NAACP not invited to the Tea Party?

With my aforementioned political ideology, I bring into play a conversation that is reeling in the media and political realm, alike: discussion of the Tea Party (and its proclaimed acute conservatism). I’ve never been the most politically keen or politically engaged but in my newfound affiliation with the NAACP (I’m the president of the newly formed UT Student Chapter); I do try to follow with the most trending of topics, especially those directly regarding the African American community. It’s in this spirit that I found this article, “Hartigan: Is the Tea Party Racist?” in the Statesman, concerning the Tea Party and the NAACP’s resolution about their “bigoted elements within the Tea Party”. What I found most openly appealing and in-line with my political ideology is the fact that the element of “racism” is removed from the front-line of the conversation. We are allowed to digest elements of race and America’s avoidance and aversion of the issue of race in our nation. What I found most interesting about the article are the statistics about the Tea Party that are so pervasive and enlightening, showing us that race is an ever-present issue in our country that often times is over-looked in social and political dialogue. In the Tea Party, almost 90 percent are white, predominantly male, and noticeably ”better off economically than the nation at large”. I like that this article addresses this without attributing the “racist” stigma over the T-party’s head. It’s a good introductory read if you wish to delve into the issue of race regarding the T-party and the NAACP without jumping too deep into the meat of the situation, as it’s often convoluted with rhetoric and biased judgments.

My Political Ideology defined

I am what you’d consider “politically porous,” a term coined to represent my ideological stance on politics and life in general. So what does it mean, exactly? Quite simply, it means that I am open to hearing and considering different political and ideological stances, readily considering the application, reality, and relevancy of the position. Though open to other viewpoints, I do hold a set of stout ideologies and viewpoints that essentially shape my political direction and allows for a certain range of “absorption” in terms of other ideas. With this, I find myself being highly perceptive to others’ viewpoints and thusly, hold a unique ideological fabric by which I form my own opinion. Simply put, I allow the benefit of the doubt with every stance, always trying to understand one’s reasoning before posing my position.