Race?

Is it really going to come down to race? Obama is leading McCain by 9 points nationally and seems to be leading in most of the states as well. This is in spite of the fact that fairly substantial numbers of voters admit to racial bias and say they would not vote for a black man. If some come right out and admit in the open they will not vote for a black, how many more must harbor the same sentiments but not admit it (until they get in the privacy of the voting booth)? If this is true, and it appears that it is, this would seem to be the critical moment in the U.S. for answering the question of race in American society. It seems to me that if Obama is elected it will be a shining moment in American history when we will demonstrate, once and for all, that we truly believe in equality and fair play for all. On the other hand, should Obama now fail because of race, it will apparently demonstrate that for all our talk we are not yet ready to walk the walk. Personally, I believe that Obama should be elected and that if so it will be a truly great moment for us. If he is not elected now, in spite of his significant lead in the polls, it will certainly appear to be racially motivated and our nation will be shamed in the eyes of the world. Thus, this is the most important election most of us will ever see. Not only can we repudiate the absurd Reagan philosophy (if we can even honor it by calling it that) of no government being the best government, but we can also repudiate the politics of race and bigotry. It is most unfortunate that McCain/Palin have chosen to stir up hatred for Obama, to take the lowest road they could find, to engage in the politics of destruction, and to thereby demean themselves in the eyes of most of us. Say what you will, their attacks on Obama boil down to nothing but racism. He is, they imply, a terrorist, perhaps a Muslim, too inexperienced, to unknown, to risky, and so on, but that really comes down to race. He’s black. We don’t know him because he’s black. He can’t be trusted with the Presidency (because he’s black). I’m sure that race could not have been ignored during this campaign, after all he really is defined as black (even though he’s half white and was raised essentially as all white). But it does not have to have been raised in such an unpleasant and hateful way. They could have been honest and said he’s black. Do you want a black man as President? But they decided that would be too blatantly racist so they took the road of terrorism, inexperience, we don’t really know him, and etc. It is strange, in a way, that they seem to be drawing the line at the Presidency. I mean, after all, we have had great black House and Senate members, black member of the Supreme Court, black mayors and governor, black scientists, great black athletes and politicians, even by now black Secretaries of State, and so on. So what is the problem? Perhaps it is symbolic, the fact that a black President would symbolize all that has been wrong with racism all these years, symbolize the failure of the underlying fallacy of black inferiority, symbolize the end of the racist myth for all time. Is the American public ready for this? I sincerely hope so. Let’s end racism forever by electing a black President, a black family, a symbol of what is right about our nation and culture. And let us send a message to McCain/Palin and others of their ilk that what they are doing is unacceptable and outside the bounds of even common decency. McCain finally had to say that Obama is a good man and does not have to be feared as President. He was booed, which proves that his message has already made its mark and it’s too late to undo the injustice he and Palin have promoted. McCain’s admission is coming far too late and is far too little to compensate for what has come before. McCain/Palin and their campaign have now been publicly shamed. Will it make any difference?

LKBIQ:
A free market may correct for supply and demand, but it doesn’t correct for greed and theft.
Morialekafa