What a great experience Spirit is with you always and in this instance, demonstrated through animals!

Jim

But it is a fact that Senator Obama has a close and intimate relationship with Rev. Wright. It is a fact that Rev. Wright helped Senator Obama in his campaign for the Senate. It is known that the Reverend is a spiritual mentor and advisor to Senator Obama.

The issue of race carries no weight with me. The issue of what people stand for, their belief systems, their points-of-view with respect to policy and the direction of this country is very important. It is apparent to me that Rev. Wright is an angry man, and a man full of resentment. He has the right to be angry if he wishes, and full of resentments if he wishes. The struggle among African Americans for equal rights has been a long one, and African Americans have been disenfranchised and abused for too too long. But it seems to me that a Christian, a Minister of the Gospel, or a Minister of any major wisdom religion, should preach and emulate the principles of unconditional love and of forgiveness for all of God’s children.

It seems to me that Rev. Wright is a divisive man - and preaches divisiveness. The Rev. Martin Luther King, who struggled so long and hard for equal rights, did not preach in this way. A Minister in Harlem, New York City, the Reverend Calvin Butts, head of the Abysinnian Baptist Church, a Church I have frequented when I lived in New York, does not preach hatred or divisiveness. He is fully aware of social inequities, and he speaks to that, but from the context of righting wrongs, and bringing African Americans - and all minorities - into full and equal opportunity and civil and human rights.

It is also a fact that Rev. Wright has applauded Louis Farrakhan. Minister Farakhan is without question anti-Semitic, and a racist. He may be brilliant, he may be about empowerment for African Americans, but he, like Rev. Wright, is full of resentment and he preaches a divisive message.

The Declaration of Independence, when it was written, and when Thomas Jefferson wrote the words, “All men are created equal,” was a document published at a time when slavery still existed. But once the words were written, it made it absolutely impossible for slavery to ultimately endure; or for human and civil rights not to gain ground.

Our nation is a work in progress, and the idea emblazoned in the Declaration was the seed that has allowed human and civil rights to evolve and for progress in that area to continually grow.

America is not perfect, but it is evolving - and the forces of Light must encourage that evolvement. I do not believe Rev. Wright encourages unconditional love between the races; nor does Minister Farakhan.

I believe we have the right to question the relationship of Senator Obama to Rev. Wright, and to Minister Farakhan, beyond the Senator’s denunciations of their statements. We need to explore these relationships to understand whether at deeper levels, Senator Obama has inherited their philosophies. We have that right because Senator Obama is moving towards the nomination, and potentially towards the occupancy of the White House.

As a citizen, I am not convinced that the Senator Obama on the outside, is the same as the Senator Obama on the inside. I think he is a brilliant man, and I embrace his inspirational messages - but every candidate, especially those who’ve reached this level, must be investigated beyond their prose.

I am concerned about Senator Obama’s relationships with hateful men. I think that is worth and deserves further exploration.

Thank you again for your response to my blog. I do appreciate your point-of-view. - Mike Schwager