The Race Card

Former President Jimmy Carter has recently stated that the huge wave of ridiculous outbursts against President Obama (Joe Wilson, 9/12/09, Town Hall Meetings) are fueled by racism. Dr. Bill Cosby was on MSNBC today and agreed with Jimmy Carter. My brother, actually (sorry for the shout-out, dude), believes the same thing, and we've had a few discussions about this. And to finish up this equation, the White House has publicly been trying to distance itself from these allegations. I think the issue here is much deeper, and much scarier than racism. I think race is a catalyst in this whole thing. The fact that Obama is the first African-American President is a huge opening for special interest groups and corporations to feed into the fear of people who were already uncomfortable with Obama's Presidency, but would never act the way they have been without the misinformation they've been given.
The bigger problem here, the main reason why these protesters have gotten out of hand, is uncontrollable fear. These protesters are afraid because they don't understand what's happening in their country. We're dealing with incredibly complex issues that, sadly enough, most of our Senators and Congress people don't understand, all they know is that they don't like it, so they make things up. It's that simple. What they also know is that Obama's Presidency will not benefit lobbyists, and the corporations that those lobbyists represent are the ones that sign their checks. To quote Upton Sinclair, "It's difficult to get a man to understand something if his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

So these politicians and corporations have their goals set out in front of them. They don't have to understand it, they just need to stop it. So words like "death panels" come out. They compare the President to a Nazi and a Communist in one sentence (once again, Nazis and Communists? They have nothing to do with each other.) Are they being racist? Not necessarily. They are being strategic. And who can blame them? That's what capitalism is all about. They have a product to offer, and they've done a fantastic job of creating a system where, not having their product is financial suicide. So we pay a lot, and get a little, and they will do everything possible to not only keep it that way, but make it even worse by charging us more and giving us even less. There was a quote in an article recently from a Teabagger protester that I think sums this problem up in a nutshell: "I've paid my mortgage every month. And I'm getting no help. I'm just saying, Let capitalism work." Then she added, "We just want people to listen to us and care." Let capitalism work followed by We just want people to listen to us and care. . What makes this protester think that the capitalist system will listen to her and care? You could argue: "They have to listen and care! If there's no customer service, they'll lose revenue!". This is health care we're talking about! Customer Service? Seriously? And according to her, paying your mortgage every month is the end-all-be-all of deserving help. To me, this person has no idea what she's protesting against. She says we're spending too much, and while I agree, does she know what we're spending too much on? I bet if you asked her if we're spending too much on an unnecessary war in Iraq, she would say we're not spending enough. Yet, we shouldn't find a way to spend money on taking care of our people.

These days, all it takes is a sound bite. The quote up there is a success story for those politicians and corporations. That's one more person in America who is passionate about something she has no idea about, and she's out there, spreading the fear. Is that racist though? Not necessarily. I'm sure that a lot of this is due to racism. I'm sure that so many people out there are against Obama simply because he's African-American. The birthers movement, for example, the crazy people who think that Obama wasn't actually born in American, THOSE people are racist. Joe Wilson, the guy who shouted "You Lie!" at President Obama, is he racist? Not necessarily. I think he just missed that fundamental part of Elementary School where you're taught to speak when it's appropriate and think before doing so. He shouldn't be receiving donations or support for what he did, what he SHOULD be doing is repeating the 3rd grade. And Rush Limbaugh? Well, he's just downright racist. You shouldn't need any more proof than this video:



Let me just say, I have followed Obama's career closely since 2004 (that's before anyone even knew about him). "Obama's America" as Mr.Limbaugh has called it, has nothing to do with white kids getting beat up. In fact, Obama's America has nothing to do with white people at all, or even black people, it has to do with ALL people. White kids were getting beat up way before Obama's Presidency, Mr.Limbaugh, as were kids of every race. But, since this is apparently the first time a white kid has gotten beat up since we've had an African-Amercan President, well, then it must be his fault. There are no words to describe how horrible you are, Rush.

