Would MLK turn in his grave?

Today, we have a national holiday dedicated to the progress Martin Luther King made with how black folk are viewed. Ironically, he was able to accomplish ten-fold more in his death than while he was alive. Assassinations tend to create martyrs for movements, often causing, or at least accelerating, the very thing their death was meant to prevent.

MLK was known for his calls to non-violent protesting through moving and powerful speeches. Pulling from his Baptist minister's experience and the success of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent activist methods, he was able to bring to light many of the injustices of a society struggling to live out the principles of the Bill of Rights.

His most well referred to speech in 1963, "I Have a Dream," (transcript) he states that, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

I was talking with Jer this morning about the hypocrisy that our nation celebrates a man who wants all to be judged equally by qualities interior to the neglect of the exterior, but votes based upon his race, not the issues. Translation: Obama's color should have no bearing on why he was elected. But, as we all know, this was not the case. In fact, this is so not the case, I'll boldly state he was elected becausehe was black.

Check my note on facebook concerning his lack of qualification.

Now, that I've punched your pride in the face, let me provide you with some text I read from The Reporter, dated 1/18/09, reprinted from David Early, San Jose Mercury News.

"To be black in America on Jan 20,2009...A blizzard of giddy emotions will envelop the souls of millions of black folks in America and all over the world...So before Obama comes under attack from the many remaining forces of ignorance and bigotry, I will revel with my family." Full Article

Although, I don't believe it wrong to identify with any candidate you share an ethnicity with, that does not mean that the state of the country has changed or somehow we have gotten past the issue of race, as Mr. Early believes. Let me elaborate:

If Obama was elected because he was black and America has now gotten over it's historical racism, what would be the natural conclusion if he was not elected president? You can only conclude that America is still racist, under this line of thinking, because we were unwilling to elect a black person. However, what if I disagreed with the man's political point of view? Am I a racist? If American discrimination is solved by electing people into office, then we should have found a black woman, Condoleeza Rice maybe, and get two birds with one stone.

Hmmmm...On second thought, that isn't enough of a representation. How about a black woman who is lesbian minister? Did I miss any minority groups? Oh wait, she needs to be a black, native american, chinese lesbian transgender minister.

Do you see why this is getting ridiculous? Where does one draw the line? Here's the reality.

My generation has experienced a level of affluence and opportunity unprecedented in all of human history. I grew up in a country where no one racial group was killed or denied their basic human rights laid out in the Constitution. Sure, we "heard" of the injustices, but my generation has either no personal experience or a very limited amount of discrimination. Even if there are valid incidents, they are isolated and rare enough to not be considered remotely systematic. My peers are unaware of any real oppression resulting in crying wolf over trite and immaterial things. Watch Crash and you'll see the hypocrisy and abuse reflected in the movie.

So, Rusty, what are you trying to say? Give it to me in a nutshell? All right, here it is...

Obama used his blackness and charming charisma to get elected on the backs of a failed Conservative message. I don't blame him for using everything at his disposal. I blame the American people. He did not get elected because of any real change. He is not the black FDR and even if he becomes one, the New Deal did not save this country from depression. WWII did.

Obama, if he continues to act in line with his voting record, will be the most liberal, socialist president we have ever had in history. The sad part, David Early would call me a member of this society who is "bigoted and ignorant."

On the contrary, a man who doesn't understand his vote is either ignorant at best, and at worse, a hypocrite. For anyone who tells me that I cannot disagree with our Democratic President, enjoys the protection of the untouchable race card, a luxury the blind elite exercise to defend their right to be a bigot-a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.

Summary: Today we celebrate a man's dream for equality that envisioned a colorblind society. Tomorrow, we spit on the concept, because the nation will celebrate the inauguration of a president who was elected by the color of his skin, rather than the content of his character.