Pastor problems

Re “Putting a pastor’s words into context,” March 30

I found this article pathetic. The context is clear. There is no excuse or justification for the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s sermons. His philosophy of victimization, hate and disrespect for the country undermines the faith of his congregation in society.

If you believe your country is out to exploit, cheat and suppress you, will you have respect for its laws? Will you work hard? How will you face adversity? The culture Wright breeds helps explain why one in 15 adult black men is in jail. There is nothing more powerful than ideas. Wright is sabotaging the lives and future of his congregation.

As millions of immigrants know, and have proved, the road to success in this country is achieved through hard work and education. That is the message Wright should be preaching.

Michael O’Guin

Rancho Santa Margarita

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This article on Wright belonged in the Op-Ed section, not in the body of the paper that is supposed to deal with facts. The liberal belief that black leaders are simply incapable of holding racist views is paradoxically racist itself, using different standards for different ethnic or political groups rather than judging everyone by the same universal measurements of decency.

Richard Friedman

Los Angeles

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The Rev. John Hagee, a televangelist with tens of thousands of adherents, has spoken at political rallies supporting John McCain. Hagee has called for preemptive war against Iran, labeled the Catholic Church “the great whore of Babylon” and linked Hurricane Katrina to the gay rights movement. So why is Barack Obama having to defend Wright, and why are Wright’s comments to a flock numbering in the hundreds getting all the attention?

Christopher T. Wood

Scituate, Mass.