America's "Race War"

The issue of race is a very fragile device in this country; that if handled too heavy-handedly, will surely implode, exposing the fragilities kept within our society. And yet, somehow, “we the people” are drawn to the controversy and misalignment associated with the word itself. More present now than it has been in a while- perhaps due to the induction of an African American president- is the issue of race in this country. This word has somehow become intricately interwoven into the tapestry of social and political dialogue; fraying the edges of our societal fabric. Unfortunately, instead of directly addressing the very real issues that are associated with race in this country, our conversations are instead riddled with talk of which side (of the political spectrum) has the most racially insensitive and “racist” individuals among its ranks. The article "Obama's Race War", captures this phenomenon quite effectively. The article comes from the New York Times, by a young African American columnist, Charles Blow- which in itself probably gives insight as to the political ideology that is to be expressed within the article and who his projected readership is. I found this article to be, before anything else, helpful in that it gave a succinct overview of the current “race” issues, by narrating through the key events that have attributed to this “race war” as he terms it. He fosters an outlook on the issue that didn’t immediately jump to one side of the ideological spectrum. He instead offered a mature and critical commentary of the “race war.” His claim in this opinion piece is that, “mature commentary on the subject [of race] has descended into tribal tirades, hypersensitive defenses and rapid-fire finger-pointing.” He enters his substantiation by explaining how, “many on the left have taken an absolutist stance, that the anti-Obama sentiment reeks of racism [and] many on the right feel as though they have been convicted without proof — that tossing ‘racism’ their way is itself racist.”

I agree with Blow in his evaluation of the “race war,” as I feel this political current has become quite infantile, with name-calling and finger-pointing being the most prevalent political strategy of our time. The article takes a left slant toward its end, when Blow condemns the witch-hunt for a “racist” among the NAACP’s ranks that led to the “Sherrod charade,” as he terms it, which only served to further fuel this “race crucade,” as she (Sherrod) was later reinstated on grounds of wrong accusation. She even got a presidential apology- solidifying the political misstep that’s so evidently a product of this “race war”. Blow’s resolution to the mal-natured on-goings is a promotion of civil discourse by the president to address this nation’s racial sensitivity. I also agree with this approach, althgouh ultimately change rests within our hands. An executive step from the president, however, could be just what the government needs to straighten the political path that has gone so awry.