a race or culture to hate.
Despite your political affiliation, one thing that has astonished me about the current election process and should seriously concern you, is the teaching of racial hatred, as demonstrated by Reverend Wright and Father Phleger, that is apparently common in African-American churches throughout the U.S. Obama referred to this as a “cultural” difference; however, hatred is not unique to any one culture and should be strongly condemned and discouraged by every culture.
When I first became aware of this after seeing the objectionable sermons on television, I called a black friend of 30 years (and an Obama supporter) and asked him if he had ever witnessed such a sermon. He stated such sermons were common and that the same thing went on in “white” churches. I told him that while I have not been to every church in America, I have been a Southern Baptist for approximately 20 years and attended about 4 different churches. Before that, I was a Catholic. NEVER did I ever hear ANYTHING like the hate filled sermons preached by Wright or Phleger. The ONLY sermons I ever heard in either church were ones of Christ’s love for ALL people. NO mention of race was ever made. Had it been made, I am certain the congregation would have fired the clergyman or petitioned the bishop for his removal from the church.
There is little wonder that race relations in the U.S. would be very strained when teaching children every Sunday that white people hate blacks and are responsible for all sorts of evils against blacks. How could any child grow up in such an environment and NOT have a strong distrust, fear or hatred of the white race? While the answer seems crystal clear to me, there has been no public outcry about such hate teachings and the news media has been totally silent on this issue. Yet, I have seen repeated broadcasts of Muslims teaching hatred in Mosques or schools to their young, which always causes our public revulsion. I, for one, fail to see the difference between teaching Muslim children to hate or teaching Black children to hate.
While I am certain racial hatred is not taught in every African-American church in America, it is evident that it is taught in many such churches. If we ever hope to repair our race relations in this country, we MUST stop teaching our children to hate especially when such teaching gives the appearance of having the blessings of our religious community.
Despite your political affiliation, one thing that has astonished me about the current election process and should seriously concern you, is the teaching of racial hatred, as demonstrated by Reverend Wright and Father Phleger, that is apparently common in African-American churches throughout the U.S. Obama referred to this as a “cultural” difference; however, hatred is not unique to any one culture and should be strongly condemned and discouraged by every culture.
When I first became aware of this after seeing the objectionable sermons on television, I called a black friend of 30 years (and an Obama supporter) and asked him if he had ever witnessed such a sermon. He stated such sermons were common and that the same thing went on in “white” churches. I told him that while I have not been to every church in America, I have been a Southern Baptist for approximately 20 years and attended about 4 different churches. Before that, I was a Catholic. NEVER did I ever hear ANYTHING like the hate filled sermons preached by Wright or Phleger. The ONLY sermons I ever heard in either church were ones of Christ’s love for ALL people. NO mention of race was ever made. Had it been made, I am certain the congregation would have fired the clergyman or petitioned the bishop for his removal from the church.
There is little wonder that race relations in the U.S. would be very strained when teaching children every Sunday that white people hate blacks and are responsible for all sorts of evils against blacks. How could any child grow up in such an environment and NOT have a strong distrust, fear or hatred of the white race? While the answer seems crystal clear to me, there has been no public outcry about such hate teachings and the news media has been totally silent on this issue. Yet, I have seen repeated broadcasts of Muslims teaching hatred in Mosques or schools to their young, which always causes our public revulsion. I, for one, fail to see the difference between teaching Muslim children to hate or teaching Black children to hate.
While I am certain racial hatred is not taught in every African-American church in America, it is evident that it is taught in many such churches. If we ever hope to repair our race relations in this country, we MUST stop teaching our children to hate especially when such teaching gives the appearance of having the blessings of our religious community.
However, I wouldn't criticize one for their personal beliefs, whether it be Mormonism, Catholicism, Buddhism, to each his own.
