-
It's that time of year again - our ISP is asking for money. If you have some spare change, please click the Donate link... Thanks!
- About Us
- Search
- Need Help?
- Donate
- Login/Register
Latest Entries
Actions Menu
Blog Roll
- 4F Facebook Page
- Turn Up The Night with Kenny Pick
- Stephanie Miller Show
- The Tim Corrimal Show
- The Rachel Maddow Show
- Angry Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
- Thom Hartmann Program
- Turnips! Fans of Turn Up the Night Facebook Page
- Snopes.com
- Factcheck.org
- Official White House Page, if you must.
- The Brad Blog / Green News Report
- The Poorly Written Political Blog (Joe Santorsa)
The Dream Continues
Author: BobR
Date: 08/26/2013 13:02:06
This coming Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was one of his most profound and eloquent addresses. This past week here in DC has been a celebration of that moment, the advances made, and workshops to help young people understand the progress, and prepare them to continue it into the future.
Our own Raine and Scoopster attended a reenactment of the march on Saturday (I had a previous engagement that I could not get out of). The advances of our society since Aug 28, 1963 are certainly affirming, most notably a bi-racial president (who is identified as black), elected and re-elected by an obvious majority of voters in this country. People of color are or have held offices such as Attorney General and Secretary of State. Rights for other groups (such as women and LGBT people) have been recognized and legalized through the years.
There is still a lot of progress to be made, however. Voting rights being curtailed by targeted laws, police over-reaction and an often blase response to it, lingering education problems in inner cities are but a few. There is also the problem of mindset, and that is a much tougher nut to crack. Among some quarters (and unfortunately often those in power), there is a growing resistance to change that might help level the playing field for all. This resistance manifests itself in blame.
This weekend, conservative columnist George Will pulled out the dusty canard that the real problem for blacks is single moms, not a lack of rights. Thus, he accuses the black male for abandoning his children, rather than look at the reason for the fathers' absence (hint). Likely presidential candidate Canadian/American Ted Cruz is also always reliable for placing blame. In his case, he blames "Obamacare", and tries to sell the story that repealing it will help black and hispanic families:
Bobby Jindal blames it on trying to maintain one's cultural identity, as if the cure for racial discrimination is to become assimilated into the Borg. That's right - the cure for being a victim of racism is to join up with the oppressors. That's the nature of a certain segment of black Republicans anyway, although they're never really trusted. Perhaps that's because even they have certain limits. Colin Powel has tried to point out the problems to them; his latest is recognizing that trying to limit voting is self-destructive.
There's a flip-side to that coin though - well-meaning white left-wing extremists. This is perfectly encompassed by a column in The Nation by Dave Zirin, where he finds fault with the speakers chosen for Saturday's event:
The irony of course is that AG Eric Holfer is black, as is Cory Booker, who seems likely to be on the fast track towards presidential consideration. Nancy Pelosi is the first female speaker of the House. These are the types of accomplishments that Dr. King wanted, and would (and should) likely be very proud that he helped accomplish by laying the groundwork in the minds of Americans.
Because ultimately - that's where the change needed to occur first (and where it needs to continue to be changed). The mindset of America needs to be that we are all equal. We may look different, or talk differently, or have different customs, but underneath the set of genetics that shape our appearance, and the happenstance of our birth, we are all the same. We all want life, liberty, and the ability to pursue happiness. That we are recognizing this at all, and looking past the superficialities - that is the true measure of success, and the legacy which Dr. King left behind.
Our own Raine and Scoopster attended a reenactment of the march on Saturday (I had a previous engagement that I could not get out of). The advances of our society since Aug 28, 1963 are certainly affirming, most notably a bi-racial president (who is identified as black), elected and re-elected by an obvious majority of voters in this country. People of color are or have held offices such as Attorney General and Secretary of State. Rights for other groups (such as women and LGBT people) have been recognized and legalized through the years.
