On the subject of local community, regional, and international peacebuilding, I'd like to recommend a document I wrote and compiled, as part of a current work-in-progress, and as part of my work building The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative.The document is titled "36 Problems That May Arise (in Preparing for, and Implementing, Community Visioning Initiatives)", and it is accessible as a pdf file attached to a journal entry of that same title, at my journal at www.worldpulse.com (see http://www.worldpulse.com/node/13829 )With Kind Regards,Stefan Pasti, Founder and Outreach CoordinatorThe IPCR Initiative
Reprinted from: "Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy" Facebook group by Robert Applebaum"How many times have we heard from our leaders in Washington that education is the key to solving all of our underlying societal problems? The so-called "Silver Bullet." For decades, presidents, senators and members of Congress have touted themselves as champions of education, yet they've done nothing to actually encourage the pursuit of one on an individual level.Some of us have taken advantage of Federal Stafford Loans and other programs, including private loans, to finance higher education, presumably with the understanding that an advanced degree equates with higher earning power in the future. Many of us go into public service after attaining such degrees, something that's also repeatedly proclaimed as something society should encourage. Yet, the debt we've accrued to obtain such degrees has crippled our ability to reap the benefits of our educations, causing many to make the unfortunate choice of leaving public service so as to earn enough money to pay off that debt.Our economy is in the tank. There isn't a reasonable economist alive who doesn't believe that the economy needs stimulating immediately. The only debate now centers on how to go about doing it. While the new stimulus plan contains some worthy provisions, very little of it will have a significant and immediate stimulating effect on the economy. The Obama Administration itself doesn't expect to see an upsurge in the economy until mid-to-late 2010.Instead of funneling billions, if not TRILLIONS of additional dollars to banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and other institutions of greed that are responsible for the current economic crisis, why not allow educated, hardworking, middle-class Americans to get something in return? After all, they're our tax dollars too!Forgiving student loan debt would have an IMMEDIATE stimulating effect on the economy. Responsible people who did nothing other than pursue a higher education would have hundreds, if not thousands of extra dollars per month to spend, fueling the economy NOW. Those extra dollars being pumped into the economy would have a multiplying effect, unlike many of the provisions of the new stimulus package. As a result, tax revenues would go up, the credit markets will unfreeze and jobs will be created. Consumer spending accounts for over two thirds of the entire U.S. economy and in recent months, consumer spending has declined at alarming, unprecedented rates. Therefore, it stands to reason that the fastest way to revive our ailing economy is to do something drastic to get consumers to spend.This proposal would quickly revitalize the housing market, the ailing automobile industry, travel and tourism, durable goods and countless other sectors of the economy because the very people who sustain those sectors will automatically have hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of extra dollars per month to spend. The driving factor in today's economy is fear. Unless and until the middle class feels comfortable enough that they'll have their jobs, health insurance and extra money to spend not only next month, but the month after that, etc., the economy will not, indeed, cannot grow fast enough to stop the hemmorhaging.Let me be clear. This is NOT about a free ride. This is about a new approach to economic stimulus, nothing more. To those who would argue that this proposal would cause the banking system to collapse or make student loans unavailable to future borrowers, please allow me to respond.I am in no way suggesting that the lending institutions who carry such debts on their balance sheets get legislatively shafted by having them wiped from their books. The banks and other financial institutions are going to get their money regardless because, in addition to the $700 TARP bailout, more bailout money is coming their way. This proposal merely suggests that in return for the trillions of dollars that has been and will continue to be handed over to the banks, educated, hardworking Americans who are saddled with student loan debt should get some relief as well, rather than sending those institutions another enormous blank check. Because the banks are being handed Trillions of dollars anyway, there would be no danger of making funds unavailable to future borrowers.To avoid the moral hazard that this plan could potentially create, going forward, the way higher education in this country is financed MUST be reformed. Requiring students to amass enormous debt just to receive an education is an untenable approach, as demonstrated by the ever-growing student loan default rates. Having a loan-based system rather than one based on grants and scholarships or, ideally, public funding, has, over time, begun to have the unintended consequence of discouraging people from seeking higher education at all. That is no way for America to reclaim the mantle of the land of opportunity.A well-educated workforce benefits society as a whole, not just the students who receive a higher education. It is often said that an undergraduate degree today is the equivalent of a high school diploma 30 or 40 years ago. Accepting the premise as true that society does, in fact, place the same value on an undergraduate degree today as it did on a HS diploma 30 or 40 years ago, then what is the rationale for cutting off public funding of education after the 12th grade? It seems to me that there is some dissonance in our values that needs to be reconciled. That, however, cannot come to pass until the millions of us already shackled with student loan debt are freed from the enormous economic burdens we're presently carrying.Many of the vocal nay-sayers who have curiously joined this group seem intent on ignoring the fact that Washington IS going to spend TRILLIONS of dollars, likely in the form of handing blank checks over to more and more banks, as a way of getting the economy under control. Normative assessments of how things should