Racism: New low in political debate
Frankly, I've little desire to write about racism, a nasty third-rail topic. But the recent barrage of assertions that criticism of President Obama is fundamentally racist begs for response. So here goes.
There is no middle ground here. That accusation is baseless. It is offensive. And it is very, very harmful.
I suspect this has been lurking just below the surface for some time. It first bubbled up with racially-tinged remarks by some Democrats and pundits following the infamous Joe Wilson gaffe. Then former president Jimmy Carter pronounced it nationally in two televised interviews that "an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based in the fact that he's a black man." In this stunning exhibition of negative leadership, Carter reinforced the worst instincts of some partisans, effectively legitimizing hate speech as long as it's aimed at Republicans.
Sure enough, the idea went mainstream; racism is now a regular media topic, and even the Aiken Standard has received its share of letters beating the racism drum. The president, to his credit - and reflecting sound political judgment - has personally made light of this talk. But there have been no apologies, no retractions. Now it's out there, further debasing the level of political discourse in America and alienating folks on both sides.
To the heart of the matter: are most Americans conscious of racial differences? Yes. Does that make us racists? Of course not.
It is a simple fact of life that, to some degree, factors like race and age and gender and appearance come into play, consciously or subconsciously, in most human interactions. It's hard to imagine a single voter in last November's election who was unaware of Barack Obama's race. But that's not racism, it's human reality, and clearly it did not adversely affect the election.
By contrast, a racist is one who simply cannot get past skin color - it is the only factor that counts. Yes, there are racists in America, including those who voted against (or for) Barack Obama solely because he is an African-American, and I doubt that they've changed their views since.
But it is beyond absurd to suggest that in the last few months there has been some kind of sweeping regression that turned tens of millions of Americans into racists. Those who allege that to be the case offer no evidence or logic - just the whimsical belief that only innate racism could lead someone to disagree with Barack Obama.
Moreover, it is not at all unusual for a new president's approval rating to slip dramatically after the post-election honeymoon. As far back as FDR, every president, Republican and Democrat, suffered drops in approval rating greater than Obama's 20-point drop (from 70 percent to 50 percent) to date. But in Barack Obama's case alone, we're supposed to believe that his decreasing approval is unrelated to anything he did or didn't do, it's simply because we all suddenly turned into bigots. Hmmm.
Here's a more sensible explanation. A growing number of Americans simply do not like the lurching left turn our country has taken. The first eight months of this new administration has been a roller coaster, a ride far different than many visualized from the ephemeral campaign promises of "hope and change" and distinctly at odds with the well established center-right orientation of mainstream America.
I for one find it offensive beyond words to have my views on health care, or cap and trade, or the president himself, characterized as racist - whether by Jimmy Carter, some media talking head, or by a writer to this page.
And those who may think the race angle will benefit the president or his agenda are delusional. Perhaps the worst consequence of this new wave of mass character assassination is that it can very easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It strikes me as painfully obvious that if the U.S. electorate comes to the conclusion that the price of electing a minority president is that voters forfeit their right to subsequently evaluate and express their views about that president, they simply won't elect another.
So far, our ever-vigilant media seem oblivious to this dangerous new trend. Two weeks ago, Time magazine's cover story decried "Glenn Beck and the Angry Style of American Politics" without even a mention of the far more harmful race baiting by Carter and those who have followed his lead.
These are tough times and complex problems, with plenty of room for honest disagreement. But there is no room, no basis and no benefit - to anyone - to drag race into it.
The writer is a businessman who makes his home in Aiken.