The Politics of Using Racism
The rhetoric which is politicizing racism is already rearing its ugly head and we are more than a year and a half away from the election. You can barely hear a newscast anymore without the subject coming up. I guess one has to wonder if true racism is causing the subject to be brought more often or is it that the subject being brought up constantly incites further instances of racism. Sort of like the cart before the horse analogy.
Who knew I was a racist? I sure didn’t. I’ve never been called a racist in my entire life until I spoke out during the last election in favor of the Republican Party. I’m a conservative and I vote that way with pride and dignity. So it seems only natural then, that I would support the more conservative candidate. Who knew that would make me a racist in the minds of half the country? But does that really make me a racist?
I used to enjoy listening to Cokie Roberts on ABC years ago. Her commentaries were thought provoking and it didn’t matter what president, what political party, or policy she was discussing. Her critiques were fair; at least I thought so at the time. Over the course of the last few years, I have seen her change her perspective from a far-minded approach into downright gushing over our current president. No more fair critiques of policy decisions but an ample supply of criticism for those with opposing views. I just about fell out of my chair when I heard her claim this past weekend that those who use the word ‘muslim,’ when referring to the president, are, in fact, racists, with ‘muslim’ being one of many hidden code words, used in place of, but still intended to be, racial slurs. Really?
Leaving the whole muslim controversy aside, are there hidden code words in our society hiding the fact that we are all racists? I guess some would have us think so. Keith Olbermann would have us believe that calling the president arrogant is racist and that arrogant is one of those code words for racist. What if the arrogant one is white? Is it still racism? Since when does arrogance have a color? How about Nationalism, did you know it’s really coded to mean racist? Funny, I thought it meant something along the lines of a sense of national pride and patriotism.
Over the course of the last two years, the word racism has been thrown at any and all who oppose the president, any Democratic policy, or any Democrat running for office. As far as I know, for as long as America has had a president, there has always been someone who opposes that president. There has always been opposition to policies argued about in Congress as well as opposing candidates for public office. Now all those oppositions, and there are many, were considered normal, even the ones that jumped to heated levels. With the possible exception of a few elections, race has not been a major reason for opposition.
During the last administration, there were plenty of opposition voices as we all know, some much louder than others. Why all of sudden, is it deemed racially motivated to oppose the president and/or his policies? Those who espouse these ideas are trying to make us believe that we oppose the policy simply because of the color our president’s skin. Again, I ask really? I am a conservative, why on earth would I support a policy that goes against my conservative nature, no matter who suggested or backed the policy? By sticking to my conservative roots, as I normally do in matters of policy; I automatically become labeled racist because our president is a man of color.
Apparently, conservatives are extremely racist. At least that is what some people would like you to believe. Anytime a conservative opposes or criticizes President Obama or any of his policies, someone from the left will imply that racism is the true reason for the opposition. No matter how articulate the argument might be against such policies, according to the left, ultimately, it has to be racially motivated. It can’t be that a person might just not like the policy, that, I guess is just ridiculous, it must be due to something much more insidious like racism, so the race card is played.
Can I not oppose his policy with being labeled a racist? The minute that label takes hold, opposition can be easily dismissed and ignored. Loud voices of opposition, although not stilled by this approach, have nevertheless been denigrated and dismissed as purely racially motivated, evidenced by countless episodes of such protests these past couple of years. This prompts those so accused, to spend more time defending their position against the bogus racial charges and much less time crusading for their own cause.
In the beginning of this article, I asked the question if true racism is fueling the dialogue or is the dialogue fanning racism. While I have no doubt that real racism is alive and maybe even thriving is some pockets, the race card, as they say, used for political gain has been overplayed. We’ve heard the accusation so much that we find it almost blasé now. So what happens now, when real racism occurs and no one pays attention? Just like the boy who cried wolf, true racism is likely to be ignored. As a civil minded society, we always strive to better ourselves and our society as a whole. Racism exists; we all know it does. Let’s stop playing around with these words and belittling the true racism that hurts us all.
I leave this thought with you…..
If it is racist to vote against a man because of the color of his skin,
is it racist to vote for him because of it?
Also read:
The Racial Divide in the Upcoming Elections