be are fine, but they don't reflect reality.Accepting the premise that Washington WILL spend Trillions of dollars in unprecedented ways (a good portion of which will just be trial and error, since we're in uncharted waters), what is the argument against directly helping middle class people who are struggling, rather than focusing solely on the banks and other financial institutions responsible for crisis to begin with?Further accepting that there is an aggregate amount of outstanding student loan debt totaling approximately $550 Billion, (that's Billion with a B, not a T), one is forced to ask again, what is the objection to helping real people with real hardships when all we're talking about is a relative drop in the bucket as compared with what will be spent to dig us out of this hole?In a perfect world, I share these biases towards personal responsibility and having people pay back what they owe and making good on the commitments they've made. But we don't live in a perfect world and the global economy, not just the U.S. economy, is in a downward spiral, the likes of which NOBODY truly knows how to fix.This proposal will immediately free up money for hardworking, educated Americans, giving them more money in their pockets EVERY MONTH, addressing the very real psychological aspects of the recession as much as the financial ones. Is it the only answer? No, of course not. But could it help millions of hardworking people who struggle every month to get by? Absolutely. Given the current economic climate, as well as the plans to spend trillions of additional dollars that are in the works, one must wonder what is so objectionable about giving a real helping hand to real people with real struggles.2009 and the new Obama Administration is supposed to be about change. Nothing in the new economic stimulus package represents a significant departure from the way Washington has always operated - it's merely a different set of priorities on a higher scale, but it's certainly not materially different from any other economic stimulus package passed during the past few decades.Washington cannot simply print and borrow money to get us out of this crisis. We The People, however, can get this economy moving NOW. All we need is relief from debt that was accrued under the now-false promise that higher education equates with higher earnings.Free us of our obligations to repay our out-of-control student loan debt and WE, the hardworking, middle-class Americans who drive this economy will spend those extra dollars NOW."
-Robert Applebaum
Stewards of God’s Grace
1 Peter 4:10-11 As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
As ye have received the Gift, even so minister the same one to another.We are responsible for the Gift of God’s grace that has been given unto us.For the edifying of the Church and the building up of the body.
The more we exercise the Gift of God in our lives the stronger the Gift will operate in our lives. Bible says to earnestly desire the Gifts. Using or being obedient unto the Gift that God has place in our lives. Gives glory to God. We honor God, by honoring the gift that He has given us.
He who ministers let him minister according to the grace and faith that has been distributed unto you. Learn to flow in the anointing. Learn to follow the leading of the Spirit in your life. As you learn to step out in faith, know that the Father will be please with your expression of His love for you, and placing value upon the Gift and grace of God that has been bestowed upon your life.
Let not another man hinder you in your gifting. Walk in humility, and the Gift of God will make room for you. Will give opportunity for you. I remember when I first desired the gift of prophecy and exhortation. I was very shy and did not speak out in public.But I so wanted to be used in the gift of God, and wanted to glorify God in my life.I did not want to displease God, by being disobedient, and being fearful.Bible says to not quench the Spirit, Do not despise prophecy.We honor one another and glorify God as we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and give Him full access to our hearts and lives. Be ye filled with the Spirit. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Jesus said, that out of your belly will flow rivers of living waters. These waters are the overflow of the blessing, gifting of God in our lives.And he wants these rivers of living waters to be healing to the nations.God wants to speak to the hearts and minds of his people. And how can he speak if we do not give him our voice and heart to declare the mighty works of God, and His deep love for his people. Stir up the gift of God, Fall in love with the saviour Jesus Christ and desire to be like him, desire to be pleasing to the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Let the voice of God and the heart of God have first place in our live.And as we are faithful in ministering the Gift of God, distributing the gift and favor of God upon others. You will find that God gives the increase. Increase in knowledge and wisdom, increase in compassion for others. Increase with a desire to be close to God, to please Him, to give him full reign in our lives.Lord shall reward you for your faithfulness.
As I tried to explain earlier, I asked the Lord in my prayer time to use me in the Gift of prophecy, I wanted the Love of God in my life, and I wanted the people to be edified with the heart and love of the Father. And God made a way for me, even in my beginnings, in my childish ways, He is faithful. He started to use someone in the meetings to speak with the Gift of tongues, and them the Lord would give me the interpretation. I would begin to hear the voice of God in my mind, these words would begin to speak to me and continue to repeat themselves. Until I decided to release them to the Church, I believe they were like a fire in my heart. The heart of God wanted to be release to love and comfort his people. As time went by I began to feel the glory of God, and grew in confidence in Gods gift in me. I began to start to prophecy in meetings with only the prompting of God. I did not always need the Gift of tongues in the meetings to stir up my faith.See as we are faithful to God, we edify the body, building up one another, and strengthen one another. So that the other person will begin to operate in the Giftings of God.Greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world. The anointing of God upon your life will enable you to hear the voice of God, give you a new heart to seek after God.Let’s desire to be a God pleaser. Walk in faith and love and see the Gift of God operate in your life.
