Ryan Greenfield?s article in today?s Herald (?Wright critics wrong on patriotism,? March 24) offers the same line on the controversial Reverend that we?ve been hearing for some time from American liberals. This includes a general disavowal of Mr. Wright?s remarks, a hesitant criticism of Mr. Obama?s association with him but a firm applause of his handling of the controversy. This approach allows the good mainstream liberals to distance themselves from the ?outrageous? and ?extreme? sentiments expressed by the African Unity Church while still embracing Mr. Obama as a post-racial candidate trying to make his way in an America filled with resentment and bigotry from both sides of our entrenched, nightmarish divide between blacks and whites.

But what is it about Mr. Wright?s remarks that was so outlandish and racist? Paul Heideman?s predictably poignant remarks in the comment section show how everything Mr. Wright said was either true or stemming from an understandable sentiment. Is this country not ruled by ?rich, white people?? Is it not true that US foreign policy played a significant role in instigating the 9/11 attacks, as CIA reports admitted? Does Israel not play a repressive role in the occupied territories? Did the US not provide tacit support for the fascist regime in South Africa? Does America not have a long, brutal history of oppressing black people? Does this oppression not linger on, justifying resentment against a nation that continues to offer unequal opportunity to 13% of the population?

As Mr. Greenfield points out, these comments put many – if not most – Americans ?on the defensive? and have invited scorn and outrage. The truth, as they say, often hurts.

Mr. Wright?s comments did engage in some silly conspiracy nonsense, and I would personally object to his style of engagement and embrace of an identity politics that is unhelpful for forming the necessary alliances to advance social justice for all Americans. As Mr. Obama himself put it in a mostly superb speech in response to the controversy, Mr. Wright?s style inhibits the already difficult process of forming multi-racial coalitions, and is thereby counterproductive to the very type of change that he so wants to see.

Nonetheless, the Reverend was essentially right in everything he said, and his militancy should not be ?condemned? but commended. As his white parishioners point out, Mr. Wright is quite the opposite of a racist. His church exemplifies the best of Christian political activism, embracing the idea that the church and fight for civil rights should be combined into a single calling.

And yet, the media remains scandalized. The mostly white anchors and columnists continue to condemn this angry black man for daring to point out that (gasp!) America still has a problem with racism.

What?s even more insidious is the manner in which John McCain?s religious endorsements are given a pass by these same media figures. The objectively bigoted Christian right never faces any type of scrutiny. Thus, these moon-faced preachers can stand on their pulpit inciting anti-gay hate crimes, ridiculing women for stepping outside of the kitchen and urging the West Bank settlers to not give an inch of God?s land and, then, endorse their candidate without the press so much as even thinking twice about it. The Reverend James Agee, one of McCain?s more recent endorsements from Bible-thumping quarters, has called the Catholic Church ?the great whore,? stated that the US is at war with Islam and given the nod to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The guy?s a dolt and a bigot, but that?s just fine with CNN.

The Wright controversy, contrasted with McCain?s unsavory religious connections, confirms what most observant people have known for quite some time.

1) White evangelicals can get away with anything.

2) Leftist blacks who make militant calls for civil rights are reflexively branded anti-white and especially anti-Semitic.

3) The existent of the above two shows that the mainstream media has a racist double standard, and is thus subservient to a power structure that upholds – and indeed requires – racism.

If anything, the controversy shows that race remains important, and America remains America.