Hopefully this was able to motivate people...open people's eyes to the fact that racism still exists and it's naive to believe otherwise. However, here is a column I read by Mary Katherine Ham, a columnist on Townhall.com. She says:
"...what does [Obama] ask in this speech and of whom does he ask it? How will we form a 'more perfect union,' according to Obama, and who needs to do the forming?"
She quotes Obama here:
"For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who has been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny."
How does Ham respond to this good message?
"Note that while Obama conceded that not all of whites' race issues are entirely unjustified ('And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.'), he did not ask the black community to try to understand them. But he did ask that of white Americans. In fact, that should be the white community's first priority."
Sadly, that's how she took those comments. Rather than feel inspired, she felt offended. And how does she justify this? By quoting this part of Obama's speech:
"In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper."
To a reasonable ear this sounds completely legitimate and inspiring. It raises hope that maybe we CAN rise to that point in our lifetime. Maybe we CAN provide for our children in a fashion that all of them can get an equal education, and therefore close the gap on opportunity discrepencies.
But what does Ham say?
"In short: Black people, continue to ask more of this oppressive society in which you live without becoming victims of that oppression. White people, try to learn not to be so darn oppressive, huh? ... Obama asks white people to perform the same rites every leader before him has, atoning for the country's historic racism by understanding more fully and funding more heavily, and doing it without question. He asks little to nothing of anyone else."
I wish I could say that this cynical viewpoint is in the minority. But here are some of the comments that are made in response to this article:
"As to what the whites owe blacks in education:
THE ENTIRE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS BEEN CONTROLLED BY LIBERAL UNIONS AND LIBERAL IDEAS FOR 36 YEARS SINCE THE PRES. OF THE NEA SAID THE SCHOOLS WILL BE THE ENGINE OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN 1972.
The social change they got is rotten minority schools in urban areas that were once the pride of the world. Whites didn't corrupt those schools. Obama's liberal ideas did.
Black students in DC and Newark, NJ, graduate reading on the fourth grade level on the average. Whites didn't do that. Liberal teaching methods like Whole Language and social promotion did (does) that."
...and...
"Obama doesn't get the American heartland. Axelrod had to explain to Obama how inflammatory Wright is -- Obama just didn't get it. Imagine this as an international incident. When Sharon went to the Temple Mount, he knew he was going to inflame the Palestinians -- that was his agenda. It's not like Sharon had no clue what he was doing.
The worst thing a would-be peacemaker can do is favor one side over the other. Obama made it clear he favors the black nationalist point of view over the many white points of view."
...and...
"I'm pretty sick of this white guilt baloney, I don't feel guilty for one minute over this issue.That was paid in the blood of Americans over 100 years ago. My ancestors stopped the slave trade."The quotes go on and on and on...it saddens me to see them. However, I hold out hope that the strength and will to make positive changes rises to the top. That we can all make the differences in our own lives, and in the lives of the younger generations. And as time goes on, I can hope that the cynicism and the "oh, it's not my fault" attitudes of certain individuals becomes the exception, not the rule.