Lord has a plan for your life, a plan for good,
Let's pray that the Lord will give our President "Barack Obama" a fresh experience with the Holy Spirit, and receive wisdom and understanding from above.
Peter
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I wonder how much George W. Bush really understands about his image in the world. Does he understand why we despise him so much? Does he even know? Watching his actions and listening to his speeches, you can easily get the impression he doesn’t. Maybe he’s so sheltered that he never gets the accurate information about the depth of contempt we have for him. But at least he knew enough to stay out of the election.
In cases where other world leaders have been despised in similar ways, it’s probably true to say they are so void of normal human emotion they simply don’t care. But I don’t think that’s true in Bush’s case. He probably care a great deal what people think about him.
It couldn’t have been easy growing up with a father like Bush Sr. He’s clearly a man with a highly sophisticated intellect, successful in a long line of different positions and eventually, after a long and difficult climb, made it to the highest office in the country. In the case of the son though, unfortunately he only inherited his father’s outside appearance and very little of his brain capacity. This must have put extraordinary pressures on the boy and been very painful as he realized he would never measure up to his father’s intelligence level. But children are amazingly creative when it comes to hiding their shortcomings from their parents and for the longest time he probably did. While completely unaware of the theoretical basis for it, he applied trial and error to achieve sophisticated means of psychological manipulation, in order to figure out what people needed to hear not to ask further questions, or contemplate his responses. He made jokes or turned on the charm and it worked well to hide his general ignorance.
But there’s always a price to pay and the effort of constantly pretending is probably what made him self-medicate with alcohol for so long, before turning to a religious sect for comfort. The level of pretense involved to make yourself into something you’re not is enough to drive anyone to drink. But the effort paid off, and he was able to portray himself as successful and smart, as long as the tasks he had to deal with were not overly complicated or couldn’t be delegated. But in the White House he soon found himself in way over his head and we all paid the price.
The Swedish ambassador to the United States, Michael M. Wood, did an interview after Obama won the election and was asked the question what Bush will do after January. Apparently the ambassador considers himself a friend of Bush and knew that the President planned to retire to Texas were he would write a book. Hardly surprising of course, it seems most people of power, or any kind of exposure, in America ends up writing a book. But my initial response was; how’s he going to write a book, he can barely read! I know this is a cruel and probably inaccurate thought, but that’s how I feel about America’s current President. The ambassador knows our feelings all too well, so well in fact he knows he will not be staying on after January. He’s Bush’s man in Sweden, as he put it, but I got the strong impression he had never quite found the words to explain to his friend how we all really feel about him.
This must be the most painful of dilemmas for those around the President. I have no doubt Bush is a nice man, if you view him simply as a man. His friends probably think of him very fondly and care about his feelings. The fact that the rest of us don’t see him as a man but as a world leader, and a horrible one at that, must be very difficult to deal with. How do you tell your friend he’s probably the most despised human on the planet?
That’s perhaps the most painful dilemma President Bush will ever have to face. He’s spent a lifetime avoiding reality. Soon it will catch up to him. Will he, in that moment, accept the burden of what he has done or keep on running? Then again, how can anyone fully understand the damage they’ve done to others, the pain they’ve caused or the difficulties they have brought about? Why would anyone want to know how much they’ve hurt people they consider friends?
But unfortunately for little George, he isn’t that stupid. Sooner or later, the truth will sink in. Perhaps when his ghost writer begins the research for his book, perhaps then will he no longer be able to escape. Or when his lawyer gives him a grim look and tells him the other side actually has a case against him. What he does in that moment will tell us what kind of a man he truly is. Personally I think he will pour himself a drink. After all, how do you apologize to a world that’s long past the point of forgiveness?
To view this blog post with music and Barack Obama messages taped on his podcast in the past access this link
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com
"They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.'" (Watch video
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'Eye Without A Face' by Mark Bellinghaus, Copyright 2008
Life is all about signs...seeing the signs....understanding the signs...acting upon the signs
--Mark Bellinghaus
Extract & Photo caption/description posted on OUR MARILYN BLOG - you can find the entire blog article here: blog.ourmarilyn.com/2008/08/31/marilyn-monroe-would-have-voted-f .. and also here: my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/markbellinghaus/gG5W75 Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe, in 1955 (above) and in 1962, (below), the year Marilyn Monroe passed away. In 1955, when racism was still a big issue in the United States of America, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American to perform at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe had lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. Marilyn would promise the owner that she would appear every night (and be on time), and this way also fill the house--and she did, she was there every night, and she filled the house and: she was always on time! Their close friendship lasted for many years and Ella would sing Marilyn Monroe's famous 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' in honor of her wonderful friend Marilyn Monroe, who died almost 34 years before she passed on in 1996, at age 79. Barack Obama Quotes: 'They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.' 'I have nothing to hide, I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween." -appearing as himself on Saturday Night Live as part of a skit that featured Hillary Clinton dressed as a witch at a Halloween party * 'It's like I was shot out of a cannon. I'm so overexposed that I make Paris Hilton look like a recluse.' 'Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare 'Mission Accomplished' a little too soon.' Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy, who was a Democrat
Yes, I have now, but it hasn't been easy. That power has only been developed to the level I want over the past five years. Before that I was very unforgiving, kept malice whenever I wanted to and would not speak to some people for ages. I slowly learnt why we can be unforgiving and decided to change my outlook.
