Some would call me a racist.  Here’s why.

On May 8, 2008, Michelle Obama made a speech to a crowd in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  She said in part:

“Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history; we’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation to provide the kind of future we all want desperately for our children.”

I was horrified she said that, because I believe that it is ignorant, and possibly even dangerous, to attempt to expunge or in any way re-write history.  I was very vocal in my condemnation of her statement.   Does that make me a racist?  You can’t possibly “change” history.  You can only learn from it.  Any time a group engages in revisionist history, bad things happen.  In the last century they happened in Italy under Mussolini.  They happened in Germany under Hitler.  They happened in Russia under the Bolsheviks.  They happened in China under Chairman Mao, and each time they happened, people were oppressed and died, over time, millions of them.

I believe in the concept of free speech, even if the subject of that speech is something I totally disagree with and may even be repugnant to me.  I grant that right to others, and I expect the same in return.

I believe that our history is something to be, on the whole, very proud of.  Sure there are warts, but show me a country which has given more freedom and opportunity to more people.  You can’t.  Slavery was effectively abolished in our country in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, although the effects of racial segregation in the southern states lasted far longer, finally coming to an end in 1964 with the passing of the Civil Rights Act.  Since then minorities, mainly blacks, have received preferences and priorities because of their race, not in spite of it.  Merit has become immaterial when it comes to admission, hiring or promotion in far too many instances.

I feel absolutely no guilt for the actions of others towards anyone.  I am only responsible for my own behavior, and will not accept shared blame for other peoples transgressions.  A very wise man once said:  “If you want something badly enough, you will find a way to make it happen. If you don’t, you will find an excuse”.  It is my opinion that many people in the black community are still trying to find a way to blame others for their own personal shortcomings.   Nothing stands in their way but a lack of willpower and drive.  Nothing…….

Barack and Michelle Obama had a perfect opportunity to advance racial harmony in this country.  Instead, their own personal prejudices and animosities towards whites have led us to a point where groups like “Black Lives Matter” can justify marching through the streets chanting “What do we want? Dead cops!  When do we want it ?  Now!” And “Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon”.  If the radical left succeeds in gaining the destruction of thousands of historical statues, and continues to vilify many of our Founding Fathers because they were slaveholders, we will be further driven apart as a nation.  It is increasingly difficult to be “colorblind” when race is constantly shoved in my face.  The “Skinheads”, “Neo-Nazis”, KKK members and “White Nationalists” are a tiny fraction of our society.  The left would have you believe they are a major factor.  On the left, however, the “Antifas”, “Black Lives Matter”, “C.A.I.R.” and “The Nation of Islam” groups are much more significant, well financed and growing.  Our enemies are watching, and rubbing their hands with glee as we allow ourselves to be distracted from the real and formidable threats we face, from within and without.  So, if I am to be branded a racist, so be it.  However, to those who would do so, I can show you another.  Look in the mirror.