A Morning After "What If...."

All the exit polls from Kentucky (and previously West Virginia) tend to show what I feel is a very disturbing trend. It is of course the racial divide that gets overwhelming votes to Senator Clinton over Senator Obama. Even some interviews shown on The Daily Show from other sources in West Virginia showed that people voted against Obama because he was Muslim (False!) and that his middle name was Hussein and "I'm tired of this whole Hussein thing."

Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish quoted from the Associated Press:

[T]he exit poll shows that one in five voters openly declared that race was a factor - and 81 percent of them voted for the Clintons. So one fifth proudly said they voted against a black man.

And of course many of those will either not vote in November, they say, or will vote for McCain.

What deeply, deeply saddens me is that a candidate will allow this to be used for her benefit and as part of the strategy to get the nomination. She will point out that she is getting a lot of votes without pointing out where they are coming from. She will say this shows that she has broader appeal than Obama. Probably because there are more white voters than black voters?

So what if tomorrow or next week or on June 3 Clinton has the courage and earns her true street cred by standing up and saying:

I am pulling out of this race and supporting Senator Obama because I cannot take the nomination that I won by racial division. I want this to be a united nation where race (like gender) doesn't matter. I want this to be a country where a black man is as likely to get elected as anyone else.

Yes, what if....

As Bobby Kennedy would regularly quote:

Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?"

I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?"

To This I Can Only Add...

...finally, the real American Dream come alive.

What I am referring to is this statement by Hillary yesterday in Winston-Salem, NC. Because of the current campaign she said, America is...

letting go of not only the heavy burden of ignorance, but of prejudice and discrimination, sexism as well as racism.

What is exciting — and for me humbling — is that this contest that I'm engaged in with Senator Obama exemplifies that. And because of what we are doing, I honestly believe we have broken one of those invisible barriers that never again will any little boy or girl in America not believe that he or she — black, white, brown, whatever — cannot grow up to be president. Because that is now over. We have created that possibility in this moment of time.

Of course, that American Dream costs a lot of money. Which may remain the biggest obstacle for most people. (Elitist? Nah.)

That, and of course, that no sane person should even want the job.

Courage

Obama showed great integrity and courage with his speech on racism yesterday. I gather he wrote the whole thing himself and it was clear it was from a place of passion for him.

This speech, hopefully, will become one of those Great American Speeches. It has often been said that racism is America's original sin. We must continue to work on rooting out that sin.

A Day Late- But Still Important
As I sat down last night to read my Sunday (morning) paper, I realized that it was the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson taking the field as a Brooklyn Dodger, striking one of the great blows for democracy in America. His number, 42, is the only one retired by all major league clubs in honor of his courage and deep humanity.

Yet, in spite of all that Jackie Robinson did- and in spite of all the changes in awareness over the years- the Don Imus affair still happened. An over-inflated radio person who thinks he can say anything to get a laugh or make a wise-remark can still, 60 years after Jackie and the Dodgers proclaimed racism un-American, make a racist remark and think he is just being funny.

Edward Gilbreath, author of Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity and an editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine had some relevant thoughts posted today by CT. Admitting that Imus has traditionally spared no one from his barbed comments he goes on to say:

Truth be told, Imus was just one of many talk-radio hosts who push the envelope with racialized, politically incorrect bluster. Sometimes it seems as if talk radio is the last bastion of cranky, narrow-minded white men.

Beyond the racism and sexism, for me the truly disturbing thing about the Imus affair is that, after numerous national conversations about Rodney King, O. J. Simpson, gangsta rap, Michael Richards, Barack Obama, and any number of Chris Rock comedy bits, we're still stuck in the same gear when it comes to addressing race relations.

But that is not the real problem. The problem he believes (and I agree) is in the heart.

"Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks," said Jesus (Matt. 12:34). What Don Imus needs—what we all need—is a heart change.

Racism is a sin. And sin, despite our best efforts, continues to dog us. Without honesty, without grace, without vulnerability, without humility, without the spirit of Christ from all sides, we cannot rise above our present dysfunction.
--Source: Christianity Today

He then goes on to tell how Youth Specialties and their parent Zondervan Publishing did the right thing when they discovered a racially insensitive skit in one of their books. They recalled the whole press run, reprinted it and offered to replace any that were already purchased.

We are, thankfully, not where we were on that April day in Brooklyn. But we are not yet where we need to be as an open, democratic nation that believes in the rights of all our citizens. Nor are we yet free from sin. No law, no regulation can ever change that. But people like Jackie Robinson and organizations like the Brookly Dodgers can go a long way.

Where is the church? Where are people of faith? We are the people and the institution that has such an understanding of humanity at the very heart of who we are. Or so we say. We can also understand the power of sin and offer ways to repent of the sin of racism and move to new levels of understanding.

May it not take another 60 years!