Is it Racism?

I hear more and more about the President's speech to school children on Tuesday. Why are people so upset? President Reagan did it. President George H. W. Bush did it. We all saw in the news coverage of 9/11, President George W. Bush was in a classroom reading to school children when he learned of the first plane striking the World Trade Center. No one made a fuss about those Presidents addressing school children.

And what about health care? Sure there was debate and controversy when President Clinton tried to reform health care, but it pales in comparison to the scorn and anger many conservatives inject into the health care debate today.

Why?

Perhaps it is an issue of race. Of course it's wrong and completely unacceptable to attack someone's ideas or policies based on the color of their skin. But it's just fine to criticize someone's political ideas if you feel differently. So I wonder, are some of these otherwise viable arguments being infused with such anger, even hate, because far too many people are being driven not just by a difference of opinion, but a difference of skin color as well?

Let me put it another way... President Obama is not going to preach socialism in the classroom. The thought of it is absurd. I don't think people are afraid of what the President is going to say. They are afraid of a black man being so prominently featured in their kid's school. It may be unconscious, they may not even know their doing it, but this fear is manifesting itself in the ugliest of ways.

Of course, I don't mean to imply that all those who disagree with the President are racist. Many people have voiced their concerns in a civil manner, and others may just naturally be loud, angry or nasty people. But the sheer volume of uncivilized, hateful behavior lead me to believe that many closet racists are coming out of the woodwork.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope civility wins out and our legislators work together to find solutions to the problems of today. More than that, I hope and pray that racism is eradicated from the world. I hope...


One last note for all those who call President Obama a Nazi and complain about his "socialist" agenda. Nazis were fascists. Fascism is on the extreme right of the political spectrum. Socialism is on the left. Because these two political ideologies are opposites, you loose credibility when you attribute them to the same person.