{"id":4109,"date":"2015-01-04T08:15:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T13:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4109"},"modified":"2015-01-04T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T13:29:10","slug":"the-company-we-keep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4109","title":{"rendered":"the company we keep"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"johnny_deeper\"<\/a>(Soon this new year I may share my own resolutions. Until then… \ud83d\ude42 ) <\/em><\/p>\n

My resolution for our leaders is to consistently act with wisdom and integrity. Integrity means their leadership is beyond reproach. It doesn\u2019t mean we always agree with our leaders\u2019 choices, but integrity does mean we don\u2019t question their values, their decision-making process, and the core of their character.<\/p>\n

So my mind is wandering somewhat today… looking deeper. \u00a0As I examine questions of integrity, how does a person like Al Sharpton have such generous\u00a0access to the sitting President of the United States? According to the White House visiter log — which was last released in August — Sharpton has already visited 61 times since Obama became President (and this prior<\/strong> to the tragic, racially-charged incident in Ferguson, Missouri).<\/em> Granted, Sharpton\u2019s been included in certain ceremonies and bill signings. He\u2019s also visited to discuss specific policy initiatives — on civil rights, yes — but also regarding job creation, health care, education, and immigration. He has even been invited to Obama\u2019s birthday party. Sharpton thus seems in close contact with Obama. Such an extensive\u00a0relationship causes me\u00a0to question this aspect of Pres. Obama\u2019s leadership, as the company we keep, friends, makes a difference.<\/p>\n

According to Politico\u2019s senior staff writer Glenn Thrush, what melded the relationship between Obama and Sharpton was their \u201cshared commitment to racial justice and a hardheaded pragmatism that has fueled their success.\u201d<\/em> Thrush further elaborates that Sharpton not only visits the White House regularly, but also frequently texts and emails with top aide Valerie Jarrett and Attorney General Eric Holder. As said of Sharpton by his colleague, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, \u201cHe\u2019s the man who\u2019s the liaison to the White House; he\u2019s the one who\u2019s talking to the Justice Department.\u201d<\/em> The relationship between Sharpton and Obama is ongoing and real.<\/p>\n

Wanting to be respectful of all yet\u00a0not in denial, let\u2019s acknowledge that this is the same Al Sharpton that came to fame by loudly and falsely accusing and defaming a white prosecutor in the late \u201980\u2019s. He has made controversial, derogatory public comments about Jewish, Mormon, gay and lesbian people amongst others in the succeeding decades. He has faced questions of marital infidelity and also over a million dollars in unpaid taxes and penalties. He currently faces questions regarding inciting unrest directed toward the nation\u2019s law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The Intramuralist has long been an advocate of second and third chances, so-to-speak; each of us has something to offer, as we are capable of change. With the extended, inflammatory record of Sharpton\u2019s, however, I find myself seconding the question posed earlier last year by New York Post\u00a0editorial writer Michael Goodwin: \u201cHow is it possible… that he [Sharpton] carries so much tainted baggage from the past, yet still enjoys enormous pull with the political class?… Why isn\u2019t he politically toxic?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Why does Pres. Obama allow Sharpton such access and influence?<\/p>\n

In all fairness, from our obvious, limited vantage point, we cannot discern exactly how much influence Sharpton actually has with Obama. We can\u2019t tell how much he has altered or added perspective or policy on job creation, health care, education, immigration, etc. But that\u2019s the problem: we can\u2019t tell. <\/em>If we can\u2019t tell, then both the decision-making and hence, integrity are in question.<\/p>\n

With the recent racial conflicts, Al Sharpton has been more visible, making louder public statements. He has somehow become the President\u2019s \u201cgo to guy\u201d on race. Sharpton has thus been very focused on the behavior of others — on the so-called large \u201cspecks in another\u2019s eye.\u201d Perhaps it would be first wise to wrestle with the \u201clog\u201d in his own.<\/p>\n

Back to working on my own resolutions… my \u201cspecks\u201d and \u201clogs,\u201d too…<\/p>\n

Respectfully…<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Soon this new year I may share my own resolutions. Until then… \ud83d\ude42 ) My resolution for our leaders is to consistently act with wisdom and integrity. Integrity means their leadership is beyond reproach. It doesn\u2019t mean we always agree with our leaders\u2019 choices, but integrity does mean we don\u2019t question their values, their decision-making … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “the company we keep”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[424,293],"class_list":["post-4109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue","tag-al-sharpton","tag-pres-obama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4109"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4124,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4109\/revisions\/4124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}