| Opinion | May. 4, 2008 | 11:24 pm |
The Rev. Wright degree decision: It shouldn’t have come to this
By
The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright does not deserve an honorary degree from Northwestern. But then again, nor do Barack Obama, John McCain, or the myriad of other dignitaries and characters that have marched along the Northwestern graduation stage in goofy robes and been handed those fancy certificates. Northwestern rescinding the invitation to award Wright an honorary degree at this year’s graduation was an inspired move, if only because it means one fewer silly and transparent attempt at soaking up a little bit of press coverage through association.
The whole institution of honorary degrees seems contrived. But even if, for the sake of argument, one were to concede that there is some merit or meaning attached to honorary degrees, Northwestern’s behavior in the Wright debacle was an unfortunate blunder. It makes the school look ill-prepared, having extended an honor to a person it had presumably not fully vetted.
The school may claim that it’s uninviting Wright because it wants to keep the graduation ceremony focused on the students and free of controversy. This is a noble goal that properly emphasizes whom the university should be serving: the students. But it seems like the final message imparted by Northwestern onto its graduating class is hypocritical, if not outright discriminatory. We’re taught to consider all viewpoints, not to conveniently play with the guest list to fit our political needs.
Upon hearing that Wright would no longer be gracing us with his racist, hateful presence, my initial reaction was to snicker at his unfortunate reversal of fortune. Good riddance, we don’t want your brand of preaching here anyway, I figured. But if President Bienen had been withdrawing Janet Reno’s honorary degree, or some other polarizing figure with whom I happened to agree, I realized that my reaction would be markedly different. And that wouldn’t be fair, not to our guest and not to this institution’s supposed commitment to open and free discussion. It’s not much to ask the administration that all candidates are reviewed thoroughly, and offers extended only to the most worthy.
If Northwestern had properly reviewed Wright’s record and found it exemplary in the areas of academics and social justice, then at least they should have had the decency to stick with their decision. Wright does not belong at Northwestern not because he’s controversial, but because his message is antithetical to the values of acceptance and tolerance championed by our liberal arts education.
What Wright was spewing in November, and for the past several years, is the same rhetoric that he is now being criticized for. There exists no mitigating circumstance, no excuse as to why the administration was so late in coming to the realization that Wright is not the kind of activist it wants associated with its brand. Perhaps demonstrating that every decision should be made by committee so as to make finger-pointing harder, Northwestern is now shuffling the brunt of the blame for inviting him in the first place.
The biggest mistake Northwestern made here was not in taking back an offer, as it is a private institution and President Bienen is within his power to do what he believes is in the best interest of the students. But Northwestern’s mistake was in taking a risk it was not prepared to back if public opinion turned against it. The most responsible course of action would have been to consider Wright’s full record back when the honorary degree decisions were being mulled over. That Bienen and the administration realized their faux pas and corrected it is fine. But controversy should hardly be used to judge the worthiness of the administration or student action, and is something that should be engendered instead of shied away from.
Our school’s president should not hand Wright an honorary certificate, and it would be a sad day if Northwestern compromised its standards of promoting justice and good in favor of standing by an uninformed decision. What is regrettable, however, is Northwestern’s weak appeal to wanting to maintain decorum at the graduation ceremony. Instead, anyone responsible for voting to add Wright to the guest list should now either admit they made a bad decision or defend his invitation by appealing to Northwestern’s mission to foster dialog between all viewpoints.
dems want obama out now said,
May 5, 2008 @ 6:16 am
GUAM 50/50 split!
Senator Hillary Clinton ties Obama in Guam! Pundits like CNN & MSNBC got it wrong again predicting Obama would win by double digits. Each candidate got 50% of the votes! More than half the voters will not vote for obama! 56% who heard speech less likely to vote for Obama, his unfavorable rating among registered voters up 37 percent!! Clinton leads McCain 48 to 41 percent among all registered voters, while Obama and McCain are tied. National lead dropped 10pts now tied with Senator Clinton and he is now losing in IN too. Once 25 pts ahead in NC now just 5pts- They are not going to give this Presidency to Obama because hes black and if we don’t blacks will stay home, so what? American is ready to elect a black man not this black man who recently revealed a major character flaw and again calls into question his judgment and truthfulness of the candidate whose entire appeal has been based on character or his lack there of and not solutions. If Clinton is not on the ballot Working White Middle class will stay home and Obama cannot win on just black votes. David Axelrod said Obama doesn’t need white middle class voters. Axelrod said, “The white working class has gone to the Republican nominee for many elections, going back even to the Clinton years. This is not new Democratic candidates don’t need to rely solely on those votes.”
DEMOCRATS WANT OBAMA OUT NOW!
Obama’s Chickens Come Home to Roost too little, too late. The Wright controversy had revealed a major character flaw and calls into question his judgment once again and truthfulness of the candidate whose entire appeal has been based on character. Wright is like an uncle you love and respect As imperfect as he may be, he has been family to me for so many years, I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community” “I can no more disown him [Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown my white grandmother.” a woman who once confessed her fear of black men after a black man had tried to shake her down for money. She gave him some, but he kept demanding more. “If the bus hadn’t come, I think he might have hit me over the head,” Obama says she told him. Rev Wright was right! Obama speech is ONLY for political purposes after the severe drop in polls!
Obama is now declaring himself shocked and disappointed at Wright’s unrepentantly racist and anti-American views? Obamas obviously support his feelings of anti-America and white hatred that the church endorses to stay for 20 years and raise young daughters in that atmosphere Obama can no longer plausibly claim innocence in this matter, because he is the one who has encouraged Wright by trying to excuse and explain his views. All of this is why it is no use for Obama to backpedal from his association with Reverend Wright, or to denounce him now, six weeks too late. It was Obama who sought to provide the Reverend Wright with immunity from criticism–and he can’t complain when the reverend tries to take full advantage of that immunity. This is the final collapse of the noble promise of the Obama campaign. The man who had once put himself forward as the candidate who would transcend racial politics once and for all has ended up legitimizing a Christian equivalent of Louis Farrakhan–and injecting him into the American political debate. http://www.dontvoteobama.net
What the hell... said,
May 5, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
..is your problem? Did you snort an eightball before you wrote that? I hate to resort to that sort of name calling, but honestly, that’s what your post looks like. It looks like you wiped your nose, then wrote everything you could think of about the Wright controversy down in the space of fifteen minutes (god forbid this took you longer). In the future, keep your posts simpler, like this:
1) Obama leads in delegates and the popular vote. Until he starts actually losing the race for the nomination, there is no basis for your argument that Democrats want him out of the race.
2) On the Wright matter, most people do not give a crap who their president hangs out with. McCain isn’t going to play the crazy pastor card anyways, because he has ties with Rev. John Hagee, an anti-catholic bigot who could dissuade many lower class white voters from voting for McCain.
3) A Democratic candidate who you don’t support winning the nomination is not the END OF THE WORLD. Hell, if Hillary wins, I’m voting for her. While I won’t be pleased, I’d certainly rather vote for her than McCain. So just relax and let the election play itself out, why don’t you?
Christopher Columbus said,
May 5, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
It’s political spam, it’s everywhere. Don’t get your panties in a wad.