As much as I hate to admit it, this election is about race.  I've heard others say that this is not the case, but unfortunately, the evidence is overwhelmingly against such a position.  Race is playing a key role in this election and as the November nears, it is going to weigh heavily on the final results. 

In light of the recent Jeremiah Wright sermons and comments it now seems that the country is caught up in an national debate about race and patriotism. Apparently he touched a nerve. I am not going to debate the his arguments versus those of others. Reverend Wright sees the world the way he sees it and others see it their way. Which is the point. Why, because even though we may feel that we are experiencing the same thing, in the end, we find that our views contrast remarkably. Or as my minister said in one recent Sunday morning sermon, "My story may not be the same as your story."

I've been watching the Democratic and Republican campaign with great interest.  Not in recent memory have I seen an election in which everyone has an opinion about one or another of the candidates.  And of course, those opinions can range from the complementary to the negative. The candidates themselves seem to be relying on the negative to make their point.  It leaves me feeling that what's happening in American politics is extremely concerning. 

However, this is politics and while anything should not go, it seems that this year, folk are just turning their heads and allowing anything to go.  But more concerning for me was a recent story that my daughter relayed to me in which she mentioned that some of her classmates felt that Barack Obama should not become the next President because he is a black man.  They cared little about his qualifications or who was the best candidate.  They just simply felt that a Black man should not become President of the United States simply because of his color.  And that, concerns me. 

I suspect many of the baby boomers still harbor bigoted and prejudicial views.  Many learned it from their parents who thought it was perfectly fine to refer to African Americans as niggers, Mexicans as beaners, Jews as kikes, Asian Americans as nips, tight-eyes and chinks and Whites as honky's and peckerwoods.  Personally, I thought that these beliefs would start to disappear as the Baby Boomers began to disappear.  But sadly, it seems that much of this is being passed on.  Yes people, the torch of racism is being proudly passed on to our children.  And that, is a shame.  That is concerning. 

Quite frankly, enough is enough.  I've heard people say that there should be a national debate on race.  Why?  To remind everyone that we are all different. While the color of our skins my differentiate us, what really makes us more different are our cultures, our views, and our thoughts.  As long as we continue to use color as a way to delineate people, then we we are going to always perpetuate racism.  If you ask any credible Biologist or Physical Anthropologist, they will tell you without hesitation that race is not a biological phenomena.  It is only and social and political.  That's it, nothing more.  Biologically, we are all the same.  I know that many folk hate to hear this, but its the simple truth. 

So, instead of having a national debate on race, why don't we just simply have a national debate on how to come together as a country?  It's time that we put race behind us.  For good. 

An article appeared recently in the Columbus Dispatch, the major daily for the city of Columbus, Ohio, that clearly illustrates that during this month that we are celebrate African Americans' contributions to this country, that we still have not arrived to a time where racial bigotry and hate is a thing of the past.  The accompanying photograph sums up the feelings of this individual protester. 

Columbus, located in central Ohio, is today the largest city in Ohio.  It, along with other Ohio cities played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad in helping many slaves find freedom from the oppression, violence and cruelty of the American South.  But along with the good, there comes the bad.  This incident occurred in a small city just a few miles south of the largest metropolitan area in the state.  It shows that still lingering, many years later, is a deep seeded hate, and resistance to the positive change that diversity has brought, and will continue to bring to our country.