March 02, 2008
Considering the Glass
If you haven't been living in a cave for the last year, you know that there is an election on the horizon. An appallingly low percentage Americans will step into the voting the voting booth and cast their vote for their preference of who should be the next president. The results of that voting will determine the composition of the Electoral College, which will then cast the votes that actually elect the President of The United States. In thinking about the possible outcomes of that vote, I am increasingly worried that this will not end well.
The question I have been pondering for the last several days is, "What would be the cultural impact of John McCain winning the general election." More specifically, what will happen to race and gender relations in our culture if the citizenry elects the old white guy instead of the the woman or the black guy?
It will come down to how those groups, and their most vocal activists, decide to view the glass. Assuming, as seems likely, that the democrats nominate Barack Obama (NOTE: I'm not writing Mrs. Clinton off until Obama is officially the nominee) What would be the perspective of "black leaders" such as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to his loss in the general election?
Would they see the glass as not half full, but full to the brim? Would they see the nomination of a black man by a national party for the office of president as a victory? Would they see every vote he receives as a vindication. Would they acknowledge that even though he lost, Obama's presence as a major party candidate in the presidential election represents significant progress on the issue of race in America?
Or would they see every vote cast for McCain not as a vote for more conservative(ish) policies, or as a vote in disagreement with Obama's political philosophy but as a vote for continued racism in America?
Given the history of these self-proclaimed "black leaders" to see everything through the a filter of racial injustice I wouldn't expect them to celebrate the success of Obama but rather to see his loss as an opportunity to denounce America for cultural racism. They would be unable to see an Obama loss in the general election as a judgement on the content of his character or his political ideas, because they reflexively judge him, and everyone else, only by the color of his skin.
Most importantly for them, the opportunity to demagogue an Obama defeat as the ultimate racial injustice, gives them the opportunity to get their name in paper, their face on television and to reassert their flagging relevance. Their interests, and the interests of those like them who may be less publicly visible, lie in not only maintaining but in widening any racial divide that exists in this country. For them, an Obama loss is a bigger plus than an Obama Presidency.
An Obama loss and the resultant demagoguery could set back race relations in this country 20 to 30 years.
We all lose.
This is not to say that we should elect Barack Obama just to assuage the victimology of racial politics. Neither, if the nomination goes the other way, should we elect Mrs. Clinton to appease the cries of sexism from the feminist crowd.
The policies they both put forward are nothing but pure socialism. Their ideas represent a complete break from the ideals of liberty, personal responsibility and individualism that are the foundation on which this country is built. Granted, no President ever gets to enact every idea they put forth. Thanks to the wisdom of those who came before us, the congress and the courts are there to stop them from going too far. But if Obama or Mrs. Clinton are elected and and carry through 25% of what they are promising on the campaign trail, the result will be higher taxes, economic decline, and loss of liberty.
We all lose.
It is going to be a long four years of fighting. Fighting to prevent the preachers of racial divide from tearing the country apart, or fighting the creeping crud of socialism. But I am at heart glass half full kind of guy. I don't think the race mongers and the socialists are strong enough to completely crush the American spirit. It may be a rough road, but we will reach the other end whole and stronger for the struggle.
The question I have been pondering for the last several days is, "What would be the cultural impact of John McCain winning the general election." More specifically, what will happen to race and gender relations in our culture if the citizenry elects the old white guy instead of the the woman or the black guy?
It will come down to how those groups, and their most vocal activists, decide to view the glass. Assuming, as seems likely, that the democrats nominate Barack Obama (NOTE: I'm not writing Mrs. Clinton off until Obama is officially the nominee) What would be the perspective of "black leaders" such as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to his loss in the general election?
Would they see the glass as not half full, but full to the brim? Would they see the nomination of a black man by a national party for the office of president as a victory? Would they see every vote he receives as a vindication. Would they acknowledge that even though he lost, Obama's presence as a major party candidate in the presidential election represents significant progress on the issue of race in America?
Or would they see every vote cast for McCain not as a vote for more conservative(ish) policies, or as a vote in disagreement with Obama's political philosophy but as a vote for continued racism in America?
Given the history of these self-proclaimed "black leaders" to see everything through the a filter of racial injustice I wouldn't expect them to celebrate the success of Obama but rather to see his loss as an opportunity to denounce America for cultural racism. They would be unable to see an Obama loss in the general election as a judgement on the content of his character or his political ideas, because they reflexively judge him, and everyone else, only by the color of his skin.
Most importantly for them, the opportunity to demagogue an Obama defeat as the ultimate racial injustice, gives them the opportunity to get their name in paper, their face on television and to reassert their flagging relevance. Their interests, and the interests of those like them who may be less publicly visible, lie in not only maintaining but in widening any racial divide that exists in this country. For them, an Obama loss is a bigger plus than an Obama Presidency.
An Obama loss and the resultant demagoguery could set back race relations in this country 20 to 30 years.
We all lose.
This is not to say that we should elect Barack Obama just to assuage the victimology of racial politics. Neither, if the nomination goes the other way, should we elect Mrs. Clinton to appease the cries of sexism from the feminist crowd.
The policies they both put forward are nothing but pure socialism. Their ideas represent a complete break from the ideals of liberty, personal responsibility and individualism that are the foundation on which this country is built. Granted, no President ever gets to enact every idea they put forth. Thanks to the wisdom of those who came before us, the congress and the courts are there to stop them from going too far. But if Obama or Mrs. Clinton are elected and and carry through 25% of what they are promising on the campaign trail, the result will be higher taxes, economic decline, and loss of liberty.
We all lose.
It is going to be a long four years of fighting. Fighting to prevent the preachers of racial divide from tearing the country apart, or fighting the creeping crud of socialism. But I am at heart glass half full kind of guy. I don't think the race mongers and the socialists are strong enough to completely crush the American spirit. It may be a rough road, but we will reach the other end whole and stronger for the struggle.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 05:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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