RACE IS A DIRTY WORD

Dateline Dallas, TX - This political campaign just will never end, and when it does the next campaign will commence almost immediately. Just look at the members of the House of Representatives who have to run every two years. All our Representatives do is continuously raise money and spend an inordinate amount of their time preparing for their next election. Personally, I am a strong supporter of term limits, but that is a subject of another essay at another time.

This is the second time that your Commander has addressed the issue of race, but I feel compelled due to recent campaign tactics and assertations.

Recently I have witnessed the introduction of race into this Presidential campaign, and it is certainly not beneficial to ensure that our democracy will have selected the proper candidate. The word race is inflammatory, and certainly emotional. I suspect the insertion of race is well plotted, and is utilized to distort or redirect the voter’s thoughts about an individual candidate. Both parties are guilty of racism. If memory serves me correctly, I believe that Bill Clinton was the first one to significantly play the race card during the South Carolina Primary campaign earlier this year. However, the real shocker is that Obama is by far the worst offender in the presidential campaign using the race card.

I really believe that the United States is ready to elect a person of color as our President, and that includes all colors of the skin. We see several strong potential political figures on the horizon such as ex-Secretary of State General Colin Powell, ex-Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, and current Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to name a few.

Certainly, we are prepared to elect women to be president, and there are an abundance of very qualified ladies that meet the qualifications. Just look at the several successful female leaders of foreign governments in Great Britain, Germany, India, Japan, and the Philippines.

When the word RACE is mentioned or even inferred, everyone gets tense and objective reasoning goes out the window. My God, one would think we are still fighting the Civil War, and there are some narrow minded individuals who want to look back and not forward. I personally find looking back very informative if one is trying to learn from our past mistakes or historical experiences. It is the Commander’s opinion that we must always look forward, and we must remember to adapt or we will perish. Honestly, I find myself being guilty of just what I am criticizing here sometimes, but hopefully I have sufficient objective reasoning to quickly see the error of my ways.

Barrack Obama’s repeated refusal to release substantial documentation only causes further suspicions, and it plays into the hands of over-the-top conservative pundits. What does Obama have to hide? He certainly does not seem to want to disclose his past writings, past speeches or history of legislation, and earmarks. Why? If he is going to be my president, I want to know the answers to these questions, and concerns.

As clearly expressed before, I am concerned about Barrack Obama, because I do not believe he has been properly vetted by our apparently bias main-stream media. There are just too many unanswered questions left open to make me comfortable at the present time. There are far too many “urban legends” floating around to make me happy. Only time will tell, but I assure you it has nothing to do with his race.

It appears that the bulk of the American voters do not share my concerns, and Obama may be elected our next President. Only a huge new development or disclosure will change the current trends or sentiments. Change is clearly needed, but at what cost, and under whose leadership is it appropriate? I truly hope that if Obama is elected that I am wrong, and that his leadership proves me incorrect.

Education, objectivity, and clear thinking with full disclosure may get our nation out of our racial rut. I believe America, and the black (minority) community, are in the position we are in because of a lack of proper leadership and direction. Martin Luther King accomplished major strides against Herculean obstacles, but he was taken from us at far too young an age. There has been a true lack of leadership and certainly insufficient direction in the black community. There are plenty of black opportunists, such as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, but few true inspirational, honest leaders. Obama has yet to prove his leadership, but he has proven to be a skilled self-promoting opportunist.

We all come from different races…that doesn’t mean that anyone of us should be a racist. Race is a fact of life; racism is a cancer that we must find a cure for.

America needs desperately the presidential qualities of Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan. Again, I say TIME WILL TELL, and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

COMMANDER GRANGER