What we have in our hands is far more serious than racism. We truly have come a long way in race relations in America, and we're not "there" yet. We're far from "there". But we have a new, and serious, problem coming up. We have a fear trifecta (Politicians, Corporations, the Media) that is spreading misinformation and controlling the Middle and Lower class. It's cancerous. That trifecta is creating bad cells, filled with extremism, fear, and anger, and those cells are not only spreading, but destroying every good thing they can get their hands on. The first thing we need to do is go back to respectful and INFORMED discussions. When we brush the lies and extremism aside, we can then deal with any discomfort with race in this nation.

This I Believe In.

On April 30, 2006 (day before International Labor Day), I posted an entry on my LiveJournal ( LiveJournal There are some pretty ridiculous things on my ancient LiveJournal, feel free to enjoy it at its fullest), it was titled "What I Believe In", and I basically listed some organizations that I really believed in. This year, on American Labor Day, instead of listing charitable organizations, I'm going to list a multitude of things I truly believe in. They will range from general philosophies to iTunes podcasts, but, all in all, these are things that affect me in a deep level, and they might just make life that much better.

I believe in Communication:

There is no issue in this world that cannot be solved with proper communication. We wrap ourselves in such ridiculous pettiness and drama, not only in our personal lives, but in politics and International Relations. We refuse to communicate because it somehow hurts our pride or traditions. So we'd rather fight. For some reason, fighting has become more honorable than negotiation and communication. I think that may be the saddest fact of all. Wars could end, poverty could end, if we all just began to communicate openly, and seriously. And by the way, communication includes letting the President of the United States speak to children about doing well at school. Although I understand how much education scares Fox News.

I believe that Technology & Art Can Save the World:

This belief may be my life's work (I hope.) If anything, this is the belief I hold closest to my heart. As human beings, I think we've conditioned ourselves to block out almost everything around us. We don't allow much of the outside world to really affect us deeply, not even the pain of other people. Art, be it music, dance, painting, photography, or film, affects us unlike anything in this world. You can put on a song that you haven't heard in years, and it suddenly puts you back in 10th grade. You can watch a film about the holocaust, and the fact that you feel even the smallest fraction of that actual pain, is astounding. Technology ties all of that together. With projects like One Laptop per Child ( OLPC ), more and more people, especially children, are getting access to the internet. And along with the internet, they're gaining access to opinions, ideas, and art from people around the world. This is huge. Technology has actually opened up the possibility for a global community. Steven Speilberg actually did something astonishing a few years ago. He took that opportunity of Technology & Art, and he gave digital camcorders to Israeli children and Palestinian children, told them to record their every day lives, what music they listened to, their hobbies and so forth. After a month, they swapped DVDs, and learned about each other. They learned that they weren't so different after all.

I believe in This American Life:

I took the title for this blog from a This American Life episode, so it's only natural that I mention it here. For those of you who don't know it, This American Life is a public radio program, a podcast, and Showtime TV show. This American Life may be my favorite thing ever. Every week, they take a theme like "Ruining It For the Rest of Us", and they explore it with multiple stories (or acts), about real people (usually) and their situations. This might sound pretty simple, and maybe even boring, but it's genius. It's hilarious, and heart-breaking, and enlightening, among many other things. While Ira Glass (the host of This American Life, and a personal idol of mine) truly believes that the best way to listen to radio is while driving, I think the best way to listen to This American Life is on your iPod while walking down the street, or in the middle of a crowd. Strangely enough, I don't think I've ever felt so human. You feel so close to every voice that comes through your headphones. I really cannot recommend it enough. Please, please download it here ( This American Life ). And If you end up loving this show like I do, please head to their website and donate. This podcast is free, and yet it's worth millions. You can donate here ( Donate )

These are just some of the things that I truly believe in. Of course, there are more, but I shouldn't turn this entry into a novel. On a closing note, I think it's important to believe in something. I encourage you to find something that you really believe in. Maybe go to Global Giving and discover a charity that speaks to you, and maybe donate and spread the word. Happy Labor Day everyone.