Charges of Racism are Hurtful (for both sides)
Charges of Racism are Hurtful (for both sides) (Page 2 of 2)
And what about the lyrics to rap songs? You don’t get more racial and offensive than that (and they can go in both directions).
There is hurt on both sides. Racism is hurtful. Everyone has to realize that it is hurtful to both sides. Personally, I embrace the First Amendment and try to bring social issues to the public for discussion. Meaningful discussion. I am not a racist nor hold any hate in my heart. I go about my day in a colorblind fashion and enjoy the company of my human beings for everything wonderful and unique each person brings. Every encounter teaches me something, even if it is about myself. So when anyone tries to shut down any discussion I try to bring up (even if it is a sensitive issue) by labeling me something which I know I am not, it is hurtful. I understand where Moriahbethany is coming from and I don’t believe she thinks I am a racist. I think she did a great service by bringing it up and starting a wonderful discussion on the topic. I can’t understand other people’s perspectives if no one brings them up.
In 1787, the Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia where the states sent delegates to draft a Constitution which would reflect their interests and reflect their common understanding of a “united” states. The issue of slavery came up and most delegates were adamant about abolishing the institution with the ratification of the Constitution and the birth of the United States of America. They understood the hypocrisy of embracing the Declaration of Independence (“All Men are Created Equal) but yet denying that very recognition for a class of fellow human beings, as well as the moral outrage it represented. All but 2 states (South Carolina and Georgia) would not sign a Constitution that abolished slavery. Yet despite what we learn in the public school system, those 2 states did acknowledge the moral reprehensibility of slavery and bondage, and requested a compromise situation for the purposes of weaning its agricultural-based economy off of the hard work of slaves and to another manner of production (including the introduction of some industry). The compromise was a 20-year grace period to accomplish the transition from their slave-based agricultural local economy. For 20 years, the Congress of the United States would not be able to abolish slavery for good. In fact, Section 1.9.1 memorializes this compromise: “There will be no prohibition of slavery before 1808.” [Something went terribly wrong after that though and the abolishionists couldn’t get a majority in Congress to pass the legislation in 1808; hence, we eventually had to fight a civil war].
I bring this up to lay the foundation for a remark that George Mason, a delegate from Virginia, one of our Founding Fathers, made in regard to this concession. Mason was a staunch opponent to slavery, even though he owned several. He said: “This infernal traffic originated in the avarice of British merchants. They British government constantly checked the attempts of Virginia to put a stop to it. The present question concerns not the importing states alone but the whole Union. Maryland and Virginia have already prohibited the importation of slaves expressly. North Carolina had done the same in substance. Slavery discourages arts and manufacturing. The poor despise labor when they know there are slaves to do it. Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of Heaven on a country. As Nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.” I believe Mason was right. I believe Providence did punish this nation by the greatest national calamity of all – our Civil War. In that great war, 620,000 Americans died to end slavery and to reunite the states and the issue then went on to divide the country for years after.
We need to get our house in order. We need to end the use of words that divide and prevent the willingness to live together in respect and cooperation. We can’t stop talking about issues that will benefit the country as a whole and preserve the nation. If petty differences prevent this, then I believe Providence will again punish us. And this time, we won’t be able to rebound. We’ve already been warned and given the chance to get our make good on our promise to God, which was to recognize that all men are created equal with the same endowed rights.
