Race Relations

If ever there were two words in the English language that when appearing together were the epitome of an oxymoron, "race relations" are it. Aren't we all humans? We all belong to the same race after all; the human one. To say that we have a problem with "race relations" is the same as saying that we have a problem relating to each other as people isn't it? Perhaps Rodney King did ask the right question after all, "Can't we all just get along?"

As far as the Obamaphoria goes, I find it sappy at best and a little sickening at worst. He is a man. He puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like you or I do. His pants don't know or care what color his skin is and neither should we. In the grand scheme of things it is largely unimportant. What is important is what he does, not who he is, or what he thinks, feels, or says (even if he is a great orator).

Do we really know the racial makeup of the other 43 Presidents? They all appeared to be Caucasian, but what is "white"? Our ancestors were European, so many have multicultural family histories. They were from England, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain. When they arrived here they took as wives from the natives who lived here. We are a "melting pot", a hodge-podge, a quilt work society as it were, and we have been that way from the beginning. Why is it then that over 200 years later, that some continually lord it over the rest about the sad state of "race relations"?

People still have bills to pay like mortgages, auto loans, medical bills, and legal bills. How is Obama's race going to help people with that? People need good paying jobs. Our economy is hemorrhaging jobs at the astonishing rate of almost 3 million per year and yet people are positively giddy about having elected a "black man" as President. How is that going to reverse the trend; I don't understand it. It will be what he does that counts.

The time for talking is over. Now is the time for doing. Let's pray that he does it right and does it quickly. Let's also pray that we can start relating to each other with dignity and respect, as if we all belong to the same human race. Let's pray that we can put the stigma of the term "race relations" behind us and press onward and upward towards bigger and better things.