April 2008 Archives

I suppose it’s not “patriotic” to mention or even think about it, but I’m sad to admit I’m not quite as proud of America as I used to be, and I don't think I'm alone.

For everything about America that is great, as we enter the 21st century it is a nation still divided by prejudice, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination, all triggered by a mindset which allows people to deny their own insecurities and fear in order to justify a need to find someone to feel better than.

Though greed and the thirst for power (so often driven by that same insecurity) have always been part of the equation, it’s disturbing that a philosophy such as, “it’s okay to screw others as long as there is a good chance you can get away with it,” basically an acceptance of corruption, has become so prevalent in present day society. The corporate mentality of bottom line profit economics and people be damned has certainly played a huge role in encouraging such thinking. Greatness must be earned on a continual basis; it's not just a label to stick on a lapel, like a flag pin.

The March 29 Post “editor for a day” by Professor Gregory Ghica, entitled “How can we have a color blind society in today’s age?” was in my opinion rather one-sided and incomplete. He basically insinuated that the black community in America has pretty much failed to take advantage of all the wonderful advantages offered to them by white society since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “brought the issue of race discrimination in America 50 years ago in his famous speech.” There’s the implication that the black community would be as educated, job secure, motivated, accepted and successful as anyone in America if they had only taken advantage of all that was offered. If only things were so simple and uncomplicated.

Notably, there was no mention of the white communities’ resistance to such change in many places. Professor Ghica states, “We all remember the “School busing;” What a failure that was with the black community adamant against its implementation.” What’s missing is the fact that in many cities across the nation, it was quite often the white community that protested school busing.