Bridging the racial divide?
A lot is being made over Obama’s dealing with his pastor’s comments. Now, here’s where the big problem is in my opinion. You’re going to have to bear with me while I kind of lay it out. The Obama camp jumped all over Hillary Clinton for being associated with someone they perceived as being racist because they implied Obama wouldn’t be special in this race if he were pasty white. Then, no sooner than they trashed Hillary for hanging out with someone who made one comment that defied their entire life’s history, someone Obama hangs out with is singled out making MANY comments that defied his life’s commitment. So, this entire scenario is a no-win situation for either candidate because neither candidate is actually the one that made the actual comments. In both cases, the candidate is expected to confess for sins they did not make. That is the state of race issues in the United States. Simply being anywhere near someone who baits the issue will get you burned. Apparently that goes black or white, make or female, Republican or Democrat. The issue is just that over-sensitive.
And, it is 100% misguided and wrong.
We’ve tried for forty years to create a grey society. We have passed all kinds of laws that says you can’t even mention the word “black” or “white”. This apparently isn’t working too well. How’s about this, we celebrate the differences? How’s about black Americans be encouraged to be proud of being black in America. However, let’s encourage Irish Americans to do the same. Italian, Hawaiian, French, Jewish, Masai, everyone. We encourage cultural diversity instead of trying to stamp out something that is so fundementally a part of human nature it can never be stamped out. Instead of being a black/white thing, it would be a culture amongst many cultures, all proud.
So, rather than Obama asserting he’s black AND white, he should be asserting he’s American. In this country, you can be black. You can be white. You can be neither. And, you can be pasty white and sing the blues. That’s what’s special here. And, in the entire debate between Obama and Hillary, not one single person has seen that. All they’ve seen is the division. If all you see is the conflict, then you have no answers.