People are unforgiving for three main reasons.
The June, 12, 2008 Supreme Court ruling gave Guantanamo detainees the right to a hearing within a federal court of law. It also raised the issue of forgiveness, justice, and mercy and how to view these.
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The Supreme Court on June 12, 2008 invalidated a 2006 law which stripped Guantanamo Bay inmates of the right to file 'habeas corpus' petitions in U.S. courts. The court's majority opinion (5-4) in a rebuke to the Bush administration and Congress, held that inmates at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay are protected by the Constitution and may seek release in federal court.
Our view of the treatment of Guantanamo detainees and the attitude we hold toward those who wish to do us harm, rests on an inner balance that each of us carries concerning justice and mercy. This balance, which also applies to those who have committed crimes and may be incarcerated elsewhere, is of Divine origin, and contains two currents of Divine will – that which meets out justice along the lines of reciprocity, namely, "what ye sow ye shall reap;" and that which distributes mercy along the lines of "forgive them, Father, they know not what they do."
The balance between the desire for justice and the desire for mercy determines, in large measure, what we will think of the Supreme Court ruling and of similar rulings that pertain to the incarcerated or to those awaiting justice within our criminal justice system.
Both justice and mercy must exist within a society of law, yet one that cares about human rights. This is not only true because such a balance is the way of preserving order and harmony within such a society, but also because the social matrix in which we live - the criminal and the non-criminal alike - is meant to reflect a Divine prototype which brings to bear upon our view of human action, a higher consciousness of what human beings are, and are meant to be.
Justice is necessary within any stable society to insure the rights of all and to prevent those who would trespass against these rights from doing so. It is a necessary deterrent, establishing a barrier which says about certain behaviors: this cannot be allowed. Justice makes necessary whatever arrangements are deemed appropriate to contain behavior that is harmful to others, and to prevent such behavior from occurring in the future.
Mercy, on the other hand, is rooted in the understanding that even criminals are souls, and as such have certain inalienable rights bequeathed to them because of their essential humanity, not because of their actions. These rights derive from the common essence that we share with others, and cannot be suspended on the basis of behavior because 'behavior' and 'essence' are two different things. Mercy contains within itself the 'principle of forgiveness',
Whereas justice is based on reciprocity, mercy is based on the need to separate the person from the action, and to accord to that person dignity, selfhood, and the right to be held as innocent until proven guilty. Mercy derives from the capacity to see all human beings as souls, guided by lower instincts in cases where there is a violation of the rights of others, but, nevertheless, still more than any individual behavior.
The Supreme Court ruling of June, 2008, shifts the balance of judgment regarding Guantanamo detainees from one that is more heavily weighted in the direction of strict justice, toward one that retains a greater balance with the current of mercy. This allows for the maintenance of individual legal rights for detainees, irrespective of their past actions. It also reaffirms the principle of American civil versus military jurisdiction, namely, that despite the fact that such detainees are not U.S. citizens, they exist within the authority and convention of the U.S. legal system and are therefore subject to the laws and regulations derived from the Constitution. Such laws apply to the handling of all criminal cases.
The Supreme Court decision is a hard one to grasp for some who may find it difficult to show mercy to those who have caused death and disruption to countless lives, and who, in the present, may go so far as to declare that they wish to continue doing so. Such declarations, especially, create the 'problem of forgiveness' for a great many people.
Forgiveness, to be real, must rest on the principle "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." But when individuals declare that they know what they are doing and would keep doing it if they had a chance, it is difficult to say that they "know not what they do." The 'problem of forgiveness' therefore resides in this question: Under what conditions shall those who have committed crimes be forgiven and shall mercy be shown?
The answer to this question must rest, first, on an understanding that forgiveness applies to the person, not to the action they commit. An unrepentant convicted felon may be dangerous in an ongoing way and therefore need to remain in custody with future potential actions curtailed. However, treatment of the person, as opposed to the action, is a different matter.
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By Julie Redstone from the June 23, 2008 Light Omega Newsletter
One of my personal heroes is Everett Worthington, a professor of marital and family therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University. He served as the director of the Templeton Foundation's Campaign for Forgiveness Research, a group that worked to understand forgiveness and its impact on our society.
