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.

Long live whitey

As inauguration day draws nearer, we're hearing reports of how the Secret Service and the government are preparing for the big day - primarily against any kind of attempt on the life of our President-elect. While I'm sure such measures are always taken on Inauguration Day, this time it's even more important as this will be our very first black President.

The fear is that white supremacists will be looking to prevent Obama from taking office. Ever since election night, there has been a spike of chatter among these groups and while no formal plan seems to yet exist to assassinate Obama, who knows what may be lurking under the radar?

I find it absolutely amazing that white supremacy still exists in this country. Sure, I know that there is racism and prejudice, but at such a level where you are planning to fly the American flag upside down on Inauguration Day seems like a scene from the 1950s. Do these people really exist? And how could they live in our society, work in our businesses and hold these beliefs? The mainstream America seems to be past extreme hatred and racism, so how can you live in this American culture and still hold on to a such terrible and antiquidated belief system?

Reminds me of an old Tupac song:

I see no changes all I see is racist faces
misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under I wonder what it takes to make this one better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right
'cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight
and only time we chill is when we kill each other
it takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And although it seems heaven sent
We ain't ready, to see a black President...

I think we are ready. And maybe having a black President will cause these fringe groups to see the truth about us as an American people and a human race. I really hope that, if this presidency does nothing else, it eliminates whatever racism that exists in this country that I just fail to comprehend.