A More Perfect Union

Barack Obama's candidacy is taking us into new territory, where old understandings of common categories and even of our national history are shifting.

For my part, after reading Obama's speech, I think he understands the human condition far better than most politicians I've heard.

This part really touched me:

"The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America."

I think that sentence describes not just the black experience, but the American Experience, both at home and abroad- a complex truth about ourselves that sooner or later we're going to have to acknowledge.

Note: Rev. Wright's most controversial remarks were taken from the following sermons, large portions of which can be read at the links below. Links to recording of full sermon are at the end of each article.

The Day of Jerusalem's Fall
Confusing God and Government