It is clear that American politics has been for some time now the theater of the ridiculous.  Confronted with the ubiquitous media frenzy surrounding each election cycle, we as voters have the arduous task of trying to decide for whom to vote.  Yet one theme is common in all elections – change.  We love to hear that word.  Notice the excitement and passion that elevates in you when you hear someone seeking your vote for public office promise you change.  We are enamored with the concept of change.  Every challenger says we need change, although all he or she intends to change is the nameplate on the office door.  Sometimes we do not even need or want change, but it is like the security blanket we have grown fond of over the years.

Why is the American body politic so obsessed with change?  My thought is that we are so accustomed to being spoiled by our political leaders that we expect them to really improve our lot in life.  After all, we seem to prefer caterers not problem solvers.  Many of us believe our government is established to “make things better” for us.  Never mind the fact that I did not finish my education, quit every job that I had because the “boss did not like me”, decided to be a recreational drug user, engaged in sexual promiscuity, and feel like I am “owed” something because of the suffering my forefathers endured in an America very different than today; I want my elected officials to improve my life.    Have we become a nation of people dedicated and committed to having someone else be responsible for our improvement?  If that is the case, at least we could give these elected folks a bit more with which they can work their change magic. 

I happen to think that real positive change only comes when you and I decide that we are not satisfied with the decisions we have made and determine to alleviate the consequences by applying a different set of decision-making criteria.  For example, at this point in my life, having lived through the disco revolution, and the rise, fall and subsequent rise again of the Afro; I decided to go back to college.  I needed change, not just change that I could believe in, but also change that by the grace of the Almighty I could make happen.  I did not call my government to see what their contribution to my effort would be, nor did I expect a check saying, “Hey, let us pay”.  I expected to study hard, save my money, change my spending habits to accommodate my goal, and then reap the reward of my endeavors. 

That is not to say that every person will have the same level of success.  It simply means that for real change to occur in America we must all aspire to the same level of effort.  We must stop coddling those who fail to try, and help those who extend themselves beyond their limitations, refusing to release their dreams to the sea of self-pity.  As Jack Nicholson said, “we can’t handle the truth”.  Is life tough? Yes.  Is it sometimes unfair? Yes.  However, it is equally affirmative that this country offers more opportunity to all people than any in the world.  If we cannot succeed at trying, then we will certainly fail at succeeding.  Let us refrain from blaming others for our failures in order to perpetuate their guilt and begin to build solid futures by harvesting our own untapped potential.  Perhaps we all can believe in that change.

In the context of the predominantly black church preaching experience, one is tempted almost weekly to succumb to a desire to pacify one’s parishioners with messages designed to validate the belief that someone else is responsible for their condition.  That someone is often Satan or the Devil, the President, the Government as an entity or perhaps even White Folks in general.  This is due primarily to the victim psyche that is pervasive in the black community.  Years of racism perceived or real have left a deep scar of hurt and distrust of those outside and some inside the black community.  As real as this hurt is to the individual, I believe it has been equally or even more self destructive.

This is the context in which the black Pastor must minister.  He or she is challenged to “lift the spirits” of those who arrive each Sunday, many licking wounds that are real, whether self-inflicted or not.  I am convinced that Dr. Wright’s apparent dissatisfaction with America in his commentary suggest that he has validated the role of victim and determined that any black success must be achieved in a separate arena, without any credit going to an overtly oppressive and racist society. 

 While I understand Dr. Wright’s comments, I must disagree not only with what he said, but with the suggested sentiment behind his words.  It is true that America has been slothful in responding to the evil of racism and the corresponding racist attitudes derived from within a culture of segregation and oppression, but we no longer live in a society where we, as black people, can afford to explain away our ills under the broad brush of racism and racist conspiracy.  For example, we cannot continue to blame a racist culture for the disproportionate number of black men in prison and ignore the argument of proportion in reference to the number of black children who have children and/or abortions in their teens or the number of children in our community without a father.  The facts speak for themselves.

It is clear that Dr. Wright has distinguished himself personally and the congregation that he leads by providing vital ministry that gives opportunities for uplift to the thousands who attend and who live nearby.  He has more education than many will ever earn.  Yet we cannot not ignore the fact that his controversial comments may be born out of a generational pathology of victimhood.  No doubt that Dr. Wright and many of his generation could relate many more horrible tales of indignities suffered because of their black skin than I could even imagine, let alone experience.  No one can argue the absence of injury, but we can say that it is time for us to heal.  We must heal the injury by not reopening the wound at every opportunity, but by generating the hope of our ancestors and their belief in a country where character is more important than skin color.  In speaking to a hurting people each week it is my duty to speak of hope for opportunity and improvement in their lives; while refraining from passing on my personal pain or even validating their self imposed victim status.  This is because if one chooses to live as a victim, he or she will operate as a victim with a ready made excuse for failure.  My duty is to minister to the hurting masses as one that provides hope for success and not reasons for failure.

America has much to learn in reference to race and may or may not be moving quickly enough in her lesson.  But one thing we as black people can do is stop giving relevance and legitimacy to racist attitudes by allowing them to be our song of defeat.  Racism is irrelevant in the face of the confident and self assured person who recognizes their opportunity was purchased at a high price.  We would do well to concentrate our efforts on building this kind of personal drive within our young people that says we can and we will succeed INSPITE of the obstacles that lay before us.  No more will we validate defeatist attitudes in our young or in our leaders.  The target of black uplift must be placed firmly and squarely within our own community.  We have much work to do.  We will lessen the prison population the moment we decide as a people that we will no longer tolerate nor support the illegal drug trade even if it means turning in our own family.  That is a hard pill to swallow, but one of many necessary to bring the required healing and recovery.

Dr. Wright may publicly blame America for her failure, it is his right.  Yet the freedom of this America insures that he, as well as others can stand in the pulpit or in the pasture and express themselves.  This freedom must be defended in a difficult world.  America is not perfect and has fault both at home and on the world stage, but fault alone cannot be reason to disavow this country.  I have been disappointed in America, but she is mine.  She belongs to me as much as she belongs to anybody.  I choose not to be one of her victims, but one of her healers.