Context

I am linking two articles that speak to the need for us as a country to understand context. It's unfair to the public to feed them pieces of a story. Obama's issues with his pastor are interesting, but to put them in context it seems some of Wright's remarks came from a White ambassador and that McCain's spiritual guide has some 'splaining to do. I say that kind of jokingly, because as I said previously, I don't really think a candidate should have to answer for everything his/her associates do. However, as in the case of Wright, it is not outside of the realm of possibility that people will hear what those mentors say and have it reflect upon the candidate. My point in linking these articles is to reiterate that Obama is experiencing a higher level scrutiny for his spiritual guide compared to McCain. I'm not surprised, and I think it was simply seen as a way to get at a man who has led an impressive campaign. However, if we're going down that road, let's talk about McCain's spiritual mentors. Also, much of the criticism against and reaction to Wright is over-exaggerated. The fact that a respected official with foreign policy informed his thoughts should help make that clear. In addition to the Wise article linked in a previous post.

It's a shame the media won't report the complexities of a story. The simplicity and lack of depth is frustrating. I think that part of why I have begun listening to conservative talk radio more is that 1) our NPR is too poor to have talk programming throughout the day, and 2) even if I don't often agree, the stories are usually from a different angle, which makes me think through my own arguments.