Make no mistake about it. Our country is on a collision course with destruction. The policies it has embraced over the past years has put it on a course for failure. We’ve willfully neglected and ignored our Constitution. We have intentionally chosen to ignore the words of our Founding Fathers, the wisest men in our history, and the very men who gave us the greatest nation on Earth. Over the years, our politicians and even our Supreme Court Justices have ignored the Constitution, claiming that it is out-of-date, out-of-touch with the American people, and ineffective to meet our growing diversity and our evolving society. They argue that the Founders are outdated and that they have lost relevance. They say all these things because they believe that our Founding Fathers were products of their era and could not foresee the societal change that has evolved in this country. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our Founders absolutely understood how the society would develop. The men who gave us the greatest nation on Earth weren’t just a couple of guys who went to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to hammer out the wording of a Constitution that would be binding on all the states. These men were visionaries. These men did their homework. They were deeply devoted to creating a nation that would stand the test of time. They wanted to come up with a foundation, a Constitution, that would not wither with the times. And so for that purpose, they studied all the failed regimes of history and they looked at all the constitutions and founding documents of other nations and studied the reasons why they were unable to last long. So, there is nothing that we’ve seen in our developing history that other nations haven’t dealt with and nothing that our Founders weren’t able to foresee. As Machiavelli wrote: “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.”
The problem with ignoring history is that each time history repeats itself, the price goes up. The stakes are higher. From their studies of history’s failed regimes, they came up with core principles that are absolutely vital to prevent this country from going down those same paths. They were wise enough to predict and to warn us of what would happen should we fail to honor and respect those principles. And there is nothing we see here today in this country that the Founders have not written about or warned us about.
The TEA Party is the one party that has taken up the cause that the Founders left behind when they passed, (and then when they apparently passed out of relevance). The only way the country can turn around is by a return to the principles that our Founders laid out for us. We need to divest the federal government of so much power, return it to the states where people can enjoy more of the freedom that God and our Founders envisioned. As Patrick Henry explained: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests?” That’s the true message of the TEA Party… that’s all. Anything else that may be said is extraneous, illusionary, and distracting. If we are going to get the country back on track, we cannot allow the TEA Party message to be distracted or diluted.
Our national motto is “E Pluribus Unum” – out of many, One. Let’s hold that message dearer than any message of division.
RESPONSE: Perhaps I shouldn’t have jumped in. I have little interest in the supposed “Tea Partiers are racist” debate. I wouldn’t say that it is true…in general. At any rate, who cares about that. You guys have Rush Limbaugh and racists and we have Michael Moore and potheads.
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This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now
And what about the lyrics to rap songs? You don’t get more racial and offensive than that (and they can go in both directions).
There is hurt on both sides. Racism is hurtful. Everyone has to realize that it is hurtful to both sides. Personally, I embrace the First Amendment and try to bring social issues to the public for discussion. Meaningful discussion. I am not a racist nor hold any hate in my heart. I go about my day in a colorblind fashion and enjoy the company of my human beings for everything wonderful and unique each person brings. Every encounter teaches me something, even if it is about myself. So when anyone tries to shut down any discussion I try to bring up (even if it is a sensitive issue) by labeling me something which I know I am not, it is hurtful. I understand where Moriahbethany is coming from and I don’t believe she thinks I am a racist. I think she did a great service by bringing it up and starting a wonderful discussion on the topic. I can’t understand other people’s perspectives if no one brings them up.
In 1787, the Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia where the states sent delegates to draft a Constitution which would reflect their interests and reflect their common understanding of a “united” states. The issue of slavery came up and most delegates were adamant about abolishing the institution with the ratification of the Constitution and the birth of the United States of America. They understood the hypocrisy of embracing the Declaration of Independence (“All Men are Created Equal) but yet denying that very recognition for a class of fellow human beings, as well as the moral outrage it represented. All but 2 states (South Carolina and Georgia) would not sign a Constitution that abolished slavery. Yet despite what we learn in the public school system, those 2 states did acknowledge the moral reprehensibility of slavery and bondage, and requested a compromise situation for the purposes of weaning its agricultural-based economy off of the hard work of slaves and to another manner of production (including the introduction of some industry). The compromise was a 20-year grace period to accomplish the transition from their slave-based agricultural local economy. For 20 years, the Congress of the United States would not be able to abolish slavery for good. In fact, Section 1.9.1 memorializes this compromise: “There will be no prohibition of slavery before 1808.” [Something went terribly wrong after that though and the abolishionists couldn’t get a majority in Congress to pass the legislation in 1808; hence, we eventually had to fight a civil war].
