I'll admit to being confused with the cynicism greeting Barack Obama's Father's Day Speech at a predominantly African American congregation yesterday.
As a student at a predominantly African American seminary, the issue of family and fatherhood is often at the forefront of any conversation about the serious issues we have today in our churches and in society.
In my Ethics classes, we had a prominent minister as a guest speaker first semester and a magistrate judge, second semester. Both were African American. Both spoke to the issue of fatherhood in the A A community.
Of course Obama spoke about this on Father's Day. Right now, he has the kind of popularity and respect to address big issues of the day. He, more than any other man in recent history, has the ability to help define what a "man" is to black young men. To not do so would have been irresponsible.
He acted like a leader, plain and simple.
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- Lizard Eater
- I live in a lot of worlds. The suburbs. A Unitarian Universalist Church. Ministry. Mommy group. Missional Theology. Childhood cancer land. I write about all of it here.
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3 comments:
Our family has been thinking about this a lot lately and we wondered if Obama would be asked questions in regard to race or would they just leave it alone? Would he address the issues surrounding the state of black American's economically, in the courts, families, etc. and it seems as if he is broaching, what must be difficult but honest subject matter.
If there is criticism it is because that is what people do... they find fault and they criticize.
I am not really sure why, but that is topic for another day.
He's given this speech in the past...we've heard it before in Illinois, and the foes of abortion quick to right point out this...
"The change we need must come from each and everyone of us . . .," he told the Apostolic Church in Chicago. "We need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn't end at conception . . . that doesn't just make you a father . . ."
For a smart guy, Obama really needs to think through some of the things he says....
Almost anything anyone says could be taken in more than one way. When there are people playing "Gotcha" listening to you, that just compounds the problem.
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