Thursday, July 17, 2008

Rev. Jackson's comments about Sen. Obama

Hello,

I must admit that I was a little disgruntled by Rev. Jesse Jackson's recent comments about Barack Obama.

Jackson made the comments to a guest before an interview on Sunday’s “Fox & Friends,” whispering that Obama was “talking down to black people” and that Jackson wanted to “cut his nuts off.”

I feel that a Public Figure and a man with as much time in front of the microphone that he has should know not to express deeply personal feelings that may be eavesdropped upon. Additionally, anyone that holds the position as a minister should be mindful of his or her duties to the church body as a whole.

Now with that being said we must remember that we are not perfect and neither is Rev. Jackson. The bible says in Matthew 7:1 to judge not lest we be judged. In my opinion this means that we should not make emotional or rash decisions without examining all the facts. Let us not form a "Rush to Judgment" as so often occurs in high profile cases. Let's look at some history of Rev. Jackson.

Myself being born and raised in Chicago, I remember him during the Chicago riots of the 1960's. I would hear him repeatedly stating "I Am Somebody!". I was too young to understand what he meant at the time but since then I have come to understand that he was helping blacks to establish a sense of self worth and pride in themselves. In the early 1970's he created the P.U.S.H. organization (People United to Save Humanity).

Rev. Jackson was involved in the Civil Rights movement along with Dr. Martin Luther King. As a matter of fact he was with Dr. King in Memphis when Dr. King was assassinated. Since then he had a tumultuous relationship with Ralph Abernathy who, after Dr. King's assassination, headed the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference).

Rev. Jackson has continually been in the public eye and during the 1980's twice sought the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. You might say that Sen. Obama is standing on the shoulders of Rev. Jackson (how ironic!). Being a former Naval Aviator, I was especially interested in the fact that Rev. Jackson was involved in the negotiations for the release of an American pilot that was shot down over Syria as well as the release of 22 Americans held by the Cuban government.

Public record states that he is the father of 6 children (one of which was born out of wedlock as the result of an extramarital affair with one of his staffers).

Thanks for bearing with me because I am finally coming to my point. In Luke 6:44 the bible says that a tree is known by its fruit. If he is Christian the fruit will be the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which according to Galatians 5:22-23 are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

At any point in time it is my belief that, given the right circumstances and situation, anyone of us can fly off the handle and not exhibit these fruits. However we should look at the history and current activities of a person to determine the fruit that he/she bears and not condemn them for a spur of the moment comment for which he/she will have to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Do I wish that Rev. Jackson had not made those comments about Barack Obama?....Yes! Do I condemn him?.....No!

What are your thoughts?
Peace....Al

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, Al. Jesse Jackson misspoke. His past earns him some consideration. And, so I give him a little slack.

Hank

Anonymous said...

Good stuff Al. I just wrote a post on this as well at http://noego.wordpress.com/ under the page called the "Obama Effect"

I am fascinated by this concept of how "ego" drives our behavior and started this blog and a book club to explore this. Take care Al.