Try To Move Out Of The Past

I've been thinking about Jimmy Carter and his opinion that much of the downright hateful stuff being said about Obama is race-related, and i agree with him. People who paint the president like Hitler are racist. People who PhotoShop Obama as some kind of African warrior are racist. People who say his wife is a relative of gorillas are racist.

And stupid. And more of a detriment to any kind of intelligent discussion over any number of issues, be it health care or bailouts or foreclosures or what have you.

When you take what could be an enlightening conversation for many people and turn it into a He Wasn't Born Here moment or a Go Back To Kenya statement, you are working toward a No Solution Solution. If you want to be taken seriously, those of you who don't think ill of the man simply because of skin color, put down your ridiculous signs and tell Glenn Beck to be quiet and tell Joe Wilson to go away.

See, when Glenn Beck says Obama hates white people, he's trying to rile up the racism that is out there. And it's out there, my friends. It's not just in signage and speech, it's done quirt with a look or a nod, or an action.

When Joe Wilson shouts out You Lie it's done with disrespect for the man and the office. But I believe it was also done because of skin color. And that gets us nowhere. It completely halts any conversation.

So, it's out there. And it's ugly. And it needs to end if we're going to move forward, if we're going to progress rather than regress.

If you don't like the man because of his politics or policies, have that discussion. Don't take it down to the basest of levels and think anyone with half a brain finds you interesting or intelligent or thoughtful.

We cannot talk over racism. We cannot be heard when that wall goes up. We will never move forward until people realize that skin color, like gender or age or sexual orientation, is not the root of all evil.