Hopefully, American Voters Will Not Base Their Vote on Race
Dec. 13, 2006— -- I don't know if America is ready to accept a black president.
Everyone I know has absolutely no problems with the concept, but I have always lived in and around big, multicultural cities. I don't have any special insight into how many racists there are in the country.
I honestly cannot conceive of a person so stupid and shallow that they actually think there is a mental difference among races. Of course, there is no evidence to support such a conclusion and in fact, there is overwhelming scientific evidence to prove the contrary. Ironically, the racists believe they are smarter for believing something that proves they are dumber -- or at least, less educated.
How many of these painfully ignorant people are there in America? I don't know. I can only hope that there aren't too many, or enough to swing a presidential election.
So, it is perhaps my naiveté that leads me to conclude that the American people are at least not racist enough to swing a national election based on our racism. For whatever reason, that is my hope and my belief.
Religion, on the other hand, is another matter. Religious bias against Muslims is far more prevalent and defended by many in the media and politics. The Glenn Becks and the Dennis Pragers of the world find it perfectly acceptable to single out Muslims for discrimination and suspicion. This might be a much bigger problem for Barack Obama.
Why? Obama isn't Muslim, he is Christian. Problem solved. Not exactly.
As conservative pundit Ed Rogers pointed out on MSNBC a couple of weeks ago, Sen. Obama's middle name is "Hussein." So, how long do you think it'll be before the right wing starts referring to the senator from Illinois as Barack Hussein Obama? Not very long, since it's already started.
Now, the real question is how many Americans will go into voting booth and check off the box for Barack Hussein Obama as the next President of the United States? There, I have my doubts.
But I hope to God that the press doesn't write him off based on this. It would be very ironic for the press to assume that the American people are racists or biased and hence, minimize the senator's chances, thereby helping the cause of the racists and the biased.
Cenk Uygur is host of "The Young Turks" on Air America Radio.
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