Obama and the “bitter” backlash

Here is what Obama actually said:

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations  (Washington Post, Huffington Post)

Here is how my wife interprets Obama:

It is my thought that Mr. Obama intended to communicate that citizens who live in areas of our country that have been in depression mode for decades feel that their government has let them down BIG TIME, and Yes! they are upset about that.  Call it bitter.  It fits!

What have they been able to depend and lean on?  Their faith!  That is what has seen them through these hard times.

They do tend to hesitate to trust their government to legislate gun control that will not infringe upon their freedom to bear arms.

What about jobs?  It seems logical that people who can’t find adequate work would be far more inclined to resent foreign laborers in our country, than would those who have steady, good paying jobs.

Comprehension of any written or spoken statement is based on far more than mere words.  Who is the speaker?  What is the context?  What have they previously said on the subject?  Consider the integrity of the speaker, and have a willingness to read between the lines, giving that person the benefit of the doubt when necessary.

Mr. Obama has at no time in the past given any reason for people to believe such a negative interpretation of his brief controversial statement.

People should attempt to give to others the same consideration they would expect to receive should they be in the spotlight, and God forbid! misspeak in some way.

                                                    –  Gretchen Johnson

(This letter by my wife was originally written to our local newspaper; but since they did not publish it, and I believe it is worth sharing, I am publishing it here.  It seems to me that battles over words like the one over Obama’s brief remarks above highlight the reality that so often our conflicts are not so much about facts as they are about what the Bible calls the inclination of our hearts. Do we really want to know the truth, or do we have some other motive? In this case the conflict seems to be largely driven by partisan politics. - Jim Johnson)