A Couple of Things I Noticed in the Political World in the Last Week or So

First, I noticed this little nugget in Hillary Clinton’s interview today in which she was explaining the reason for her inaccurate sniper fire comments concerning her trip to Bosnia as First Lady.

“I did misspeak the other day. […] Occasionally, I am human like everyone else.” – Hillary Clinton

That changed my outlook on the matter. At first, it had bothered me a little that she’d lied about the matter. But, I was sincerely happy to hear she’s at least sometimes human.

Second, I wish I had the link, but my internet’s too slow to take the time to look it up. I’ll try to add it tomorrow at school. I swear I’m being pretty accurate.

Anyway, I noticed an article from the Wall Street Journal that began by saying something like the following: “Obama is taking flack for comments by his pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who is a proponent of the radical so-called ‘black liberation theology.’”

I’ve actually seen a number of other interviews and articles (etc.) that struck that same tone as that sentence. What bothered me was that the writer of this article and several other people I’ve heard and have talked with had never heard of Black theology.

Now, I certainly can’t be called an expert on Black theology, but I definitely know that it has a tremendously notable history in the country. It’s an organic theology, grown out of the African-American experience. My students certainly can see its seeds, for instance, in Frederick Douglas’s autobiography. Martin Luther King, most prominently, was definitely a proponent of Black liberation theology (though I’m pretty sure the term became more prominent later). The most ubiquitous (and most universally appealing, it seems to me) aspect of Obama’s campaign (the need for ‘hope’ rather than ‘optimism’) has come straight from Black theology (I’ve never heard Obama quote him, but I think a lot of his ideas come straight from the theologian Cornel West, which is why I started to like Obama in the first place).

Anyway, I’m not defending all of Rev. Wright’s comments that were released this week (one of the three, I absolutely oppose). But the most shameful thing to me has been that so many people (especially the media and church) are so ignorant of the existence and history and value and nature of Black theology and consider it with such fear.

Third. You know how I was angry about Texas Republicans voting for Hillary Clinton because I considered it unethical. Anyway, it's turned out that those votes very likely did sway the primary in her favor.

And people wonder why the country's cynical about the election process.

Oh yeah, the fourth thing I noticed was that Eliot Spitzer is an idiot.