Posted by
Andrews on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 5:29:51 PM
So, what have we learned from Obama's run for the presidency?
First, I think we learned that any young politician should be careful before selecting either a church or a mentor. The wrong choice may come back to haunt you later.
Second, we have learned that you can get pretty far running a campaign with no positions.
Third, we learned that you can establish an almost cult-like following as long as you manage to avoid stating what you believe.
But I think the most important lesson is about race, specifically that many assumptions about race relations are completely wrong.
For example, the traditional liberal belief is that white, especially in the less "enlightened" states are inveterate racists. Yet, those same racist whites were quite willing to vote for a black presidential candidate. Not just in the northeast and on the west coast. Obama won white votes throughout the "unenlightened' states of fly-over country. And many voted for him specifically because he promised racial healing. All of which is hardly the behavior liberal dogma would lead one to expect.
On the other hand, Obama also taught us an uglier lesson. From the rhetoric spewed by Reverend Wright, to the
casual way that many other black pastors accepted his rants, we were also reminded that separatism, racial distrust, and outright hatred is not alien to a large segment of the black community.
So, after years of equal opportunity laws, of affirmative action, of civil rights legislation, of speech codes and hate crime laws, even with a white majority more ready than ever to accept a color blind society, we are still left with an angry, separatist minority. White America has spent decades regretting past behavior, moving closer and closer to the ideal of racial equality, but it appears that in that same period much of black America has done the opposite, dwelling on past wrongs and building up resentment. Strangely, though affirmative action and other preferences were always predicted to create white resentment while stilling black complaints, the reality seems to be the opposite. All the laws designed with the idea of creating racial harmony have done just the opposite.
If nothing else, Obama's candidacy raises one important question: Isn't it time we admitted that the politics of racial identity and victimhood leads to nothing but resentment and animosity?
-------------------------------------------------------
UPDATED 03/20/2008
I have made some small modifications to this essay in a
later post. While the main point has not changed, I have corrected what I believe is a small mistake in this essay.