Dr. Worthington has developed a helpful, 5-step model for understanding forgiveness that might help all of us (I know it helps me!) as we work together toward reconciliation. The 5-steps can be remembered with the word "REACH":
R - Recall the hurt
E - Empathize with the offender
A - Altruistic gift of forgiveness
C - Commit publicly to forgive
H - Hold onto forgiveness
Empathy with the person who has harmed us does not mean that we excuse, condone, or deny the reality of the hurt that's been caused. But forgiveness is something we do for the sake of the other person who's harmed us. It's not a wimp's response - it's the response of a morally strong and courageous person.
I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me. I forgive those in our country who have lied about Barack Obama. I forgive those who have tried to smear his good name. I forgive Hillary Clinton's campaign for its decision to "go negative" on Obama. I forgive Howard Wolfson for pursuing a strategy that is more about the politics of fear than the politics of hope. I forgive Terry McAuliffe for his awful comments at the Palm restaurant earlier this week, where he compared Barack Obama to a "rented mule".
By the way ... forgiveness doesn't eliminate the negative consequences for other people. I don't believe that Hillary Clinton should be president or VP, although I do forgive her for her destructive statements. Forgiveness does not mean glossing over the wrongs. It just means that I stop trying to be personally responsible for taking revenge on the people who have harmed me (or others I care about).
Who do you need to forgive today?
The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good." ~Catherine Ponder
This does not mean that you don't take action.
This does not mean that you accept the behavior or subject yourself to more of it....
just forgive
Here's the daily prayer, affirmation and meditation I received from the church I attend....
TIMELY, ISN'T IT?
Today's Affirmation
I release my hold on the past and its problems.
Today's Meditation
Dear God, The past and its pain and problems are over. As I release what has been I remove its power over the present. My mind is free to consider the love that is freely available now. My heart is light and my life is joy filled. There is no other time for living than this moment. Amen
Our country has faced many hurdles in its short 200 years of existence. We have brought hope and peace to many who sought refuge and a better life. Souls from all countries and all walks of life diverged into one great nation. It is our plurality that makes us strong. There isn't one of us who has more claim on this nation than the other from those who had ancestors on the Mayflower to those who received their citizenship yesterday. We have all come together here in this vestige of hope and freedom. We are ONE nation and we are a great nation.
However, our country has also made many grievous errors.
Editor’s note: CNN Contributor Roland Martin has listened to several of the sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Portions of the sermons have been excerpted in recent stories. Martin says listening to the full sermons help put the excerpts in context.
I just finished listening to the nearly 40-minute sermon Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave on April 13, 2003, titled, “Confusing God and Government.”
For those of us watching and listening to the media in the last week, it is better known as the “God Damn America” sermon.
Wright’s scriptural focus was Luke 19:37-44 (reading from the New Revised Standard Version).
In this sermon, Wright spoke about the military rule during biblical days, led by Pontius Pilate. It was clear, through his language, such as “occupying military brigade” that he was making an analogy to the war in Iraq.
“War does not make for peace,” he said. “Fighting for peace is like raping for virginity.”
“War does not make for peace. War only makes for escalating violence and a mindset to pay the enemy back by any means necessary,” he said.
He then gets to the thesis of his sermon, saying, “y’all looking to the government for only what God can give. A lot of people confuse God with their government.”
Wright criticizes the Bush administration and its supporters for using Godly language to justify the war in Iraq. He equates using God in America as condoning the war in Iraq to the same perspective of Islamic fundamentalists.
“We can see clearly the confusion in the mind of a few Muslims, and please notice I did not say all Muslims, I said a few Muslims, who see Allah as condoning killing and killing any and all who don’t believe what they don’t believe. They call it jihad. We can see clearly the confusion in their minds, but we cannot see clearly what it is that we do. We call it crusade when we turn right around and say that our God condones the killing of innocent civilians as a necessary means to an end. WE say that God understand collateral damage. We say that God knows how to forgive friendly fire.”
“We say that God will bless the shock and awe as we take over unilaterally another country, calling it a coalition because we’ve got three guys from Australia, going against the United Nations, going against the majority of Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout the world, making a pre-emptive strike in the name of God. We cannot see how what we are doing is the same thing that Al-Qaeda is doing under a different color flag – calling on the name of a different God to sanction and approve our murder and our mayhem.”
He continues on his thesis of equating government with our God, saying that God sent the early settlers to America to take the country from Native Americans; ordained slavery; and that “we believe that God approves of 6 percent of the people on the face of this earth controlling all of the wealth on the face of this earth while the other 94 percent live in poverty and squalor while we give millions of tax breaks to the white rich.”
He also criticizes the “lily white” G-7 nations for controlling the world’s capital.
