Much has been made of Rev. Jeremiah Wright ever since some of his sermons were taken out of context and smattered across the front pages of newspapers, tabloids and other media outlets. Last night I listened to Fr. Pfleger defend Rev. Wright as a man of faith and a man who loved his country but had the courage to speak truth to power when his country was wrong. I wanted to check on what Fr. Pfleger had said and so I did some Googling tonight and my results reinforce Fr. Pfleger’s assertions. Rev. Wright is a decorated veteran of the United State Military having served first with the United States Marines and then later with the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. Having been a Corpsman myself I can attest that service in the Hospital Corps is not only voluntary but courageous too. You can read more about Rev. Wright’s service to our country here.
I find the ad hominem attacks of Rev. Wright and his character to be repulsive and what’s more many of the commentators initiating these attacks have no record of military service themselves. There is a major difference between prophetic Christianity and pathetic Christianity. It seems to me that Rev. Wright has put the cross on top of the flag rather than the flag on top of the cross. He is being attacked by partisan hacks who are carrying water for entrenched corporate and political interests.