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Highlands Today

Political Season Brings Out Best And Worst In Americans

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Highlands Today Staff

Published: January 6, 2008

Gazing through rose-colored lenses, we should be basking in the glow of American democracy in action during this election season. We should revel in the diversity of the men and women seeking the presidency and marvel at the incredible foresight our founding fathers had so many years ago. We can still do that, of course, but we also must add that a lot of racist baloney is going on by bigots who hate the thought of a black presidential nominee.

Most of these people don't think for a minute they are bigots, but they are. They forward hateful e-mails making all kinds of false claims against Barrack Obama, or make insinuations about his name or anything else that can dehumanize him. It's not right, and if you receive these e-mails or hear this baloney, you should call out whoever is sending it or saying it.

We know racists are among us. None of us are so slow to believe otherwise. What's shocking, though, is that some respected people in this country – and even in this county – are spreading this venom. They'll deny to the end that they are anything other than good Americans enjoying their right to free speech. We'll grant them the right to say it, but we'll exercise our right to point out what they are.

The attacks against Obama come as no surprise. It figures that if he showed any inkling of being successful that the attacks would come. Besides, there's a nasty undercurrent of racism sweeping our nation involving a lot of things these days.

Don't get us wrong, and we know some will, it's perfectly acceptable to be a critic of our immigration policy and our government's inability to secure our borders. And there's nothing in the world wrong with believing that "illegal" means "illegal," and they should not be allowed to work in our country without proper documentation. So what we're saying has nothing to do with reasonable debate about important issues. What we're talking about are code words and stealth meanings that say one thing, but obviously mean something else.

A lot of the people screaming the loudest are ignorant of the facts, and rely on disguised hate groups for their misinformation. We believe a lot of people don't even realize that the baloney they are spewing about illegal immigrants and candidates such as Obama originates from hate groups, but that's often the case.

There's not much we can do to change people's hearts, although we should try. And it's especially difficult to make a small mind steeped in bigotry to think anything outside of what their limited world allows. But we can tell them to knock it off when they say or send things that are obviously racist, or even borderline racist. It's our duty as humans and children of God to not accept this point of view and to expose it.

One good thing about bigots and racists: shine a little light on them, let them know that you know exactly what they are, and they scurry away. Even if it changes nothing in their mind, it makes our country – and our souls – a little better.

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