Then Wright speaks to:
1. Governments lie.
“This government lied about their belief that all men were created equal. The truth is they believed that all white men were created equal. The truth is they did not even believe that white women were created equal, in creation nor civilization. The government had to pass an amendment to the Constitution to get white women the vote. Then the government had to pass an equal rights amendment to get equal protection under the law for women. The government still thinks a woman has no rights over her own body, and between Uncle Clarence (Thomas), who sexually harassed Anita Hill, and a closeted Klan court, that is a throwback to the 19th century, handpicked by Daddy Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, between Clarence and that stacked court, they are about to un-do Roe vs. Wade, just like they are about to un-do affirmative action. The government lied in its founding documents and the government is still lying today. Governments lie.”“The government lied about Pearl Harbor. They knew the Japanese were going to attack. Governments lie. The government lied about the Gulf of Tonkin. They wanted that resolution to get us in the Vietnam War. Governments lie. The government lied about Nelson Mandela and our CIA helped put him in prison and keep him there for 27 years. The South African government lied on Nelson Mandela. Governments lie.”“The government lied about the Tuskegee experiment. They purposely infected African American men with syphilis. Governments lie. The government lied about bombing Cambodia and Richard Nixon stood in front of the camera, ‘Let me make myself perfectly clear…’ Governments lie. The government lied about the drugs for arms Contra scheme orchestrated by Oliver North, and then the government pardoned all the perpetrators so they could get better jobs in the government. Governments lie.”“The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. Governments lie. The government lied about a connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and a connection between 9.11.01 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Governments lie.”“The government lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq being a threat to the United States peace. And guess what else? If they don’t find them some weapons of mass destruction, they gonna do just like the LAPD, and plant the some weapons of mass destruction. Governments lie.”
“This government lied about their belief that all men were created equal. The truth is they believed that all white men were created equal. The truth is they did not even believe that white women were created equal, in creation nor civilization. The government had to pass an amendment to the Constitution to get white women the vote. Then the government had to pass an equal rights amendment to get equal protection under the law for women. The government still thinks a woman has no rights over her own body, and between Uncle Clarence (Thomas), who sexually harassed Anita Hill, and a closeted Klan court, that is a throwback to the 19th century, handpicked by Daddy Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, between Clarence and that stacked court, they are about to un-do Roe vs. Wade, just like they are about to un-do affirmative action. The government lied in its founding documents and the government is still lying today. Governments lie.”
“The government lied about Pearl Harbor. They knew the Japanese were going to attack. Governments lie. The government lied about the Gulf of Tonkin. They wanted that resolution to get us in the Vietnam War. Governments lie. The government lied about Nelson Mandela and our CIA helped put him in prison and keep him there for 27 years. The South African government lied on Nelson Mandela. Governments lie.”
“The government lied about the Tuskegee experiment. They purposely infected African American men with syphilis. Governments lie. The government lied about bombing Cambodia and Richard Nixon stood in front of the camera, ‘Let me make myself perfectly clear…’ Governments lie. The government lied about the drugs for arms Contra scheme orchestrated by Oliver North, and then the government pardoned all the perpetrators so they could get better jobs in the government. Governments lie.”
“The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. Governments lie. The government lied about a connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and a connection between 9.11.01 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Governments lie.”
“The government lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq being a threat to the United States peace. And guess what else? If they don’t find them some weapons of mass destruction, they gonna do just like the LAPD, and plant the some weapons of mass destruction. Governments lie.”
2. Governments change. He said long before the United States colonized the world, so did Egypt.
“All colonizers are not white. Turn to your neighbors and say that oppressors come in all colors.”He then went back to the Bible and spoke about the changing of kings in Babylonia.“Prior to Abraham Lincoln, the government in this country said it was legal to hold African in slavery in perpetuity…when Lincoln got in office, the government changed. Prior to the passing of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, government defined African as slaves, as property. Property, people with no rights to be respected by any whites anywhere. The Supreme Court of the government, same court, granddaddy of the court that stole the 2000 election. Supreme court said in it’s Dred Scott decision in the 1850s, no African anywhere in this country has any rights that any white person has to respect at any place, any time. That was the government’s official position backed up by the Supreme Court – that’s the judiciary; backed up by the executive branch – that’s the president; backed up by the legislative branch and enforced by the military of the government. But I stop by to tell you tonight that government’s change.”“Prior to Harry Truman’s government, the military was segregated. But governments change.”“Prior to the Civil Rights and equal accommodation laws of the government in this country, there was backed segregation by the country, legal discrimination by the government, prohibited blacks from voting by the government, you had to eat and sit in separate places by the government, you had sit in different places from white folks because the government said so, and you had to buried in a separate cemetery. It was apartheid, American style, from the cradle to the grave, all because the government backed it up.”“But guess what? Governments change. Under Bill Clinton, we got a messed up welfare to work bill, but under Clinton blacks had an intelligent friend in the Oval Office. Oh, but governments change.”“The election was stolen. We went from an intelligent friend to a dumb Dixiecrat. A rich Republican who has never held a job in his life; is against affirmative action (and) against education – I guess he is; against healthcare, against benefits for his own military, and gives tax breaks to the wealthiest contributors to his campaign. Governments change. Sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad.”“Where governments change, God does not change. God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. That’s what his name I Am means. He does not change.”“God was against slavery on yesterday, and God, who does not change, is still against slavery today. God was a God of love yesterday, and God who does not change, is still a God of love today. God was a God of justice on yesterday, and God who does not change, is still a God of justice today.”“God does not change.”
