I am often disturbed by the common used argument by Liberals these days; they don't like Obama because they are racist. This all too common statement undermines the very fabric of political debate. It demeans the person making the argument to a point where no validity is reached in discourse. Those on the opposing side automatically tune out anything that the accused has to say, because, who would listen to a racist, after all? This argument is not only used here on the internet in personal and group debates, but also in the public sphere where talking heads constantly point to racism as the motivation for opposition to Obama.
Let's step back for a moment, and recap some history regarding racism in general terms. First of all, racism exists, and few deny this. Racism exists on both sides of the political spectrum as well as across all nationalities, sex, creed, religion, etc. In other words, picking out racism is not a one-sided conversation; to suggest otherwise would be ignorant in and of itself. Second, the election of Obama was a great moment in American history from the standpoint that we had our first black President. It took more than 50% of the voting public to elect him (this is important to keep in mind later in this post). Third, we have an ugly history when it comes to racism; from slavery to voting rights and even after that point. Few Americans are proud of this deplorable history we share, and many work to overcome this and to heal the nation.