The Best Sermon I’ve Read This Week

I enjoy reading Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speechwriter, currently columnist for the Wall Street Journal.  Her last essay discussed Shirley Sherrod, 62, Georgia director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   She was that, at least, until she made a speech down there in GA.   The speech included some remarks that, taken out of context, made her appear a racist.  The Obama administration panicked and she was out of a job.   But it all came out okay. 

You can read Peggy’s recap of the speech and the events that followed here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:declarations.html

But here are a couple paragraphs to whet your appetite:

“So what are the lessons? That we’re all too quick to judge. That we don’t even let the evidence of our eyes stop us in our rush to judgment. You can’t see and hear Ms. Sherrod and fail to understand that she’s a thoughtful, serious person.

That we are not skeptical enough of what new media can cook up in its little devil’s den. That anyone can be the victim of a high-tech lynching, and that because of this we have to be careful, slow down, look deeper. We live in a time when what you say is taped, and those tapes can be cut, and the cuts can be ruinous, and if you think it only happens to the rich and famous, think again. It’s coming to a theater near you.”

The always insightful, always relevant Ms. Peggy Noonan, Ladies and Gentleman.