During the last presidential election, Republicans tried to make political hay over the fact that Barack Obama spent many years attending a church whose minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, is prone to using extreme language. My personal favorite Wright line: he denounced December 7 as the day Americans killed millions in Hiroshima. I was appalled no one in the congregation laughed: doesn’t that moron know that’s when the German bombed Pearl Harbor? (my favorite line from Animal House).
I’ve never met President Obama, nor have I met Jeremiah Wright. However, people who question how our president could attend a church whose minister is such a race-baiting extremist should consider the story of John B. Mitchell Jr, my father.
My dad has been a member of the First Communion Church (associated with the United Church of Christ) for slightly over a half century now. He has been an usher and a member of the Board of Governors. He has also been an atheist for his entire adult life. Many years ago, he even saw fit to serve on a search committee to find the church a new senior minister. I indignantly asked him why he doesn’t offer his services to local synagogues. “Because I’m not Jewish,” he replied. I then pointed out he wasn’t Christian either. Dad always wore a look of complete incomprehension when I called him a hypocrite.
With regard to President Obama, is he a) a wild-eyed, racist extremist like Wright, b) a narcoleptic in the habit of sleeping through sermons, or c) an opportunist who wanted connections? Take your pick.
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