The Nightly Build...
Prohibition, Jim Crow and Immigration
Rod Dreher, in a
column for The Dallas Morning News Viewpoints section,
presents a logic puzzle for readers. See if you can tell where he's
headed.
He starts by pointing out how Prohibition was a colossal failure
because drinking was too widespread and socially acceptable to be
legislated out of existence.
He goes on to tell the old story (new to Dreher, apparently) of the
college groundskeepers' who gave up trying to keep the students from
wearing a footpath through the grass by sensibly laying a sidewalk
where the students needed to walk.
He adds the example of civil disobedience used to challenge the Jim
Crow segregation laws when injustice led many to disobey laws and
eventually bring about change.
Have you figured out where Dreher is going yet with regard to our
immigration laws? Have you guessed he's going to point out the folly
of our current laws? After all, the laws make outlaws of those seeking
otherwise socially acceptable ends -- a job, a better life, a chance
at the American dream. The laws are flouted by millions of immigrants
seeking work. The laws are flouted by thousands of employers seeking
willing and able workers. The laws are a colossal failure, openly
challenged by millions who think seeking a job should be as free and
sensible as walking across the grass to get where you want to go.
If you thought Dreher would learn the lessons of his own examples,
you'd be wrong. Instead, Dreher illogically concludes that our failed
immigration laws are different. That limiting the number of immigrants
below what is sufficient to meet the demand in industry, agriculture,
and construction, is rooted in morally sound principles. That there
is a "transcendent order" in creating and maintaining a perpetual
underclass living in the shadows of American society. That we ought
not strive for comprehensive immigration reform but instead more
aggressively enforce existing laws that no longer serve the purpose of
the American economy. That we the people are here to serve the
purpose of the sidewalk and not the other way around.
There you have it. I said Dreher presented readers with a logic
puzzle. I didn't say it had a logical solution.
Wright: Sabotaging Obama?
Jeffrey Weiss does a service for all America by
posting links to the transcripts and videos of recent speeches by
the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Too much commentary is based on sound bites
taken out of context, resulting in a slanted view of Wright's
positions. I'll offer several of my own observations, some positive,
some negative, after having reviewed the full speeches.
Wright relates how, for decades, white missionaries to black
communities made blacks ashamed of their African-American roots. Even
today, Christianity is seen by some blacks as the white man's
religion. It puts meaning into Trinity United Church of Christ's
slogan, "Unashamedly Black, Unapologetically Christian." The first
part is directed at whites; the second at blacks.
Wright argues that there's a difference between government and God.
God is unchanging and good. Governments are flawed and capable of sin.
Wright urges America to strive for redemption. Some view this as
anti-American. It isn't.
Wright's God is a judgmental and activist God, inflicting 9/11 on
America in retaliation for America's own sins. This is the same as
Falwell and Hagee blaming 9/11 and Katrina on abortion and
homosexuality. God doesn't work that way.
Wright's suspicion knows no bounds. He blames AIDS on a deliberate
government intent to harm the African-American community. His
paranoia may be grounded in history like the Tuskegee syphilis
experiments, but it's paranoia nonetheless. Not every bad thing
happens intentionally. Incompetence is sometimes a better explanation
than malevolence.
Wright's defense of Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitism seems to
reflect racial solidarity. It reflects a deep-seated bitterness
towards the white community. Given that, I see no hope of reconciliation,
not with this man.
All of this sharply outlines the challenge Barack Obama faces as he
tries to be the candidate of change, the candidate who hopes to unify
black and white, liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican. We
knew all along that Obama would have a hard time convincing the right
of his good intentions. With Wright's recent speeches, it now appears
possible that Barack Obama may face just as big a challenge with the
far left. There is hurt and anger lurking in the African-American
community. If Wright is typical, they may turn on Obama the more he
appears to be an honest broker and not partisan fighter. Wright
admits as much. "I said to Barack Obama last year, 'If you get
elected, November the 5th I’m coming after you, because you’ll be
representing a government whose policies grind under people.'"
If Wright wanted to sabotage Obama's campaign, these are the kinds
of speeches he would give. But, why would he want to sabotage Obama's
campaign? Does he himself secretly believe that Obama does not, in
fact, agree with his own extremist religious and political views?
Does he view Obama as disloyal to the African-American cause, a
sell-out to white America? Barack Obama's challenge to unify America
grows just as America's need for a Barack Obama does, too.
P.S. Don't take my word for it. Follow the links. Read Wright in
his own words. It's a rich vein that can be mined by Wright
supporters and detractors both.
