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July 18, 2003 Tolerence is a value that Americans are proud of. Few places on this Earth can people of so many different ethnicities and cultures live in relative peace with each other. If you listen to the Left, however you would think that this is one of the most racist, hate-filled countries in the world...and its all the Republicans' fault. Divisive, leftist, racial polarizers like Julian Bond and Jesse Jackson relentlessly fire shots at Republicans calling them racist. Despite a mountain of evidence that flies right in the face of those allegations, the rhetoric continues, often unchallenged. This is not surprising, however, considering the slanted perspective put on the news by those who report it. Putting the facts, both current policy and historical, on the table paints a much different picture. People like Julian Bond, of the NAACP, and Jesse Jackson, of Rainbow/Push, are considered by many to be leaders of the civil rights movement. These men and their organizations are easily the most recognizable. Sadly, much less spotlight is given to men like Robert Woodson Sr., founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, and Ward Connerly. These men are not anonymous but when race comes up in the media, who do they run to get a statement from? Jesse Jackson. The "Jesse Jackson wing" of civil rights basically hang their hats on the policies of affirmative action and reparations. The later of which, Jesse Jackson has personally embarked on a cruise down "Shakedown Street" (sorry Jerry)to attain. Caution: frequent stops. Affimative action is racist in its very nature. I will concede that, at one time, affimative action was nessesary to open doors previously closed by cruel, thoughtless bigotry. The doors are wide open now. Affirmative action gives preference, based solely on race, when applying for college, among other things. It is argued by liberal elites that it is for the sake of "diversity". Those same liberal elites promote exclusively black organizations and dormatories. What?! What happened to diversity? It isn't the dorms or organizations that bother me at all, what bothers me is the outright, blatant hypocrisy. People who support true equality and seek to make race a non- issue see through catch words like "diversity". If you want a fair, racially-equal, affimative action policy, base it on income, NOT race. In this nation today, poverty is far more difficult to overcome than race. An interesting note on the reparations front; city councils are pushing for corporations to tell them if they have, ever in their history, benefited from slave labor, claiming loudly that they seek to issue no repercussions against those corporations. Those of us that listen closely, however, can hear Jesse pumping the gas pedal of the Rainbow/Push stock car, recently donated by NASCAR. All the while, conservative blacks, like Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, J.C. Watts, and Colin Powell are denigrated by the left as the "subjects of white conservatives". Maybe i'm crazy, but that sounds pretty racist to me. Roughly 90% of blacks that vote, vote Democrat. Minorities seem to, in large part, buy into the Democratic partyline that they are right for them and Republicans are not. This trend is slowly shifting. People are starting to look deeper than the usual talking points. Here are a few interesting historical facts. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed in the Senate 73-27, and in the House 290-130. Of the 27 nays in the Senate, 21 of them were Democrats. Of the 130 nays in the House, 96 of them were Democrats. Southern Democrats also led a 74 day filibuster of the bill, interesting. Democrats claim that they are responsible for passing it and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it was Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, that was president. The bill that started the civil rights movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which came during the Eisenhower, Republican, Administration. Then Senate Majority leader, Lyndon B. Johnson, gutted the bill in committee, stripping it of any enforceable criminal provisions. Former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who issued the infamous order that forbid civil rights protestors from marching, which led to the tragic "Bloody Sunday" incident, was a Democrat. Current Senator Robert Byrd, a Democrat, was not only a member of the KKK. He was a kleagle, or recruiter. If you start to name names, the left says that people can change. This is true, many have. Senator Byrd and others are given a pass on their past, yet men like Strom Thurmond, who had the same change of heart, carry the label "segregationist" with them to their graves. I wonder if its because that "change of heart" led him away from the Democratic party and into the Republican Party? Interesting. Lets not forget what party Abraham Lincoln, the man who freed the slaves, belonged to...the Republican party. So long as Americans allow ourselves to fall victim to the polarizing tactics of the left, and don't look deeply and thoughtfully at the policies put forth by both sides, racial equality in this country will never happen. Race will always be an issue unless everyone, white and black, stops letting it be. We, as a nation, have taken enormous steps in the right direction though. Racism used to be a much more visible part of our culture. Eyes have opened, and continue to open. We have become the most tolerant and "diverse" country in the world. Racism exists however, there will always be haters. Equality will also exist one day, as soon as the left lets it. Don't just tow the party line, see through it, look past it. The deeper you look, the more transparent it becomes. "I dream of a day when a person will be judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ------------ About the Author: Jonathan Robbins is a 29 year old father of 3, living in Indianapolis, IN. He works as a toolmaker and is currently pursuing a degree in Political Science and History. Jonathan was drawn into politics, current events, and history by the events of 9/11/01. Email Jonathan Robbins: jcrob@hsonline.net Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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