The Lies and Distortions of the 30-Second Sound Bite
By Gwen Richardson

Gwen Richardson Can an individual's entire life's work be encapsulated in a 30-second sound bite? Members of the media would apparently say "yes," but most rational, logical human beings would answer this question with a resounding "no."The reason is that the selective nature of a 30-second sound bite could either spotlight the positives or, in the case of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the negatives, and lead an observer to reach a conclusion that is completely devoid of reality. A sound bite could capture one's most devastating failures or one's most resounding triumphs. But media's lust for negativity, with their focus on crime, death and destruction, virtually guarantees that any person's successes will be overshadowed by their defeats.

That's why many people reached the following conclusions from the endless loop of negative video snippets regarding Wright: He is a hateful preacher, frothing at the mouth with obscenities and anti-American sentiments; that these snippets are indicative of every Sunday sermon he has preached, from beginning to end, for the last 35 years; that even the marriage ceremonies and baptisms he performs are laden with similar language; and that anyone attending Trinity United Church of Christ must be a left-wing radical with animosity toward White people, in general, and the American government, in particular.  Although the conclusions are, in my opinion, completely irrational, the media have left some people no choice. That is virtually all media have shown viewers about Rev. Wright and they have included no information to the contrary. Some observers have, thus, reached the conclusion that that is all there is. The only way their minds can be changed is if they conduct their own research, which few will bother to do.  Yet, if media did a minimal amount of research, they would discover that Wright is multi-dimensional, as we all are. For example, they would discover that he served six years in the U.S. Marines, much of that time as a hospital corpsman, and received a letter of commendation from President Lyndon Johnson for assisting in his heart surgery procedure in December 1964. They would find that Wright is not a pastor on the fringe, but is rather a mainstream preacher, having been invited to the White House in September 1998 to pray with President Clinton when he was under siege during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  They would find that Wright is the author of four books, holds four earned degrees and eight honorary doctorates. They would find that Trinity has a significant number of White members and that the United Church of Christ is a denomination which is 98 percent White.  They would find that the snippets media have shown are taken out of context and do not reflect the full message Wright was attempting to convey.

In particular, the speech regarding 9/11, which has produced some of the greatest outrage, was taken completely out of context. In the portion shown on television, Wright was actually quoting statements he heard the previous day on Fox News during an interview with Ambassador Edward Peck, who served during the Reagan administration. Wright indicated that he was quoting Peck both before and after the statements were made, and pointed out that, interestingly, the words came from a White ambassador, not a Black militant. Wright spoke of the "insanity of the cycle of violence and the cycle of hatred." He concluded by asking his congregants, "What should be our response to 9/11?" His answer was that it was a time for self-examination and that they should assess their relationship with God. "Is it real or is it fake?" he asked them. Do these statements reflect the heart of a racist, or a man who is open to using modern-day examples to get his parishioners to reflect on their own lives?  But this is certainly not the first time media have used 30-second sound bites to create a distorted image of an individual. In light of the Wright controversy, it has been amusing to see many conservative commentators use Martin Luther King as a foil for Wright, saying that King was a passive preacher who promoted racial harmony. They have reached this conclusion because most of them know King only through his "I Have a Dream" speech.  They have either forgotten or had no idea that King was called an anti-American, radical, subversive whose goal was to overthrow the government. King was called a Communist, hatemonger, agitator, rabblerouser, troublemaker – some of the same adjectives used during the past weeks to describe Wright.  They have no idea that, in 1955, King led a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., which lasted 381 days and almost led to the collapse of the city's bus company, to force city fathers to treat their Black citizens with dignity. They are clueless to the fact that King angered President Johnson by challenging the rationale for the Vietnam War.  In a widely criticized 1967 speech at Manhattan's Riverside Church, King referred to the United States as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today."The following year at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King said America's war in Vietnam might incur God's wrath. "We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world," King said. "And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place."A 30-second sound bite does not begin to summarize a person's life and is more often used for evil purposes, than for honorable ones. To set the record straight, a member of Trinity has created a blog to refute some of the misinformation about Wright. On it are links to extended portions from the sermons that were sensationalized by the media, as well as photographs and other evidence that this pastor is a man of honor and vision. The web site is www.truthabouttrinity.blogspot.com

Gwen Richardson is an entrepreneur and author based in Houston, Texas. Her new book is titled Why African Americans Can't Get Ahead: And How We Can Solve It With Group Economics. Richardson is currently writing a book about the 2008 presidential election.

 
CONTACT:
Gwen Richardson
grichardson@cushcity.com 

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