There is still a lot of progress to be made, however. Voting rights being curtailed by targeted laws, police over-reaction and an often blase response to it, lingering education problems in inner cities are but a few. There is also the problem of mindset, and that is a much tougher nut to crack. Among some quarters (and unfortunately often those in power), there is a growing resistance to change that might help level the playing field for all. This resistance manifests itself in blame.
This weekend, conservative columnist George Will pulled out the dusty canard that the real problem for blacks is single moms, not a lack of rights. Thus, he accuses the black male for abandoning his children, rather than look at the reason for the fathers' absence (hint). Likely presidential candidate Canadian/American Ted Cruz is also always reliable for placing blame. In his case, he blames "Obamacare", and tries to sell the story that repealing it will help black and hispanic families:
"But what about, you lost?" Crowley asked. "This has been put into law. It's already law. Why not just get on board and try it?"
"Because it's not working and it's hurting Americans," Cruz insisted. "And by the way, the people that it's hurting the most are the most vulnerable among us are the more vulnerable among us. The people who are losing their jobs are young people, are Hispanics, are African-Americans, are single moms. I don't think that’s fair, I don’t think that’s right."
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 500,000 young African-Americans and 913,000 Latinos have already benefited from Obamacare because they have been allowed to stay on their parents' health care plans. Additionally, 6.8 million African-Americans and 10.8 million Latinos will have opportunities to buy coverage through health care exchanges.
Bobby Jindal blames it on trying to maintain one's cultural identity, as if the cure for racial discrimination is to become assimilated into the Borg. That's right - the cure for being a victim of racism is to join up with the oppressors. That's the nature of a certain segment of black Republicans anyway, although they're never really trusted. Perhaps that's because even they have certain limits. Colin Powel has tried to point out the problems to them; his latest is recognizing that trying to limit voting is self-destructive.
There's a flip-side to that coin though - well-meaning white left-wing extremists. This is perfectly encompassed by a column in The Nation by Dave Zirin, where he finds fault with the speakers chosen for Saturday's event:
Based upon the speeches during the main portion of today’s events there can be little doubt that the Dr. King who was murdered in Memphis in 1968 would not have been allowed to speak at this fiftieth-anniversary commemoration of his life. There was no discussion of the “evil triplets.” Instead, we had far too many speakers pay homage to the narrowest possible liberal agenda in broad abstractions with none of the searing material truths that make Dr. King’s speeches so bracing even today.
As Representative Nancy Pelosi spoke, it was difficult to not think of her defense of the NSA spying program or her vote against cutting funding to stop the mass monitoring of phone calls.
As future New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Wall Street’s best friend, spoke at the front of this March, it was difficult to not think of the Dr. King who said, “The profit motive, when it is the sole basis of an economic system, encourages a cutthroat competition and selfish ambition that inspires men to be more concerned about making a living than making a life.”
As Attorney General Eric Holder, the person who is not bringing federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, was allotted 30 minutes—fifteen times that of Julian Bond—to speak from the front stage, it was difficult to not think about the fact that it has taken five years for him to say anything about mass incarceration in this country. The late Bayard Rustin insisted, as the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, that no politicians or political appointees be allowed to speak. Clearly, there were different principles at work today.
The irony of course is that AG Eric Holfer is black, as is Cory Booker, who seems likely to be on the fast track towards presidential consideration. Nancy Pelosi is the first female speaker of the House. These are the types of accomplishments that Dr. King wanted, and would (and should) likely be very proud that he helped accomplish by laying the groundwork in the minds of Americans.
Because ultimately - that's where the change needed to occur first (and where it needs to continue to be changed). The mindset of America needs to be that we are all equal. We may look different, or talk differently, or have different customs, but underneath the set of genetics that shape our appearance, and the happenstance of our birth, we are all the same. We all want life, liberty, and the ability to pursue happiness. That we are recognizing this at all, and looking past the superficialities - that is the true measure of success, and the legacy which Dr. King left behind.
