Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Eyes Of The Beholder
The attorney general of the US says opposition to the president is racism. A Caucasian Senator and Republican says not so. Who is right and does it matter? Slavery and discrimination against blacks has lasted for more than 300 years in the US. The attorney general can be forgiven for seeing any opposition as more of the same. Republicans in turn have committed themselves to a smaller government in opposition to the President's Big Government solution to chronic problems of unemployment and sluggish growth. It would seem on the surface that the senator is more right than the attorney general, but the senator should have realized the sensitivities of African Americans to opposition. It wasn't long ago that dogs were sicced on to civil rights protesters in the South and governors denied integrated schooling to black children. It will take time -- decades -- for African Americans to put history into perspective. That will come as more of them enter the middle and upper classes and feel welcomed. Meanwhile, some African Americans will see every disagreement as racism whether it is or not. The eyes of the beholder have a fixed lens.
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