Six Degrees of Liberal Racism

that those of us with at least one Caucasian American parent, including Sen.<br><br> Barack Obama, might have had slave holders in our family trees. Imagine that. If all this reminds you of the six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon, then welcome to the real world.<br><br> If you aren't familiar with the small world concept, it is the reasonable statistical probability that everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth. Two words explain why the media find this nonsense so fascinating: liberal racism. Read Jim Sleeper's excellent 1997 book with that name, subtitled: "How fixating on race subverts the A merican dream." "Racialism" is a softer descriptive v ersion of the race consciousness demanded by the MainStream Media, and by the folks who mis-educate our children at major universities--the two institutions where you will most often encounter the unholy trinity of Diversity, Multiculturalism, and A ffirmative Action.<br><br> Y ou can also witness this religious belief system on the not-so-mainstream media, Monday through Thursday nights, on Comedy Central. I have to confess to being addicted to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, but I want to gag when John Stewart and Stephen Colbert show how enlightened they are on the subject of race. In a fawning interview with Sharpton, neither funny nor intelligent, Stewart did his bit for spreading the received wisdom of leftie racialism by letting an outrageous demagogue have his fix of TV-time crack.<br><br> A nd almost every night, Colbert lets us know with smug ironic "humor" that he doesn't "see race." It's sad, because both of these guys are smart. Unfortunately, their intellects are informed b y liberal attitudes appropriate to the 1950's, before America enjoyed a seismic shift away from actual racism. But if you listen to the trainers, minority contractors and civil rights "leaders" representing the Diversity Industrial Complex, who make their livings by perpetuating a myth that we're all a bunch of bigots, you would have to conclude America hasn't moved past the era of Theodore Bilbo and the White Citizens Council.<br><br> Left liberal hallucinations about rampant racism are fed not just by indoctrination of the y oung on college campuses but by almost daily news "reporting" that demands we see everything from individual medical conditions to public school test scores and access to the internet through the prism of race and ethnicity. All of these disparities can be traced to economic and educational achievement differences among individuals, arbitrarily grouped into demographic cohorts by those who demand we imagine racism as a master narrative explanation. Media and academic insistence on tribal identity consciousness begets foolish public policy initiatives, like the Virginia legislature's recent "apology" for the Commonwealth's 2008 Polls NationalIowaNew HampshireGeneral Election GOP | Dem GOP | Dem GOP | Dem Head-to-Head SEND TO A FRIEND | PRINT ARTICLE Terry Michael Author Archive Latest From this Author Six Degrees of Liberal Racism Dog Ate Gov.<br><br> Vilsack's Homework Identity Politics as Therapy Ads by Goooooogle Coffee Exposed A shocking secret coffee co's don't want you to know www.coffeefool.com Liberal Bumper Stickers Bumper stickers and car magnets inspired by liberal America. www.pressforpro g ress.com Bethany College A small college of distinction In the beautiful foothills of WV www.bethan y wv.edu LOGIN | REGISTER | RSS SEARCH RCP Page 1of 2 RealClearPolitics - Articles - Six Degrees of Liberal Racism 3/7/2007 htt p ://www.realclear p olitics.com/articles/2007/03/six _ de g rees _ of _ liberal _ racism.html history of slavery. Weren't the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 rather more substantive apologies?<br><br> The cup may be half full in the fight against liberal racism. Many of us who were sold on identity politics in our youth have been de-programmed with intelligent work by courageous black writers like Shelby Steele and Thomas Sowell, who have braved Amish- style shunning to tell the truth about race. A s I often challenge my political journalism students, if you want to end race consciousness in America, stop enforcing race consciousness!<br><br> Terry Michael is director of the Washington Center for Politics & Journalism and writes at his "libertarian Democrat" blog, www.terrymichael.net . Related Topics: Media | Race Issues | EMAIL FRIEND | PRINT | RSS | ADD TO DEL.ICIO.US | ADD TO DIGG Sponsored Links A ds by Goooooogle Coffee Exposed A shocking secret coffee co's don't want you to know www.coffeefool.com Bad News, Liberals Win Who can fight the Liberal Media ? New handbook tells all.<br><br> www.churchofthespiritoftruth.com Liberal Bumper Stickers Bumper stickers and car magnets inspired by liberal America. www.pressforprogress.com Bethany College A small college of distinction In the beautiful foothills of WV www.bethanywv.edu About Us | Contact | Advertise | Privacy Policy © RealClearPolitics 2006 Page 2of 2 RealClearPolitics - Articles - Six Degrees of Liberal Racism 3/7/2007 htt p ://www.realclear p olitics.com/articles/2007/03/six _ de g rees _ of _ liberal _ racism.html

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