Lott
O' Blues (Race In
America)
 As I'm writing
this, Trent Lott has just
resigned his position as Majority
Leader of the U.S. Senate. Seems
the gentleman from Mississippi
had a few drinks at a party, then
gushed about retiring
segregationist Strom Thurmond's
political career. I didn't hear
what everyone else did, because I
didn't hear a racial slur, any
more than I hear one when LAPD
chief William Bratton declares
"war" on street gangs.
But the good ol' boy committed a
fatal error by saying what he did
in front of C-Span cameras! Real
smart, Trent. Anyway, Adios Juro.
You still get to be a
senator.
Democrats
shouldn't be too smug about what
has transpired. This change at
the top gives the impression of a
Republican ideological
"housecleaning",
reinforcing, vis-a-vis
minorities, the "Big
Tent" perception of
universal inclusiveness. To
Demos, this would be a nightmare.
Smugness would also be
hypocritical. Lott's inferences
were a national embarrassment
with racial overtones. But so is
a T.V. show entitled "Black
Entertainment Television"
(B.E.T.), and another televised
venue called the "Latin
Grammys". The names of these
shows are racially offensive to
me. But does anyone care? Imagine
programs entitled "White
Entertainment Television"
(W.E.T.), or the "Caucasian
Grammys"! Then there is the
"Black Miss America"
contest. What's up with that? And
let's not forget Jesse Jackson
disparaging Jews, with seeming
impunity, over his
"Hymieville" comment
(imagine Senator Joe Lieberman
publicly calling Detroit
"Negroville"?) If
you're proud to be black, it's
called
"African-American"
pride. And if you're proud to be
Latino, it's called
"Hispanic" pride.
That's all fine. But if you're
proud to be white, it's called
racism. My point is, Democrats
are not in a position to cast the
first stones. Separatism runs
both ways, and you don't remedy
one evil with another.
Racially,
things are worse than they were
fifty years ago, as smoke and
mirrors, window dressing and
tokenism substitute for genuine
race relations. Things are worse
than they were fifty years ago,
with racial politics keeping old
wounds open and bleeding while
patronizing and denigrating those
it's intended to help. Things are
worse than they were fifty years
ago, as we pretend, with gimmicks
such as affirmative action and
political correctness, that race
relations are better, when
they're not. Things are worse,
but we don't want to see or hear
that. It would mean that our
methods for dealing with race are
all wrong.
By
being perpetually self-righteous,
Democrats drive away race-neutral
voters intimidated by a perceived
elitism and bias within its
national leadership and platform.
This certainly doesn't help
anything, because on the other
side are the Republicans, and
they're worse! So where's a
Humanist to go? Race relations in
this country haven't improved
because they can't improve.
There's a built-in fundamental
flaw: You can't legislate social
equality at the grass roots
level. It doesn't work.
Resentment of perceived
favoritism precludes the
transcendence of racial animus,
leading to more separatism, not
less. Social issues are best
tackled within a social, rather
than a political, context. Dialog
is the key: Honest, heart-felt
dialog between the races, fear,
pain and all. A national
cleansing, as it were. No
Washington suits telling us about
the "street". No
rah-rah phraseology on
billboards. No beer companies
sponsoring rallies. No
agenda-bound rabblerousers. Just
dialog. The kind that brings
tears down your cheeks at
displays of humanity. Universal
truth glimpsed through the smoke
and flames of mortal hubris. A
recognition that when you bestow
dignity, you yourself become
dignified. In other words, a
reworking of the way we approach
race in America. Sound naive?
Tell that to South African
archbishop Desmond Tutu, who
convened a national dialog for
forgiveness and healing between
the races following the
repressive apartheid era in South
Africa. It was a moving
experience to watch, and a
painful one to live through for
South Africans. But the
sentiments expressed throughout
were real, at a grass-roots
level, and seemed to accomplish
what Tutu felt necessary toward
healing: forgiveness,
understanding, and a renewal of
national character and purpose.
We can learn from South Africa,
if only we so desire. If not,
then please spare me the tearful
and misplaced indignation when
someone like Trent Lott reminds
us that race relations in this
country are really just wishful
thinking.
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