Allow me to preface today’s post by saying that I am of the opinion that our political and racial bifurcation is not nearly as stark as the media would have us believe. That is my anecdotal observation, but I don’t think I’m alone in my opinion.
While I believe there are people predisposed to racism and racial bias who are emboldened by the current political climate, I do not believe that they represent the majority of Americans who voted for change in 2016, that incidentally they never got in 2019, and probably won’t get by 2020. However, the current political discourse does highlight a salient point worthy of exploration in this post.
We as a society must realize that our diversity, our differences, are what make us stronger as a nation.
I cringe whenever I hear the term “colorblind”. Colorblindness implies that the aesthetic majority and aesthetic minorities are supposed to ignore what makes us different and subscribe to a generic culture that is an ironic blend of cultures from around the globe that include a plethora of cultural contributions by people of color, selectively appropriated by the majority aesthetic.
Different is just different, not dangerous and not a threat to anyone except people who benefit (or perceive some benefit) from the division. Divide and conquer politics is alive, but not as well as it used to be, contrary to popular belief.
As much as our current political climate has emboldened those who would deepen the divide and see diversity as a threat, it has equally awakened those who slumbered at the polls in 2016 and now see the age-old tactic of divide and conquer politics for what it is. An ugly means to keep people fighting amongst themselves in the hopes that they will ignore the larger problems.
It is not working in 2019…
It didn’t work in 2018…
It won’t work in 2020.
That said, hope is not a strategy and complacency is a conduit for nefarious behavior to thrive. Evil cannot spread with followers and good cannot prevail without action.
I value my voice and my vote because my ancestors fought, sacrificed, and died to preserve that right. I choose to honor them by exercising my voice and my vote as much as I exercise my mind and my body. I hope I’m not alone in this line of thought.
All of us are connected by a common world heritage and I don’t view those with whom I disagree as enemies. We just have different ideas about what “make America great again” actually means.
They think it needs to be made great again. I think it never stopped being great and there is no need to fear our diversity. I judge people based on content of character. Nothing more. Nothing less.
-The Rational Ram
The Rational Ram 