The haters didn’t take long to take advantage of the Supreme Court decision to strike down a key part of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Provided a platform on left-wing MSNBC, Rev. Al Sharpton ranted that the ruling “revoked” and “cancelled” Martin Luther King’s dream. That statement is as preposterous as it is stupid. In his famous “I have a dream” speech, King said, “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.” That dream has never been closer to realization than in today’s America.
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Sharpton’s warning that the sky is falling on the heads of black America overlooks how far the country has come since the VRA was passed in 1965. Exhibit A for the defense of America sits in the White House. A fundamentally racist people would not have elected and then re-elected Barack Obama, a black man, over two white-bread opponents. This same nation has had two black secretaries of state (both Republicans, by the way) and currently has a black attorney general and a black justice on the Supreme Court (a conservative who supported the VRA decision).
The success of modern black leaders in business and politics has to be overlooked by haters like Sharpton whose ideology is based on the proposition that race matters above all other factors in society. There’s a lot of money in this racket. Rev. Jesse Jackson, who called the court’s ruling “a devastating blow,” has made a fortune on corporate boards that give him a seat to avoid walkouts and other blackmail tied to trumped-up charges of racist business practices. Personal, individual enrichment for these race baiters depends on maximizing divisions, not bringing people together. To maintain their lifestyles, the grievance peddlers need to keep the fires of hatred and animosity burning. When everybody gets along, Sharpton and Jackson are out of work.
Another insidious practice of the haters is to attack any person of color who doesn’t blindly follow the liberal line. Sharpton criticized conservative Herman Cain’s GOP presidential run, calling the businessman’s positions on issues “a joke.” Lowering the level of discourse even more is hack Minnesota state legislator Ryan Winkler (who is white), who tweeted out that, “VRA majority is four accomplices to race discrimination and one Uncle Thomas” – that ugly epithet from the past referring to Justice Thomas, the black jurist who has dared vote against affirmative action and other racial preferences. Intrinsic to the activism of these race peddlers is the innately racist assumption that blacks like Justice “Uncle Thomas” can’t think for themselves or come to their own conclusions. That’s politics at its worst, and saddest.
What the professional haters ignore is that the Land of the Free is by design a work in progress, and forward progress has been consistent throughout our history.
America isn’t a nation based on ethnicity, history or religion but was founded on an idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as the Declaration of Independence put it so well. Of course, the United States is not perfect. We are a nation of human beings, and the country reflects the weaknesses, flaws and prejudices of the people. But unlike anywhere else, America keeps moving forward creating a more just existence for everyone.
Race-mongers like Sharpton want to keep us chained to an ugly past for their own business reasons and prevent everyone from marching toward a better future together. Our better angels will keep winning, which is why some historical remnants like parts of the Voting Rights Act no longer have a purpose.
Written by Brett M. Decker for the Rare Editorial Board. Disclosure: Herman Cain and Rare’s editors work for the same company. Follow us on Twitter @Rare