Monday, February 23, 2009

Bertosa the Brave

By John Bertosa

So, there I was perusing the Internet last week trying to pin down what I would blog about for Monday. I had some ideas but nothing that was really stirring the passion or anything that seemed pressing.

And then Eric Holder spoke.

For those who don't know who Holder is, he's the new Attorney General, and therefore a member of the "Hope and Change" Administration. And on Wednesday he declared the United States was "a Nation of Cowards." (I'll give President Obama credit for keeping one campaign pledge, he is changing the tone in Washington.)

Now Holder believes we are cowards because we don't candidly talk about race, and we don't go home and hang out with people differing skin color.

Now, I was shocked at these words at first since I thought there was no need to have a discussion. I thought we should simply say what whites have done wrong and what whites need to do to fix things. And that wouldn't be considered a discussion.

But I will take up Mr. Holder's challenge and start a frank discussion on race.

I believe that the best way to combat racism and such prejudice is to be colorblind in our thoughts as well as actions. To treat every one the same despite their skin color and more importantly to react to people in ways that have nothing to do with their skin color.

Think back to the last three strangers you saw at the grocery store, or the bar or the movie theater. Can you recall if they were right or left-handed? Or if their ear lobes were attached or detached?

We don't notice those physical attributes because we don't think about them, and I believe conditioning society to think about skin color in this way is the only way that we can truly eradicate racism.

Others will counter that a lot of horrible things were done to people because of their skin color, things that were never done to the left-handed or those with detached earlobes. Skin color was used to separate people in society and put some in a very much worse situation while others benefited.

And those who say this are absolutely right. That has been going on in our modern day society since the Dutch first discovered Africa.

They also will say that since our society looks at skin color, the best solutions are ones that take skin color into account. But in this they are absolutely wrong.

Because by using such methods (i.e. affirmative action and quotas) it sends the message that it is OK to take skin color into account if it is beneficial to a group. And in a society that is taught two wrongs do not make a right,that becomes a conflicting message.

It also creates a resentment among some whites, not necessarily the college-educated ones who have access to quality jobs, but the poorer ones whose families never owned slaves or owned a southern restaurant with segregated bathrooms.

These poor whites ask why should the government set up beneficial programs specifically for poor blacks when they are in the same financial situation?

So, setting up programs like the one in Ohio where a certain percentage of government contracts have to go to minority firms treats the symptoms of racism but it merely masks the true disease -- defining people based on the color of their skin. And when you don't treat the disease, it will spread.

Yes, I know getting more than 300 million people to stop seeing skin color as a defining characteristic is a tall order and will take generations. But that time will come sooner if government stops endorsing race-based policies out of the goodness of its heart.

No comments: