“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. My Lord, I have a dream.”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (August 28, 1963)

I never thought I’d write this post. In fact, last year a good friend asked me when I was going to write about race. “Never!” I said. But…I’ve heard enough and I’ve had enough; and, yes, with it sometimes hard for me to control my mouth, I’ve got to speak up.

I am worried for our country. We’re living in a time that, I believe, is scarier and more turbulent than the 50’s and 60’s, my formative years. We were in the throes of racism then; but not now. If you are my contemporary or, Heaven forbid, older, you remember real racism, as do I.

Things began to improve after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed; however, a few years later, even while I was attending an integrated school, there was an all-Black school just a few miles from my house.

At that time, communities tended to be all White or all Black. Generally, we didn’t go into each other’s neighborhoods or attend the same churches. But, white kids and black kids got along fine in school. In fact, the president of my senior class was black.

And speaking of school, we studied Jim Crow–in history class, not in current events, as it was and it remains a thing of the past. For anyone to suggest we’re now living Jim Crow 2.0 is reprehensible race-baiting.

I suspect all of us who were around in 1968 remember the Chicago riots and the assassinations of Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy. It was an awful time, to put it euphemistically. But, today seems different.

Today, we have people in national leadership positions using racism as a wedge. Then presidential candidate Kamala Harris even accused then candidate Joe Biden of being a racist. In contrast, both King and Kennedy urged healing and reconciliation.

Progressive politicians and others with a public stage have two goals: to divide the American people and to make us hate each other. They know better (I think), but they do it for their own political and/or personal advantage. It is despicable. And it seems to be working.

We’re being hit with critical race theory, the 1619 Project, and the concept of racial equity, the latest iteration of a failed concept.

When “quota” became a negative term, it was changed to “affirmative action.” When affirmative action failed, the term was switched to “racial equity.”

Same hopeless notion, just by a different name. Racial equity implies equal outcome. Advancement based on color-blind meritocracy? Perish the thought!

In the name of racial equity, my native state of Virginia is considering banishing advanced studies in high school. Rather than promoting higher achievement in classes, they want to ratchet back the curriculum to a more achievable level for all.

I heard a report that 40% of black high schoolers in Virginia are in advanced placement. I wonder how they feel about equity-based education?

Racial equality should be our goal. It implies that everyone, regardless of color, has the same opportunities for basic and advanced education, employment, and the perks that define American life. I believe, and polls support, most people of all colors favor the notion of racial equality.

To imply that Blacks or any people of color need to be artificially advanced is an insult to them. When we have racial equality, “all boats are lifted by a rising tide.”

Two examples of the politicalization of race: the George Floyd incident and the recently passed legislation in Georgia. First: Mr. Floyd. What happened to him should have never happened. When we first saw the video, my wife and I were viscerally sickened. But Mr. Floyd was a victim, not a hero.

Activists and the media took the awful encounter of a rogue police officer and a man with a known criminal record resisting arrest, and turned it into a representation of, and referendum on, racial relations in general and police misconduct specifically. That’s called painting with a patently absurd broad brush.

Then, there’s Georgia. Forgive me–I’ve stopped watching professional baseball and given up Coke Zero, so I’m in a very bad mood! The state’s new legislation is not racist and restrictive, yet that notion has been perpetuated, even by Mr. Biden, major corporate CEOs, and the media.

They know better. President Biden also knows that his silly claim that voters won’t get water while in line in the awful heat of a Georgia November is specious. The Georgia legislature isn’t exactly worried that the Little Sisters of the Poor would come so that voters might drink, and drink abundantly!

The law is simply to keep vote “influencers” from bothering folks waiting to vote, and it only applies to voters within a certain distance of the poll.

Mr. Biden’s Delaware has voting legislation with limits comparable to those of Georgia and, in some ways, more restrictive. What do we hear about Delaware? Crickets. Why? Because it’s a reliably blue state.

In fact, Delaware is so Democrat that the mascot of its land grant university is “Blue Hens.” (Just kidding–about the implication, not about the nickname!) The state is in the Democrats’ “bag,” so they couldn’t care less about voting legislation there.

Georgia’s in play now for either party, as it has become a purple state. That’s the simple reason why it’s receiving so much attention. The Democrat Congress and White House don’t care about Georgia’s voters, they care about getting their votes.

If you can navigate your way to your mailbox, you can vote in Georgia. You can request an absentee ballot, receive and complete it, and mail it back. That’s a total of three trips down the driveway.

And, if you don’t have a driver’s license number or social security number, you can request a free state voter I.D. That’s an additional two jaunts down the driveway. So, Georgians vote and they get some exercise!

Finally, to imply that the disadvantaged in Georgia can’t vote is to insult their motivation, ability, and intelligence. But, such is the Left’s demagoguery.

Having said that, I’d be the first to admit I believe if the situation were reversed, the Republicans would likely be doing the same thing. A common theme in my posts is that both parties shoulder blame for the mess in which we find ourselves.

Despite all of this, I remain hopeful and optimistic that this season of hate speech, destruction, and division shall pass. In my post two weeks hence, I’ll tell you why. I hope you’ll come back to read it!