Wright’s sermon was incomplete

Curtis Crawford Charlottesville
Published: May 13, 2008

In mid-March short excerpts from the sermons of Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, flooded the media. Some excerpts vehemently attacked the United States, making Americans very angry. At the time, I wondered whether these excerpts, published without context, were misleading and unfair.

The most inflammatory excerpts were from Dr. Wright’s sermon after 9/11 and his “God damn America” sermon. Transcripts of these sermons are now online. In each case, I was disappointed to find that the rest of the sermon, though often eloquent and interesting, did not explain or justify the language in the excerpt.

For example, in the excerpt from the sermon after 9/11, Wright declared: “America’s chickens are coming home to roost! Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred, and terrorism begets terrorism.” The clear implication is that American violence and terrorism caused the violence and terrorism of the 9/11 attack. As examples of American violence and terrorism, the excerpt included our treatment of African slaves, American Indians, the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and civilians in Grenada, Panama and Sudan.

In the rest of this sermon, Wright clearly opposes the use of violence to gain revenge. But he says nothing about the use of violence to protect or punish, or the threat of violence to deter. He does not define what he means by terrorism. He fails to state the moral principles on which his condemnations are based.

War is by its nature violent and terrifying. Did Wright mean to condemn every war Americans have fought? The Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II? As in these examples, war often settles conflicts. It can gain or protect freedom and democracy. Military might, and the terror it produces, can prevent war. The 50-year Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union stayed cold partly because of nuclear deterrence, often called “the balance of nuclear terror.”

Navigating the inherent evils and collateral benefits of war requires great mental clarity and moral courage. Simplistic governmental addiction to war, or simplistic pastoral abhorrence of war, will not serve.