'Let's All Not Get Together, Shall We?'
By James T. Moore (08/21/07)
Every so often I run across an article by a well meaning, but misguided, African-American writer who is determined to take on the whole race question and set the readers straight. The white readers, that is.
One suggestion I read about for social togetherness was offered by Rochelle Riley, a columnist for The Detroit Free Press, whose article: “Magazines: A Cultural Education.”, was a well-written, but smarmy treatise about getting to know each other by boning up equally on our cultures. By doing this, intoned Ms. Riley, we can learn to understand, trust, and connect with each other. Ms. Riley suggests that a perusal of Ebony, Savoy, or Essence will change our “white” thinking, and give us an elemental look at things black in America.
Being an avid reader of National Geographic, I get all the knowledge I want about different races, cultures, traditions, religions, and lifestyles. And frankly, most of them fascinate me. But not to the extent that integrating this potpourri into the American scene is something that is possible, practical, or even desirable.
The cultural education which Ms. Riley thinks we lighter-skinned people need has serious flaws which ultimately will do more harm than good to this nation.
First, I have perused several issues of Ebony, cover to cover, and what I see are not everyday African-Americans, but black people in white trappings. Strange, blacks want equal status with whites, but when they get it--.Judge Thomas, Alan Keyes, Congressman Watts, et al—they are called “Uncle Toms.” You can’t have it both ways, folks.
Second, Ms. Riley also suggests that we “educate” ourselves to the black lifestyle by watching TV and movies. That’s nonsense. Television shows featuring African-American are either black actors “talking” to black audiences, or blacks catering to the curiosity of white audiences. Either way, “black shows” are not educational because they are just more contrived pictures of what the black race is supposed to be. As for the movies, the black actors and actresses are so talented, and are cast so well, we tend to forget that race is involved. Which suggests that when race is of minor concern, nobody has to study anybody else’s culture to blend in.
Third, it is suggested that we “study our differences, making it easier to embrace them, rather than stacking those differences up as obstacles to friendships and relationships.” That would be fine if that is what all races wanted to do. But one big happy family may not be what all white, or black people, want to be. Like it or not, it is a natural tendency for all animals, including humans, to prefer being near their own kind. If you doubt that, go to a “mixed” picnic sometime and watch who gravitates to whom.
Fourth, and most importantly, the principles of Americas were not written to accommodate our personal likes and dislikes—racial or any other kind. They were written to cut men loose from the hell of European tyranny and give them a chance to live as free individuals-- as long as no one is harmed -- independent, self-reliant, responsible, and above all, beholden to no one but God Himself.
No, Ms. Riley, America’s salvation will NOT be through sharing cultures and lifestyles. America will be saved by sharing the truths written in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And living by them.
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