All the News That's Fit to be Tied

I have an axe to grind, but unlike the New York Times, I freely admit it.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Election in Black and White

This is not a painting or a sculpture. It is a discussion. How can we end racism if all we talk about is race? CNN ran a program called Conversation with Black America. Huh-I thought America was a single country. That it wasn't a white, black or tan America, but an America of many skin colors that has put the past of slavery and oppression behind it. That as a nation we learned the lessons of putting off the inevitable. The fight for equality in America began in the 1790's and even by that time many Northern states (like Maine) had already made slavery illegal. If you follow the history of America closely it is plain that many statesmen of the time sought to end slavery in America. It was a struggle from the founding of the nation. Despite the civil war slavery in many disguised and blatant forms still took place in the country and it took 100 years of work by good men and women to bring it to an end in 1964. So why is it that many black people think it hasn't changed? Why do so many white people think it has? The truth is it doesn’t matter. There are profiteers playing both sides of the race issue. What does matter is that citizens who vote must not vote on race or gender. They must vote on the issues of war, the economy and the other issues we face as a nation. They must vote on the candidate who goal is to give America a better, stronger future, not sell out to our economic and political enemies. All the candidates have differing views that overlap and diverge, but America wants a President who loves the country and is interested in protecting it from those who would act against us if they thought they could take us down successfully. We must not select a President who will help our enemies, both political and economic, succeed.