I'm glad that no one has ever suggested that I can't be a good teacher based upon the statements that my former pastors have made. After all, it was Dr. Mark who said, "any good Christian who believes in marriage needs to sign this law preventing same sex unions." Apparently I'm not a good Christian and I don't believe in marriage. I could care less of a homosexual couple gets married. After all, if we're using Jesus as our guide than a non-believer could never marry a believer and divorced people would never be married at all.
On the same token, I'm glad they never judged me for what our reverand said when we were growing up. (I'm not sure what the difference is between a reverand or a pastor.) He told us it was a sin to eat grapes when Cesar Chavez was giving a speach about pesticides. He also said that God loves the Iraqi and cries when we drop bombs on them and then celebrate by waving flags.
My point is this: none of that changes my ability to lead a classroom. Similarly, the comments (which were partially true, albeit with a bit more yelling that I would choose) of Obama's former pastor are irrelevant in his ability to decide if we should go to war or if we should rob from the classrooms to give to McGraw Hill (No Child Left Behind) or if we should allow immigrants to same shot at the American Dream that our immigrant ancestors recieved.
After all, it was Bush who spoke of compassionate conservatism. He spoke eloquently . . . okay, not so eloquently (it's Bush) about the need to take care of the poor and support human rights. Then his administration did nothing after Katrina. They launched an unjust war, started tapping people's phone lines and torturing detainees who have never been convicted of a crime. So, my point is this: No matter what his pastor might say, if Obama can tell the difference between interrogation and torture, he is already ahead of Bush on any ethics test I would administer.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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The views of this blog are those of the author only . . . and a few people crazy enough to agree with him. They do not in any way represent those of the Cartwright School District or its staff. If you find something offensive, please e-mail me at socialvoice@gmail.com and we'll engage in a respectful dialogue.
8 comments:
I have very similar thoughts when I heard all the hubbub about this guy.
If we were held liable for half the things Brad said, especially when people found out we believed them too, we'd be in a heap of trouble...
At least in the eyes of the world.
Hell, I don't know what would ever happen if I was held accountable for half the things that I've said over the years - often just to get a reaction.
Like the moment that they tried to get me to sign a petition to make all shelters no-kill and I refused. When the lady asked, "Don't you like animals?" I answered "To eat."
Yeah, so I guess I'll never run for president. I didn't stand much of a chance in politics anyway. It's unheard of to elect a white guy from an upper-middle class background. It's just never been done before.
We all stick our foot in our mouths once in a while. I don't believe we should judge one person by the action or words of another. It we did, I would be judged by my ex's journey into selling meth. (I have never used drugs other than those prescribed.) But, I don't believe that I should be blamed for his decisions. He is in jail where he belongs. It ticks me off that my daughter could end up affected by this. She is serving her country in the Navy and this could come back at her. She has cut off all forms of contact with him.
Like the moment that they tried to get me to sign a petition to make all shelters no-kill and I refused. When the lady asked, "Don't you like animals?" I answered "To eat."
John, from the outside most people might consider you the most serious person they know. Except, for really, once you get to know you, you can sometimes more crazy and goofy than anyone. (I mean that in a good way.)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, millions of Americans who DON'T hate their country vow not to vote for Obama because of his close association with the Right Reverend Jeremiah "God Damn America" Wright.
Great post!
Have you ever warned your students about the crowd they are hanging around? They will become like them.
You can deny accountability, but we are accountable for those things we say, do, think, and people we choose to hang around.
How are each of us molded and shaped? It may be time for some critial thinking past the nice dialogue and charisma.
Nope, I don't warn students about who to hang around with. I hung out with a combination of druggies, burn-outs, artists, jocks and honor students. I had teachers who mentored me, despite the fact that I disagreed with them on core issues. If you teach someone to think for themselves, they can avoid the stupidity of the crowd.
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