To quote my 16yo son, "really". Does that fact that I, a white, middle aged, male who disagrees with the euro centric and socialist views of President Obama make me a racist. There is nothing in my history to suggest that I in fact AM a racist. Anyone who knows me personally and has heard my personal philosophy, knows that for me, Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Age, Disability Status, etc. are never even a consideration of someones value. And yet, since I began weighing in on my disaffection with the President's policies and legislative agenda, I, along with a multitude of others have been labeled as Racists and Bigots.
Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary defines racism as an "Irrational belief or advocacy of the superiority of a given group, people, or nation, on the basis of racial differences having no scientific validity." It follows that up by adding, and I quote, "social action or GOVERNMENT policy based on such assumed differences." The definition here is important when we consider the circumstances surrounding the current debate in this country over it's direction.
In any discussions of my differences with President Obama, I have never directed any commentary or opinion with regard to his racial status. I am not one who considers or opines on the legitimacy of President Obama to hold office. I don't concern myself with his religious beliefs except when said beliefs and associations shine a light on his character (IE Reverend Jeremiah Right) and call in question his ability to lead in a colorblind manner. What I do discuss and bloviate on is his policies and his associations with people and groups who seek to remake this Republic in their image, and it is an image that I can not accept or tolerate.
You see, we don't disagree because of race, but because of his political ideology as borne out in his proposed legislation. I could care less about the supposed validity questions about his birth certificate. What I do care about is an increasing series of statements and legislative proposals which are a danger to this Republic as our founders established it. I don't give a damn about Speaker Pelosi's gender. I DO care that she is obviously a strident, statist demagogue with no concern for those whom she represents. Look. I will be clear about what I AM. I am a Capitalist, a Conservative, a Christian, a believer in our Constitution as our founders wrote it. I am a former US Navy Sailor and father of a US Marine. I am a Patriot and an AMERICAN! What I am most decidedly not is a racist.
Many Americans are as I am. In fact, I would posit that the majority of Americans see it like I do. We are to busy managing our own lives and our own issues to even notice something as unimportant as a persons skin color. Does that mean that there is no racism? Absolutely not, in fact it exists in both directions in this country. The not so mainstream media only reports about it in one direction , white to black. It seems to this blogger as if all the charges and demagoguery are coming either old white leftists men or your white leftist women (Maureen Dowd). Is this some sort of guilt compensation for the realization that their longstanding policy and legislative agenda's are inherently racist in their own right for singling out a specific demographic based on race. By my dictionary that action meets the criteria of Racism. Who's a racist now?
