Our leaders use and abuse race for their own purposes.
"On a high wall overlooking the central court of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., the words of novelist James Baldwin are etched in stone: “The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it. . . . History is literally present in all that we do.”
"Baldwin’s words are particularly apt this week, as our leaders, for the millionth time, use and abuse race for their own purposes, committing sins against the past and the present.
"Before Mr. Trump entered the fray, the Democrats were engaged in the sort of tussle that couldn’t help but bring a smile to the lips of their opponents. Nancy Pelosi was attempting to corral her wayward members — the so-called “Squad” of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alyssa Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. Pelosi, clearly worried that four extremists were becoming the face of the Democratic party, thus diminishing the likelihood of Democratic success in 2020, had rapped their knuckles in a closed-door session last week. Pelosi warned the newcomers not to tweet against fellow Democrats, and added, “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world. But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.” Zing.
"In a different era, the smack of the speaker’s ruler would have cowed the upstarts. Speakers could determine what committees members sat on, whether projects were funded in their districts, and indirectly how much money they could raise. But in the Internet age, parties and leaders have lost influence. Social media allows members to reach their niche audiences and keep the money flowing. The more performative they are on Twitter, the more secure.
"And so, the freshmen did what progressives so often do — they reached for the accusation of racism. " . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment