Rev. Jackson shouldn't get a pass on Obama statements

One of my favorite passages from the Bible is from Ecclesiastes 3:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I thought of that passage when the recent flap occurred over Rev. Jesse Jackson's comments regarding Senator Barack Obama. You know the one. It's where Rev. Jackson used vulgar language about wanting to cut off Senator Obama's private parts.

Rev. Jackson has run for the office of president. He did it in his time. But his bid for that office never took off. Hence, he never had a season.

Rev. Jackson also had his time when he established the phrase, "I am somebody." But as popular as that saying was, Rev. Jackson never took hold in the black community the way Dr. King did. Hence, he never had a season.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get my point. Everyone gets a time. No one is guaranteed a season. What Senator Obama has right now is not only his time, but he has an entire season. That is the reality that Rev. Jackson has to accept.

Some have blamed Fox News for releasing the videotape of Rev. Jackson making his crude statement. However, I blame Rev. Jackson himself-especially for referring to black people as "niggers." There has been little outrage over Rev. Jackson's use of that word. Many are making excuses, but I don't buy it. If a white person had been caught saying the exact same thing, they would have lost their job and been referred to sensitivity training.

Yet Rev. Jackson is being given a pass. Why? Was his calling us "niggers" any different than anyone else using the word? No one can make me believe that he said it because he loved us. In my opinion, Rev. Jackson's words were not just those of an elitist who feels he is better than the rest of us; they were also the words of someone who wants us to do as he says and not as he does.

Rev. Jackson will never have a season. He also has had his time.