State of Whose Union?
Good morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.
Well Tom, last night, as we all know, the President gave his first State of the Union address.
And as with presidents before him, within the first few minutes, President Obama reported that, “The State of our union is strong.”
They all say that no matter what condition the country is in.
But, today, Tom, I’m not going to focus on whether the state of our union is strong. Instead, I want to talk about what we mean by “our union.”
So, I’m going to take a step back and start with this rallying cry that conservatives have been using, and that many Scott Brown supporters echoed during his recent and successful Senate campaign in Massachusetts…
You’ve heard it, Sybil: “Let’s take OUR country back.”
It speaks volumes about the state of race relations here in 21st Century America, in this so-called ‘post-racial’ nation…
“Let’s take OUR country back…
Take it back from whom…? …from the solid majority of voters of all colors and ages who democratically elected our current president…?
Or from that ‘uppity’ black man who has no right to run it in the first place…?
Hmm… could that be the unstated but clearly implied suggestion…?
Jay, did you see that movie about the founding of the CIA called The Good Shepherd…?
In one scene, the Joe Pesci character tells the Matt Damon character, “The Irish, they have the homeland. The Jews, their traditions. Even the ‘N-word’ (he said), they got their music. What about you people, Mr. Carlson, what do you have?”
In response, Matt Damon’s character calmly says, “We have the United States of America… the rest of you are just visiting.”
Well, I believe this attitude is a big part of what’s driving a lot of the Tea Party crowds…
I also believe – unfortunately – that many of these folks who call themselves ‘patriots’ hope and even pray that our Union is not strong, especially given the color of its captain…
They have even said as much… Remember Rush Limbaugh’s famous quote about wanting Obama to fail? Do you think FoxNews wants Obama to fail?
Couple those sentiments with Tea Party protesters openly depicting our President as a witch doctor, a non citizen and a Muslim terrorist and I’d say, yep Tom, what we all know well: we still have a race problem in this country and I think we have to find creative ways to help address it.
Now I can understand if folks are opposed to many of the policies our President is pursuing … after all, they certainly have the right to protest, although George W. Bush’s administration –who many of them support—tried to undermine this basic right…
I certainly don’t agree with everything our President does; Nor have I agreed with EVERYTHING any president before him has done.
…likewise, I don’t agree with the policies of the new Massachusetts senator Scott Brown, but I still wish him well in his new position and pray he can rise above party politics to do what’s best for our country and its citizens…
…I can criticize him politically without attacking him personally or questioning his love for his country…
…and yes, if you caught it last week on MSNBC, Keith Olbermann did go too far in attacking Brown personally, just as many have done with President Obama…
Ya see, politics unfortunately is often a vehicle for our people to pursue their own biases, whether it’s a journalist on the Left personally attacking a republican politician, or a right-wing campaign focused more on the race of the country’s first black leader than any particular issue…
…and if you ask them why they are doing it, they’ll likely tell you it’s for ‘the love of their country…’
So what can we do to solve this complicated 21st Century, Post-racial race problem we have on our hands? For one thing, I think we need more conversations like the one you led with Chris Matthews last week, Tom.
Not just on TV but in communities across this country—to help us as a nation—Black, White, Brown – work through this issue – which continues to bedevil us. I challenge each and every one of you to continue this conversation in your communities.
You know, W.E.B. Dubois said “The problem of the 20th Century is the problem of the color line.”
It’s now a 21st Century problem and we need some 21st Century solutions for dealing with it.
Until next time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.
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