September 18, 2009

Dowd and Carter Guilty of That Which They Decry

I’m sure New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and former President Jimmy Carter derive a great deal of self-satisfaction slandering other people with false charges of racism, but the damage they’re doing to race relations is worse than any bona fide racist could dream of doing.

I ask you: Who is more likely racist, the person who sees race every time she turns around or the person who aspires toward colorblindness? Could those always pointing the accusatory finger be projecting their own discomfort with race?

Listen to how Maureen begins her snarky Sept. 12 column, in which she posited that Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie” outburst was driven by racism. She writes: “Surrounded by middle-aged white guys – a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own men’s club – Joe Wilson yelled ‘You lie!’ at a president who didn’t. But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!”

I’m sure New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and former President Jimmy Carter derive a great deal of self-satisfaction slandering other people with false charges of racism, but the damage they’re doing to race relations is worse than any bona fide racist could dream of doing.

I ask you: Who is more likely racist, the person who sees race every time she turns around or the person who aspires toward colorblindness? Could those always pointing the accusatory finger be projecting their own discomfort with race?

Listen to how Maureen begins her snarky Sept. 12 column, in which she posited that Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie” outburst was driven by racism. She writes: “Surrounded by middle-aged white guys – a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own men’s club – Joe Wilson yelled ‘You lie!’ at a president who didn’t. But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!”

I don’t know whether “middle-aged white guys” and “their own men’s club” flow more from some bitter feminist strain Dowd seems to possess or her liberal obsession with the superficial aspects of people’s differences in pigment, but it is nonetheless bizarre.

Why is it that Dowd sees race in the politicians sitting beside Joe Wilson? And why is she compelled to make “white guys” a pejorative? In her world, to be white and male is to be guilty. Well, I reject the charge, thank you, and would appreciate a little due process before condemnation by such self-proclaimed open-minded liberals as Dowd.

One of the main sins of racism is its devaluation of the individual worth of a member of a racial group based on membership in that group. How ironic that in her thinking and writings Dowd commits the very sin she decries: condemning “middle-aged white guys” by virtue of their skin color and age.

Moving on from Dowd’s indictment of Wilson’s hapless, pasty colleagues flanking him in the House chamber, Dowd explains that she has “been loath to admit that the shrieking lunacy of the summer … had much to do with race. … But Wilson’s shocking disrespect for the office of the president … convinced me: Some people just can’t believe a black man is president and will never accept it.”

Oh? I wasn’t aware that former President George W. Bush is black. For Dowd didn’t have the same sensitivities toward the Democrats’ “shocking disrespect for the office of the president” in their choral booing of President Bush in the House chamber. Perhaps that’s because the left had already so demeaned President Bush through their daily slandering that there was no way to further disrespect him, House chamber or not. What would have been noteworthy is if they’d showed him or the office a modicum of respect.

As for Dowd’s divination that “some people … will never accept” a black president, we’ll just have to assume she’s projecting or engaging in wishful thinking – the kind of thinking that leftists engage in about conservatives.

Indeed, many liberals like Dowd believe (I’m not assuming; they’ve told me) that conservatives – based solely on conservatives’ ideology – are racists. That’s how Dowd can freely jump to such an obscene conclusion about Wilson. Ultimately, it’s his conservatism, not his “you lie” utterance, that convinces her. Again, with such categorical thinking to condemn a member (Wilson) of a group (conservatives), Dowd commits the very sin she decries.

Then there’s the perennial sermonizer Jimmy Carter out on the stump affirming Dowd’s clairvoyance with his own: “There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president.”

What entitles Carter to make that leap? Oh, simple, it’s when people “begin to attack” him “as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler.” I wonder, then, why so many leftists depicted President Bush as Hitler.

I also wonder how Maureen Dowd, absent some strain of perversion in her thinking, can hear “You lie, boy!” in Rep. Wilson’s statement. I’m not denying that some white-on-black racism still exists, but Dowd and Carter are obviously manufacturing it here both to validate their own prejudices against conservatives and as a weapon to advance their policy preferences.

Most conservatives – and increasing numbers of independents and even some Democrats – strongly disapprove of Barack Obama’s policies and what we believe are his deceitful tactics in trying to implement them. He has earned this stunning reversal of support from taking office with 70 percent approval ratings.

But just as when Democrats blithely and recklessly accused President Bush of being racist because of deficiencies in the federal government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina, Dowd and Carter are doing great damage to race relations in this nation by attributing base racial motives to people where none exists, thereby legitimizing the worst fears of some that racism is thriving in places it is not. I’m sorry, but that is contemptible behavior.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.