Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Morning Update VIII


'A More Perfect Union'
Barack Obama

Win or lose, I'm pretty sure this speech will be remembered as the most nuanced and important speech made about race in our (my generation's) time. Whether you like Obama or not, I think you can appreciate the fact that he actually talked about race.


For me, talking about race is extremely uncomfortable, as it means I must acknowledge my own privilege, while not succumbing to some overwrought and condescending "white guilt". I think most of white America feels this discomfort. Some react by lashing out against the so-called "PC culture"--turning their discomfort and resentment into self-righteous anger; some internalize it and lapse into a rather hapless, reactionary guilt; but most--and I include myself in this--tend to just ignore matters of race whenever possible. In our political discourse, the few times we talk about race, we speak in shorthand and dog-whistles, tepid and awkward. Putting aside Obama's politics--and there's plenty of good and bad to put aside--at the very least, he's opened the door for a serious conversation about race in this country. And that--love him or hate him--is a mitzvah in a country so paralyzed by this issue.