“All colonizers are not white. Turn to your neighbors and say that oppressors come in all colors.”
He then went back to the Bible and spoke about the changing of kings in Babylonia.
“Prior to Abraham Lincoln, the government in this country said it was legal to hold African in slavery in perpetuity…when Lincoln got in office, the government changed. Prior to the passing of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, government defined African as slaves, as property. Property, people with no rights to be respected by any whites anywhere. The Supreme Court of the government, same court, granddaddy of the court that stole the 2000 election. Supreme court said in it’s Dred Scott decision in the 1850s, no African anywhere in this country has any rights that any white person has to respect at any place, any time. That was the government’s official position backed up by the Supreme Court – that’s the judiciary; backed up by the executive branch – that’s the president; backed up by the legislative branch and enforced by the military of the government. But I stop by to tell you tonight that government’s change.”
“Prior to Harry Truman’s government, the military was segregated. But governments change.”
“Prior to the Civil Rights and equal accommodation laws of the government in this country, there was backed segregation by the country, legal discrimination by the government, prohibited blacks from voting by the government, you had to eat and sit in separate places by the government, you had sit in different places from white folks because the government said so, and you had to buried in a separate cemetery. It was apartheid, American style, from the cradle to the grave, all because the government backed it up.”
“But guess what? Governments change. Under Bill Clinton, we got a messed up welfare to work bill, but under Clinton blacks had an intelligent friend in the Oval Office. Oh, but governments change.”
“The election was stolen. We went from an intelligent friend to a dumb Dixiecrat. A rich Republican who has never held a job in his life; is against affirmative action (and) against education – I guess he is; against healthcare, against benefits for his own military, and gives tax breaks to the wealthiest contributors to his campaign. Governments change. Sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad.”
“Where governments change, God does not change. God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. That’s what his name I Am means. He does not change.”
“God was against slavery on yesterday, and God, who does not change, is still against slavery today. God was a God of love yesterday, and God who does not change, is still a God of love today. God was a God of justice on yesterday, and God who does not change, is still a God of justice today.”
“God does not change.”
3. He then speaks of the government in his Bible text and said the Romans failed. Then he said the British government failed even after it colonized the world. He said the Russian government failed. The Japanese government failed. The German government failed.
“And the United States of America government, when it came to treating her citizens of Indian descent, she failed. She put them on reservations.”“When it came to putting her citizens of Japanese descent fairly, she failed. She put them in interment prison camps.”“When it came to putting the citizens of African descent fairly, America failed. She put them in chains. The government put them on slave quarters. Put them on auction blocks. Put them in cotton fields. Put them in inferior schools. Put them in substandard housing. Put them scientific experiments. Put them in the lower paying jobs. Put them outside the equal protection of the law. Kept them out of their racist bastions of higher education, and locked them into positions of hopelessness and helplessness.”“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. Naw, naw, naw. Not God Bless America. God Damn America! That’s in the Bible. For killing innocent people. God Damn America for treating us citizens as less than human. God Damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and she is Supreme.”“The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent. Think about this. Think about this. For every one Oprah, a billionaire, you’ve got 5 million blacks that are out of work. For every one Colin Powell, a millionaire, you’ve got 10 million blacks who cannot read. For every one Condi-Skeezer Rice, you’ve got 1 million in prison. For every one Tiger Woods, who needs to get beat at the Masters, with his Cablanasian hips, playing on a course that discriminates against women, God has this way of brining you up short when you get to big for your Cablanasian britches. For every one Tiger Woods, we’ve got 10,000 black kids who will never see a golf course. The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent.”“Tell your neighbor he’s (going to) help us one last time. Turn back and say forgive him for the God Damn, that’s in the Bible though. Blessings and curses is in the Bible. It’s in the Bible.“Where government fail, God never fails. When God says it, it’s done. God never fails. When God wills it, you better get out the way, cause God never fails. When God fixes it, oh believe me it’s fixed. God never fails. Somebody right now, you think you can’t make it, but I want you to know that you are more than a conqueror through Christ. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
“And the United States of America government, when it came to treating her citizens of Indian descent, she failed. She put them on reservations.”
“When it came to putting her citizens of Japanese descent fairly, she failed. She put them in interment prison camps.”
“When it came to putting the citizens of African descent fairly, America failed. She put them in chains. The government put them on slave quarters. Put them on auction blocks. Put them in cotton fields. Put them in inferior schools. Put them in substandard housing. Put them scientific experiments. Put them in the lower paying jobs. Put them outside the equal protection of the law. Kept them out of their racist bastions of higher education, and locked them into positions of hopelessness and helplessness.”
“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. Naw, naw, naw. Not God Bless America. God Damn America! That’s in the Bible. For killing innocent people. God Damn America for treating us citizens as less than human. God Damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and she is Supreme.”
