Pumpernickel Politics

Political candidates are like bread. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. Deciding on which one to consume is not a reflection of anything more than our personal taste. However, that taste is from our mouth not from our biases.

When prominent civil rights leader Andrew Young recently spoke of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama he offended some people. He said that "Bill is every bit as black as Barack. He's probably gone with more black women than Barack." In letting this offhand joke slip, Young peeled back the onion, and defined the debate of politics in America.

It is true that there is a hard corps of the electorate that would never likely vote for a dark skinned person for President. Such prejudice might even be more prevelant in local politics. The statement by Young proves once again that racism exists in politics, in all quarters. Pointing up race to justify qualifications should raise objections. It was reported upon, but there was a roaring silence, especially in the overly tolerant African-American community.

This election cycle, offers evidence that we are not yet culturally mature enough to achieve America’s promise. Should anyone care about a candidate’s skin color? Shouldn’t we rather be focused exclusively upon what policies candidates would enact, and how they would lead? Skin pigment is irrelevant! The statement by Young smacks of schoolyard antics. The Civil Rights Act passed in the 1960’s, but yet it seems that sometimes the African-American race is its own worst enemy.

African-Americans vote in large numbers for Democrat candidates. There is nothing wrong with that per se. When a whole group of people categorically eliminate half of their electoral choices out of hand (Republicans and Independent candidates, for instance) it begs the question, who is really prejudice”

Oprah Winfrey’s foray into politics has made people take notice. Would those people be as interested if she were Walter Cronkite? He is someone equally as famed and trusted. Cronkite however, is of the old boy network and he is white, to boot. Oprah's popularity comes from her integrity and her race. Most of Oprah’s influence is upon her fans who tend to be color blind. She is bringing large numbers of the public to events for Senator Obama, whom she supports. Whether that translates into support for him or detriment to her popularity remains to be seen. In that context however, race is a factor.

The point is that today in politics anything goes. If you listen to the media, race and gender still have a prominent place at the table. We have not even come close to achieving Martin Luther King’s dream. That is disturbing. We are not only not ignoring race, but we are pointing up and celebrating our different heritages to the detriment of the whole society. We are no longer a true melting pot of Americans.

If we don’t get past it, race will haunt our grandchildren’s lives much like it has corrupted the population for the past two century’s.

When shopping the bread aisle at any local grocery, you will find white bread, rye bread, pumpernickel, and a whole host of others. If we made bread purchases the same way we apply this county’s selective racism, some bread would no longer be on the shelf, from lack of sales.

It is time for American’s to step up beyond their veiled racism, and practice what they espouse. Race has no place in American politics, or American life. The sooner we can see people based on their abilities rather than their skin pigment, the sooner the society will reach the goal of the Civil Rights movment; equality for all withour regard for race. That would justify Dr. King's life long mission.