I bring this up to lay the foundation for a remark that George Mason, a delegate from Virginia, one of our Founding Fathers, made in regard to this concession. Mason was a staunch opponent to slavery, even though he owned several. He said: “This infernal traffic originated in the avarice of British merchants. They British government constantly checked the attempts of Virginia to put a stop to it. The present question concerns not the importing states alone but the whole Union. Maryland and Virginia have already prohibited the importation of slaves expressly. North Carolina had done the same in substance. Slavery discourages arts and manufacturing. The poor despise labor when they know there are slaves to do it. Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of Heaven on a country. As Nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.” I believe Mason was right. I believe Providence did punish this nation by the greatest national calamity of all – our Civil War. In that great war, 620,000 Americans died to end slavery and to reunite the states and the issue then went on to divide the country for years after.
We need to get our house in order. We need to end the use of words that divide and prevent the willingness to live together in respect and cooperation. We can’t stop talking about issues that will benefit the country as a whole and preserve the nation. If petty differences prevent this, then I believe Providence will again punish us. And this time, we won’t be able to rebound. We’ve already been warned and given the chance to get our make good on our promise to God, which was to recognize that all men are created equal with the same endowed rights.
Make no mistake about it. Our country is on a collision course with destruction. The policies it has embraced over the past years has put it on a course for failure. We’ve willfully neglected and ignored our Constitution. We have intentionally chosen to ignore the words of our Founding Fathers, the wisest men in our history, and the very men who gave us the greatest nation on Earth. Over the years, our politicians and even our Supreme Court Justices have ignored the Constitution, claiming that it is out-of-date, out-of-touch with the American people, and ineffective to meet our growing diversity and our evolving society. They argue that the Founders are outdated and that they have lost relevance. They say all these things because they believe that our Founding Fathers were products of their era and could not foresee the societal change that has evolved in this country. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our Founders absolutely understood how the society would develop. The men who gave us the greatest nation on Earth weren’t just a couple of guys who went to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to hammer out the wording of a Constitution that would be binding on all the states. These men were visionaries. These men did their homework. They were deeply devoted to creating a nation that would stand the test of time. They wanted to come up with a foundation, a Constitution, that would not wither with the times. And so for that purpose, they studied all the failed regimes of history and they looked at all the constitutions and founding documents of other nations and studied the reasons why they were unable to last long. So, there is nothing that we’ve seen in our developing history that other nations haven’t dealt with and nothing that our Founders weren’t able to foresee. As Machiavelli wrote: “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.”
The problem with ignoring history is that each time history repeats itself, the price goes up. The stakes are higher. From their studies of history’s failed regimes, they came up with core principles that are absolutely vital to prevent this country from going down those same paths. They were wise enough to predict and to warn us of what would happen should we fail to honor and respect those principles. And there is nothing we see here today in this country that the Founders have not written about or warned us about.
The TEA Party is the one party that has taken up the cause that the Founders left behind when they passed, (and then when they apparently passed out of relevance). The only way the country can turn around is by a return to the principles that our Founders laid out for us. We need to divest the federal government of so much power, return it to the states where people can enjoy more of the freedom that God and our Founders envisioned. As Patrick Henry explained: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests?” That’s the true message of the TEA Party… that’s all. Anything else that may be said is extraneous, illusionary, and distracting. If we are going to get the country back on track, we cannot allow the TEA Party message to be distracted or diluted.
Our national motto is “E Pluribus Unum” – out of many, One. Let’s hold that message dearer than any message of division.
RESPONSE: Perhaps I shouldn’t have jumped in. I have little interest in the supposed “Tea Partiers are racist” debate. I wouldn’t say that it is true…in general. At any rate, who cares about that. You guys have Rush Limbaugh and racists and we have Michael Moore and potheads.
This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now