Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing the Imani Winds, a wind quintet that has an ecclectic selection of music (most notably from Latin America). The repertoire was diverse and energetic, the energy of the musicians was lively, and the overall musicianship was par excellence. I even enjoyed their final piece, which was actually entitled Freilich, a unique pleasure of hearing a wind quintet play klezmer. I even complimented the clarinetist on her handling of the style of music, which, if you're not Jewish, is next to impossible.
Why do I bring up this seemingly innocuous evening? Because, aside from being musicians, they all happened to be black. You know what my reaction was not like during the concert? "Oh, they're black, let's judge their musicianship." Instead, my reaction to the concert was "Wow, these people are great musicians, and their talents bring real joy to this world."
Moral of the story: Race DOES NOT matter! Religiously speaking, we were all created in G-d's image (Genesis 1:27). Secularly speaking, as the Declaration of Independence states, all men are created equal....and I think there was a little blurb about G-d given right being endowed by our Creator, but I think Jefferson must have been smoking something to have written that in because those atheists keep telling me that he was a Deist who didn't care much for G-d, but oh wait, there it is. This G-d-given endowment, whether from a secular or religious standpoint, is precisely why we, as human beings, are intrinsically deserving of equal treatment.
Like I judged those musicians by the merit of their musicianship, rather than the color of the skin, I judge Obama in the same fashion. I, like most Americans, much prefer a meritocracy. Yea, America has finally built enough racial acceptance to have a black man as President, let's move on to the issues at hand. If Obama puts forward an agenda with a yellow-bellied foreign policy, Keynsian economics, and Lefist/socialist misunderstandings of the world, I'm going to criticize him on precisely that--his actions, not his skin color! At this stage in the game, anybody who brings race into politics is only stalling Martin Luther King's dream of being judged on the character of a man. In the 21st-century, skin color can no longer be used as a smokescreen to hide from the real issues. Disagreement with Obama is not racism, it's merely the right to dissent, something that is guaranteed in the First Amendment. So let's talk issues, and not identity politics.
Memo to Al Sharpton: Get over yourself! You are part of the problem because you incite racism. It doesn't matter what I think about Rush Limbaugh, or his recent column in the WSJ, for that matter. You perpetuate racial tensions in this country by bringing it up all the time. Also, hone up to responsibility when you incited people during the Crown Heights riot by calling Jews "diamond merchants," which ultimately lead to that very mob killing Yankel Rosenbaum, an innocent Jew walking the street during this time. Once you, Jesse Jackson, and your ilk stop inciting racist feelings and tensions in this country, we can go beyond that which is skin-deep.
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