http://www.politicollision.com/story.php?title=why-wright-matters-obamas-on-a-mission-from-god- When Elwood retrieved his brother Jake from Joliet prison, the two went on a pilgrimage to their childhood Catholic orphanage. Their pitiful orphanage was under siege from Chicago's infamously oppressive tax regime and was being put out of business. For inspiration, the brothers were directed to a Chicago Baptist church. The church was filled with laughter and love, song and dance, and miraculous divine inspiration that set the Blues Brothers on their own mission with a purpose: keep hope alive for Chicago orphans by paying off the corrupt Chicago regime. The movie rendition of an all-black Baptist church led by the charismatic James Brown preacher, thrilling his flock with high-spirited love and devotion, is what gave The Blues Brothers soul. This was what America imagined successful, loving black churches in Chicago looked like. No wonder, then, that Reverend Wright's scream for God to damn America is so jarring even to this day. Reverend Wright's sentiment and his rants do not belong in any American church. Getting people high on hating America and its so-called white oppressors is what carnival barkers like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson do for a living. Most Americans still find it hard to reconcile the rage and the hate being preached at our president's old house of worship. Christians get high on love, not hate. Christians are encouraged to be forgiving, not condemning. Christians seek to spread the good news and Christ's commandment that "[y]ou shall love your neighbor as yourself." The hate and seeds of division being spouted at the president's church are an assault on Jesus Christ, and everyone knows it. So is Mitt Romney right? Should we dismiss Jeremiah Wright as just another phony street agitator like Sharpton and Jackson? Do we need this distraction from the economic ruin Obama has wrought? As an exercise in academic free thought, I think we do. Mon, 21 May 2012 00:35:15 EDT en