Why haven't I mentioned any white racists? Think about this one. Don Imus, radio show host made a scummy racist remark about a women's' college basketball team. When he was called out for it, he was fired, as he should have been. Sonia Sotomayor is about to become a Supreme Court Justice. Barack Obama is lauded for raising the issue of race relations in this country. And certainly no one is calling for the firing or even censure of the Harvard professor. It's easy to see which side benefits by raising the race card. Race relations are severely lopsided in this country and affirmative action is to blame. You can't create a privileged group without that privilege eventually skewing the way that group thinks about itself and other groups.
Racism was a widespread evil in the United States, but it is gradually fading. How do I know this? Because over time, the races in a heterogeneous country mix. People don't fear or hate those to whom they are related. So you get a Mariah Carey, a Derek Jeter and yes, a Barack Obama. In time, Affirmative Action will seem rather ludicrous, as everyone will say they are part this or that, but the real duty we can do now is to ignore race and focus on one's thoughts, words and deeds. Sure poor African Americans and others need help. I would not be against means testing for jobs or education, but a blanket category of race seems insipid in this day and age. After all, you have black CEO's, black secretaries of state (two of them) and now a black president. Affirmative action worked. As the Harvard professor would say, it's time to move on.
Obviously, playing this card still works to a degree and encourages people to think of themselves as only a racial entity. However, as stated, this country is becoming more mixed, and those who continue to cry racism at the drop of a hat will be seen as crying wolf. Once someone is tagged as a whiner or a punk, especially a leader or prince, then they have little real power. Machiavelli warns a prince must never be seen as odious. Crying wolf about racism or anything else is a big step in that direction. Lest this whole essay be seen as whiny itself, let's give the president a suggested course of action.
Article comments
1 - Joanne Huspek
Interesting.
I for one would love to see something decisive coming out of the Beltway. Not slapdashed put together, but something with sense. Obama had a prime opportunity to put race behind all of us, but he chose to back his friend who was using the race card in his situation.