"Come and See the Violence Inherent in the System"

Oppression is human nature. Of course that doesn't make it right, just inevitable. American history is plagued with oppression. The founding colonies were built by indentured servants that could be compared to the sweat shops of today; a lot of work for little to no pay. As American society grew, slaves were brought in to help build the nation. One cannot exactly blame the white man for creating African slaves; after all they merely purchased a commodity from a market created by African tribal leaders. Slavery is not unique to blacks, nor was it created by America. Human slavery has been around since the old Testament. Nearly every race on Earth has experienced slavery or some equal form of oppression. The natives to American soil were oppressed to the point of slaughter and segregation that exists today. Now believe me, I am not trying to justify slavery in the slightest; it is an abhorrent part of our history as the human race. I'm just saying that we can't go on blaming people for something their ancestors did. Much like a criminals family should not be required to apologize or pay for the actions of the criminal.

This aspect of human nature to oppress the next generation is learned, much like children that are raised by abusive parents are more likely to abuse their children. People abused by a government grow up to run a government that a abuses its citizens. On the other hand, this country has come a long way since the civil rights movement began. Our schools are integrated, there is no longer separate bathrooms or drinking fountains for different races, and every American citizen has the right to vote regardless of race or gender. Many of the obstacles that our ancestors faced and fought to overcome are gone in today's America.

Race has become the forefront of many discussions in this country because of Senator Barrack Obama and his association with the very opinionated Jeremiah Wright. Unless you live in a cave, this isn't news to you ; and if you live in a cave you probably aren't reading this blog. The media has run the statements by Mr. Wright and the follow up by Sen. Obama into the ground. But that is how the game of politics is played. Although some of us, including me, do not agree with Mr. Wright, we have to remember that he has the 1st amendment right to say what he feels. However, I would argue that the pulpit is not the place for such inflammatory rhetoric. As a Christian pastor Mr. Wright needs to remember that Jesus did not represent such hatred of our fellow man nor did he represent any form or racism or dissent between peoples of different nationalities. One should not be so quick to play the "Race Card". It should be played when the situation is obvious and it is warranted. But to try to trump every situation with it, detracts from its efficacy when discrimination is actually present. To borrow a quote from Dennis Miller "We don't want to become the boy who cried "Black"."

Government created by man is never perfect. There are always those that become power hungry and abuse their position. There are basically 4 options for those that don't like the "Inherent" problems in our society. They can jump up on their soap box every chance they get and rant and rave while making a fool of themselves. They can follow the example of Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King and try to make a difference. They are always free to leave the country and find out that our world isn't that bad; in fact I know from experience that this country is a far better place to live than many other countries in the world (at least for now, America isn't full of suicide bombers, our streets are free of IED's, and we aren't surrounded by foreign troops telling us what to do or where we can and can't go.) Or they can look around and see that the U.S. is a country full of diversity; no where in the world can you find every race, ethnic group, and religion in one place. No matter what your background, we are Americans; we are Family.