“The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent. Think about this. Think about this. For every one Oprah, a billionaire, you’ve got 5 million blacks that are out of work. For every one Colin Powell, a millionaire, you’ve got 10 million blacks who cannot read. For every one Condi-Skeezer Rice, you’ve got 1 million in prison. For every one Tiger Woods, who needs to get beat at the Masters, with his Cablanasian hips, playing on a course that discriminates against women, God has this way of brining you up short when you get to big for your Cablanasian britches. For every one Tiger Woods, we’ve got 10,000 black kids who will never see a golf course. The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent.”
“Tell your neighbor he’s (going to) help us one last time. Turn back and say forgive him for the God Damn, that’s in the Bible though. Blessings and curses is in the Bible. It’s in the Bible.
“Where government fail, God never fails. When God says it, it’s done. God never fails. When God wills it, you better get out the way, cause God never fails. When God fixes it, oh believe me it’s fixed. God never fails. Somebody right now, you think you can’t make it, but I want you to know that you are more than a conqueror through Christ. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
He then went on to talk about the salvation of Christians through the death of Jesus Christ. The sermon ended with a song proclaiming, “God never fails.”
- Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributorwww.rolandsmartin.com
It was a beautiful summer day in Anchorage. Kids were out enjoying the neighborhood, the sun was brilliant, and though I was four years old it was a day I will never forget. As the child of very ambitious parents I spent much time in the care of my teenage sister. On this day she left with her friends and I was alone in our house with not much to do. I decided to walk in a new direction and soon met a girl my age. We had a wonderful day. We were best friends immediately and when I went home it was with the joy of knowing we would play together again. That afternoon my mom and dad returned from their business and we shifted into evening activities. Later my parents received a call and then brought me in talk with them. A neighbor had told them that I had been playing at the black families house. My parents reprimanded me harshly and then went on to explain the differences between blacks and whites. It was a defining moment for me as I recalled my playmate and knew in my core that what I was being told was wrong. I thought about my heart and knew she had one too and it beat just like mine. I could not think of any difference that I had noticed and made a decision not to agree with my parents.
When I was about 25 I moved into low income housing in my community. There were families from Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City, who had relocated and were living in the apartments. Many, if not all, of these families were black. In time I became aqainted with some of my neighbors and eventually formed a close friendship with a family form K.C. During our friendship their children stole anything of value that they could get from my place. I finally had to restrict them from coming over because I could not prevent the thefts. Later, when my friend was in a difficult financial spot I lent her around $150.00 to get them through to payday. She chose not to repay me. Eventually they moved away and I never heard from them again. Some years went by and I developed another close friend who was black. She was struggling with poverty due to being 100% disabled and we spent much time running her errands as she did not have a car. We also spent time reading scriptures and talking. Occasionally however, my friend would begin to yell at me that I did not understand black heritage and would scream the ordeals experienced by slaves and early black citizens at me. I felt disrespected during these episodes but was aware that I had not experienced the bigotry and internal anger that she had and usually just rode it out. Then one evening my friend stole my grocery money knowing it was all I had to feed my children with. When challenged she acknowledged the theft and we got through it. Once her husband landed a high paying position I asked her to begin repaying me. However, they felt that since she took the money (which he also benefited from) she would have to repay it without his help. She has not chose to pay me back. Sadly, with their increased budget they were able to get a car and no longer needed rides from me and began to decline my calls. Now, we rarely talk. I have another close friend who is black. Do you know why I do not go to the store with him? He is forever stealing from the store, even with money in his pocket. Both of the friends I discussed above frequently stole from stores as well.
As I have contemplated what it will take to unify America, I have concluded that we must begin with forgiveness. In order for deep hatred to be resolved resulting in true unity there must be healing for our wounds. I believe that healing will truly take place as blacks and whites forgive one another the wrongs which have been committed. As a white person I can speak from white experience. I am not trying to dismiss the pain and suffering of blacks rather I hope to express the hurt that whites experience, in order to foster understanding or at least communication. I do not believe that it is coincidence that all the blacks I have been friends with have stolen from me, or blatantly used me, or been habitual thieves at local markets. There is a mind set that is common in the black community that I have been exposed to along the lines of 'take what you can without getting caught because they owe it to us'. Now as a disabled person, raising four kids without the benefit of support, I do not think I owed either of my friends the money they took. I didn't owe my friendship or time either, yet it was taken, and used, and discarded.
Have my views towards blacks changed since that day when I was four? Yes, and I am deeply disturbed by that. Yet I hope. I know the hatred between our races is not an immovable mountain. Change is possible but will only happen if we let go of our pain. I believe that the healing of our races will hinge on collective decisions to forgive those who have harmed us. If we do not first forgive we will not begin to resist the habit of rehashing our wounds. If we do not stop rehashing our wounds they will not heal. Without healing we will only be unified imperfectly, failing to achieve that true unity which will empower us to be instruments of change and reform.
