Brushfire of Freedom
The Irritable Pundit
You know, speaking to the public like they are idiots isn't the best way to effect change and lately that's all we are getting. 1960s style messaging, ala "Civility, Race Relations and YOU!" For 50 years they've been spouting the same nonsense, yet they claim we are as bad as we ever were and we need to confront that fact.
Where to begin?
Race relations, what does that even mean anymore? Better still, what was it ever supposed to mean? We've been "confronting the issue" over and over for generations. Successful black role models abound and we elected a black President, but according to the Democrats we still need to confront the "fact" that we are all racists?
I disagree with the premise. It is time to rethink the whole deal.
First, let's posit that racists, bigots, homophones and Jew-hating-morons exist. Ok, done.
Second, let's state upfront that there were many of them in our history, and those idiots did some awful things. OK, got it.
Now, let's all take a breath and state clearly, "However, today they are a tiny minority and dwindling".
If you deny that last bit, you are intentionally closing your eyes and are part of the real problem.
What we need to do is drop it. Pushing the issue (apart from basic Civil Rights protections) is actually just making it worse. Now I know my leftist readers are about 2 shuddering breaths from an attack of the vapors, but hear me out. If you leave the few racist idiots alone, they will eventually surrender to the changing standards of a (thankfully) maturing society. Think it through. Look at the changes we've seen in our lifetimes. Those changes will continue as long as we stay positive and do not wallow in our country's real and perceived failures. Yes, I said "perceived" failures.
You need an example of that? OK, and I will not use Sharpton or Jackson (too easy). How about this? When our utterly traumatized-by-privalege Attorney General commiserates about the sorry state of race relations in America with our cursed-by-attending-the-best-schools-in-America President, all within earshot of hampered-by-wealth Michelle, who is trying to watch Oprah the most powerful person in media, well... let's just say it rings hollow. In fact, it creates the very anger and feelings of discontent among whites that they bemoan. Eventually you begin to wonder if that isn't the intent.
I freely admit that America wounded itself by its past actions, but the body of the old girl is still strong. What was a bleeding gash is now just a sore. She will survive as long as she does not further injure herself. Let me use a wildly inappropriate analogy to make this just a bit clearer. Let’s say you have a cut on your arm. Lets further say it’s a bit infected.
Got all that? Good! Put on this helmet and follow me.
You have a microbe-scaled war being fought on your forearm. An invader has discovered a breach in your epidermal protection. Entire armies of platelets, white blood cells and helper cells rush to the area to fight. Connective tissues form barricades within the wound. Hormone secretions cause the construction of new avenues of blood supply and healing begins. Things are looking up, then real, minor and referred complaints reach your brain and you reach out your other hand and start to scratch.
Not such a good idea. You actually tear apart your body’s defenses, causing the cut to take longer to heal. Perhaps inviting even more infections (infantigo or the New Black Panthers, pick your poison). Perversely, you will also cause more itches. Any mother will tell you it is a bad idea. That is essentially what we are doing with race relations today. Scratching a sore and hoping that in the scratching it will get better.
So why do we scratch at the sore of racism?
Some people are drawn to negativity and just mindlessly absorb it. Others employ the "victim badge" as an inbuilt excuse for failure or a way of getting ahead of the fellow on their right. Most just get caught up in the moment. They indulge like a child scratching a sore over and over. It is counter-productive to their own mental health and the state of our nation. Don’t become that person, and instead of getting angry about others who scratch ceaselessly, just tell them “I know that hurts, but if you keep scratching that, it will never heal”.
The Civil war was surgery, the civil rights movement was post-operative care and antibiotics. We just need to take our temperature every so often and keep our fingers off it now.
I'm going to go wash my hands.
See you next week!
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