Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s Protestant pastor, has come under the spotlight recently, given his of his “controversial” utterances. Here is what he said:
“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people…God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme…We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye…We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost”.
Let us assess this statement as Catholics, not as nationalists. First, much of what he says is in line with Catholic social teaching. Racism in intrinsically evil, and it is hard to deny that racism is still very much alive and well in America, especially in its justice system. Wright also is right to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were nothing more than gravely evil massacres of civilians. And today, the United State still takes a one-sided approach to the Israeli-Palestianian conflict, at odds not only with the rest of the world, but with the Vatican.
But let’s address the charge at hand: did Wright say, as is claimed, that the United States is responsible for 9/11? That could mean two entirely different things: (i) the policies of the United States led directly to the hatred that took the form of terrorism, or (ii) United States somehow deserved to be attacked, got what was coming to it. Clearly, (i) is supported by common sense, and is in line with Catholic social teaching, while (ii) is not, given its assumption that innocent people deserve to die. In fact, many of those who used to be called “conservative” in the United States (before the messianic lunatics took over the asylum) ascribed to the “blow-back” theory– this was the bedrock of Ron Paul’s now-failed presidential campaign. From what I read, Wright is supporting interpretation (i), not (ii). He is talking about the faults, hypocrisy, and hubris of the United States as its military might engages the world. He is talking about the blindness of so many Americans who see their country as a beacon of hope and freedom– and yet fomenting violence and supporting regimes around the world that stamp on human dignity. This notion of “blindness” is a very biblical notion, coming out clearly in John’s gospel.
By the way, there are American Protestants who ascribe to theory number (ii). They are people like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell who did say that America is directly responsible for 9/11, as God was punishing the nation for its sins. There is no ambiguity here. Their God is a God who condones the murder of innocents. And yet, these people received a free pass, while Wright is harassed. I think the double standard is very easy to explain: Robertson and Falwell attack the message of Christ, whereas Wright attacks the basis of American nationalism. It is clear what people value more– even Catholics.
Let’s get to the “God damn America” directly, the quote that provoked the most ire, and led one of out own contributors to attack this blog from a secular nationalist perch. If we are going to criticize Wright for using this phrase, we need to do so from a Catholic perspective. And indeed, criticism is warranted. For literally understood, Wright is calling the wrath of God down on an entire nation, again calling for the murder of the innocent. This is perhaps reading too much into it, and I’m sure Wright did not have this concept in mind. He is using the “God damn” phrase in its modern incarnation of “a plague upon” rather than an invocation of what he sees as divine justice. Still, a churchman should not take the Lord’s name in vain in such manner. But at the end of the day, this is a minor transgression. Wright used heated language to make some very valid points.
Fundamentally, therefore, there is no evidence that Wright is supporting violence. On the other hand, McCain’s new friends— Protestant ministers John Hagee and Rod Parsley– do call for a war between America and what they see as America’s enemies, casting their bizarre Calvinist-Gnostic view of the world into a very real foreign policy. Put it like this: if McCain listened to Hagee and Parsley, he would foment a great war in the middle east and wipe the Palestinians off the map. If Obama listened to Wright… what exactly? Maybe a foreign policy more respectful of human rights and human dignity? Maybe penal reform at home? Certainly, not even the wildest right-wing conspiracist is predicting the mirror image of Hagee-Parsley– that Obama would start rounding up the white people…
Such double standards are quite outrageous. Again, it is because people are looking at these Protestant leaders through glasses tinted more by nation than gospel. From a Catholic standpoint, it is clear who the more dangerous, the more in error. But from a nationalist viewpoint, Wright has committed the great crime of “hating” America. Think about this for a second. How can one hate a nation state? A nation state is not a person, and is never made in the image and likeness of God. Wright is criticizing the policies of the leadership of a particular nation state. To turn that into an attack on the “personhood of America” is to turn nationalism into a civic religion. It is abundantly clear to me that many of the critics of Vox Nova in this regard define “orthodoxy” in terms of this false civic religion, instead of the universal Church that preserves the memory of Christ. And remember, many of our Christian forefathers suffered martyrdom rather than bow down the Roman civic religion.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In