It's not always race

Jimmy Carter's comments today are a little disturbing. Yes, there is continued racial disparity in this country and there are people who do not accept our President because he is black. But to suggest that to oppose a President's ideas and policies is to be a racist is dangerous. Does this mean that no matter what the President presents to Congress, the country must accept it or else be branded a racist?

We need to fight against racism and be open to all people and ideas. But the anger people have over the healthcare debate cannot all be attributed to racism. It is attributed to disagreement with certain policies. It is attributed to anger over having to change from the status quo. It is attributed to a change that people are unsure about the future and how that change will affect them.

So saying that racism is fueling the anger threatens censorship, it threatens a healthy debate. At some point, you gotta stop playing the race card and accept that disagreement comes from a fundamental difference in political ideologies, not from the color of your skin.

I'm not sure what we gain by going down this road. There are bigger fish to fry and bigger issues to resolve. Using the "r' word doesn't accomplish much. Yes, this country should have a larger discussion about race, but to do it within the forum of political disagreement is unproductive and dangerous to our country's ability - and freedom - to debate.