Letters to the Editor | Reader responses to The Voting Booth | Wright reveals hypocritical Middle East policy

Allison Good, in her opinion piece “Obama must distance himself from divisive pastor” (3.27.08), argues that “It is hard to see how [Jeremiah] Wright contributes in any way to Obama’s utopic vision of unity.” I take issue firstly with Good’s use of the word “utopic.” Obama’s rhetoric is firmly within the bounds of hopeful, and it, like many utopian visions, may be entirely within the bounds of delusion. However, one thing that Obama is certainly not doing is trying to gloss over the many divisive and acerbic challenges that face America today.

One of these challenges is how the United States continues its relationship with Israel. It is no secret that Osama bin Laden cited the U.S. government’s unwavering support for Israel’s policies in Palestine as justification for the attacks on Sept. 11. It is also no secret that the conditions Palestinians (especially in Gaza) live in are abhorrent to American morals. If the news media paid any attention to the recent reports by Human Rights Watch and the U.N. about the squalor that Palestinians experience daily under an Israeli-imposed blockade, American attitudes toward support of Israel would certainly change.

Unfortunately, the news media, like Good, is content to riff on the tried-and-true “they hate us because of our freedom” argument in its analysis of the Sept. 11 attacks and any setbacks in the War on Terror. Violence, of course, is never a viable method of resistance to an imperial power (bin Laden would be better suited to learn from Gandhi than Guevara).

However, we as Americans seem unwilling to connect the dots that are readily apparent: Every election held under President George W. Bush’s continuing project of “Democracy” in the Middle East has resulted in the election of a government hostile to American interests.

Instead of giving kneejerk reactions to the Wright controversy, the media (especially at supposedly “progressive, free thinking” colleges such as Vassar) should do its job and give voice to the shockingly poignant truths that hide behind Wright’s fire-and-brimstone words: The United States is responsible for its actions, and its continuing support for Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people is both un-Christian (hence Wright’s speech) and un-American.

—Walker Boyd ’09