Casual Observations 02-19-2009
February 19th, 2009
Iran now has enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb. Let’s hope President Obama’s fellow Democrats are correct when they claim that he’s as opposed to a nuclear Tehran as George W. Bush is.
…the more things stay the same. Activists are protesting the New York Post over this Sean Delonas cartoon:
I’m not a big fan of the cartoon’s woefully tone-deaf attempt to equate the current government (which is being lead by an African-American) with an out-of-control celebrity chimpanzee. But the more I read the consciously offended protestors’ sermonizing statements (“How dare you violate the President of the United States?”) the easier it is to look past the drawing’s dull humor.
Other than that, I think I speak for most Americans when I say, “yawn.”
Continuing the theme of President Obama’s post-racial America, Attorney General Eric Holder somberly lectured Justice Department employees yesterday about how the United States is “essentially a nation a nation of cowards” when it comes to race. Apparently concerned that Americans don’t mingle more outside their ethnic enclaves, he told the employees that they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.
Holder’s remarks have been compared to one of Obama’s speeches about race, which is accurate in that some of Holder’s soft-spoken oration is appealing. He emphasized that Americans must be more frank about racial matters, which at least implies that he’s not afraid of strong, vocal opposition to left-wing notions of racial justice. His talk about honest dialogue and accepting criticism where it is “justified” are likely mere platitudes, but they at least make me feel hopeful about the relationship between African-Americans and the rest of the country. He even acknowledged that Black History month is an “artificial device” used to promote discussion about racial matters.
Yet Holder erred when he claimed that Americans “simply do not talk enough” about race. Really? Rare are the neophytes who won’t bloviate about race until they pass out from a lack of oxygen. If there exists one political discussion every American has participated in, it’s the one about slavery, affirmative action, and reparations. Perhaps Holder is worried that Americans are sick of racial conflict, especially when both sides are segregated by large, semantic spaces (see above).
Besides, why is the Attorney General concerned with turning law enforcement’s attention to the common sociology professor’s pet peeves, especially when property crime is almost certain to rise as the economy falls, giving certain people an excuse to steal? It’s not the Justice Department’s job to advance a specific brand of racial harmony; it’s their responsibility to maintain peace, so Americans of all races can prosper under rule of law. More Americans arguing about proportional representation from a standpoint they haven’t budged from since high school won’t achieve that.
As always seems to be the case in Obama’s young government, there’s a left-wing subtext underlying Holder’s words about the importance of racial dialogue. About three-quarters of the way through his sermon, Holder states that if the social problems affecting the poorest parts of the country aren’t addressed, they’ll affect the entire nation. This is simply a version of the left-wing argument that crime is perpetuated by socioeconomic means, as opposed to moral deficiency. So how come Mr. Holder can’t just spit that out? Why does he need to smuggle it into a ceremonial speech like pork in the controversial stimulus law? It appears as if the Attorney General needs to think more deeply about his own invertebrate insincerity.
Cross-posted at Modern Conservative