The mathematics of division

The people who are assassinating the character of Rev. Jeremiah Wright are of two types: the first are ruthless political operatives who have taken statements by Rev. Wright out of the context of prophetic preaching where they were delivered, transformed them into sound bites, and used them to further a divisive political agenda (e.g., keeping the supporters of Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama at one another's throats); the second are emotionally reactive people, mostly ‘white’ or Hispanic, who have no knowledge or understanding of that tradition, particularly in the African-American Christian church, and are therefore easily manipulated by the politicos. The political pros of the right don’t care about the truth; they care only about winning; and, they are very good at winning. If the people targeted by the politicos were able to conscientiously study the issues before jumping to conclusions on the basis of limited information, they would look out from behind their defensive walls, learn to see the world in a broader perspective, and overcome their fear of persons differing in cultural background and customs. The success of ruthless politicos hinges upon the second type of person reacting angrily rather than researching. The only thing protecting the rainbow of identities within the progressive coalition from turning on one another once more is leadership. Leadership plays the key role in mediating the reaction. If the leaders of the Democratic Party along with Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton were willing to stand up for one another against political attacks from outside the Democratic Party, their followers would not serve as the dupes of the people who enthusiastically launched an invasion of Iraq, poured the blood of our soldiers, black, white, Latino, male, female, straight and gay, and the wealth of our economy into the abyss they created, gleefully cut the taxes of those who wouldn’t notice or care if gasoline cost $5.00 a gallon, who believe that what’s good for big corporations is good for America, and who think the world respects us most if we show them who’s boss. If Karl Rove and company get us to hate one another, they don’t need to have a majority of American voters on their side. They just need to turn enough gullible voters against each viable Democratic candidate so that these plus the true believers of the right will be enough to keep them in power a little longer. It’s nothing personal, just the mathematics of division. But, where are the leaders we need to keep us from canceling one another out? Why don’t they lead us away from this losing proposition?