I hate to blow off some hot air but I can't help but do so at this time. Several of you have agreed with me that the benediction on inauguration day yesterday contained racially offensive material (thank you, Joseph Lowery). Among other "clover" poetic puns about different races, "whites should embrace what is right" was thrown in there as if 1) racism is still as big a problem as it was in the 50s and 60s and that 2) racism is predominately a "white" problem.
I regret what was said yesterday by Lowery, but I regret even more the reaction that such a comment made. There has been no media attention given to the prayer. And thinking about it (and I hate to be complaining about the past when we should be looking ahead), if something had been said in the 2000 Inaugural Benediction about "blacks" or "browns" needing to stay out of "our restaurants", there would media attention galore attacking the person who conducted the prayer as well as the President and the party associated with the President.
Don't take this the wrong way. Of course, I'm not saying that the ethnic people of our country need to stay out of restaurants. I'm illustrating how someone on the flip side can be stuck 50 years ago in a time where racism was a real problem. But for a nation who is moving ahead with change (including the election of Barack Obama), then we shouldn't be saying things like this in our prayers.
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