'Different doesn't mean deficient'

Somewhere in the celestial, heavenly sky, George Orwell is looking down at us and simply saying, "I told you so." His timeless classic 1984 resonates today with many actions this administration and media has applied: wireless surveillance without a warrant (or as our deputy attorney general said, "The fourth amendment doesn't apply." Down goes habeas corpus, down goes habeas corpus), war and peace coexist, slavery is freedom (continue ignoring the working poor by failing to provide health insurance and a minimum wage equivalent to a CEO's salary which by the Service Employees International Union president's estimate will amount to a little over $24 per hour), and have our media depict who a blue collar working man is (white male who drinks heavily after work based on Hillary's ridiculous drinking binge at a bar), a sinewy or anorexic woman is beauty, and continue consuming needless products because you're never o.k. without them.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright was introduced at the NAACP Detroit Branch as its keynote speaker. I luckily saw this in its entirety. One of the first statements he made still resonates: Just my appearance here may be viewed by some as well, "he's being bombastic." This man is a well-read, highly thoughtful person who sees the world as one. In his speech, which I often imitate at work, he mentioned the phobia some people have over Barack Hussein Obama's name. In a loud, boisterous tone, he yelled Barack's full name three times and then said it's an Arabic name. "Arabic is a language, it's not a religion. So, stop treating his name like it's a disease." How did he not go to bat for Obama on this?

I can also understand how Obama's camp does want to distance themselves from Wright's appearances. He did speak in the past tense and Obama is wanting to move forward despite our differences. However, I do feel this was imposed on Obama by our media. The only statement Wright made in his three appearances that was controversial was comparing The Tuskeegee Experiment to our government's willingness to start and spread the AIDS virus. Poor choice of words. The Reagan administration did neglect to inform us for three years after its outbreak what AIDS was. Massive phobias spread throughout this country (remember the Ryan White story) and many believed it started in the gay bath houses in San Fransisco. Every individual infected with AIDS received unimaginable treatment by others. We all freaked out and believed just coming in contact with someone infected may mean we can become infected. Meanwhile, our own government along with France, continued performing tests. I knew after he made this comment he would be demonized and his previous appearances were like they never happened. So, Wright wasn't even entirely wrong on this statement.

Wright is a pastor and Obama is a politician. Both have good intentions. There's nothing condescending or remotely bashing about Wright pointing this out. Sorry, Bill Maher (finally saw one of his shows and he said Wright was a "dick" for mentioning this). Different doesn't mean deficient is a great theme to move ahead. Sometimes, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."