Who Are the Cowards?

I wrote piece earlier last week, which can be read here, where I commented on Attorney General Eric Holder's speech on race, where he called all of us a 'Nation of Cowards'. At the time, I understood what he meant, and generally, speaking out against latent racism in this country is important.

However, my anger toward the comments has also steadily increased. Why? Well, as Eric Holder preceded to call all of us cowards, many on the left took to taking pot shots at us for various racial issues.

First was the Chimpanzee cartoon in the New York Post. I am not going to reiterate all my previous thoughts on the issue. But where is the cowardice on this issue. The NY Post and the cartoonist basically apologized if they insulted anyone inadvertantly, but were adamant that they were not making any racial implications. People from Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and even the NAACP called for heads to roll. My question is, which is more cowardly? If you really want to make racial progress in this country, it would have been much more successful to have a thoughtful discussion on why some felt the cartoon was clearly racist, while others didn't believe so. And despite stalwarts on both sides, there is facts that support both views. But instead, the left instantly yelled 'racism!', which frankly in this day and age ends all discussion.

Then, Rep. Jim Clyburn of Sout Carolina made derogatory statements about Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Sanford, one of the biggest deficit hawks in the country, said that he was not certain how much of the money from the recent Stimulus plan he would take. Clyburn then attacked other Republican Governors, including Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, for 'not representing minority communities.'

Sorry, but there is no courage in throwing the racial bomb, especially when race was not an issue. It was Clyburn who cowardly injected race into was should be a purely political issue.

My anger over the entire Holder episode increased as I thought about the lives he, and our President, have lived. Mr. Obama went to a primarily African-American Church, and belonged primarily to African-American groups for much of his time in the decade before he became Senator. I wonder if Mr. Holder feels Mr. Obama was a coward, because he didn't have the courage to go to a White Church?

As long as people are willing to throw the term 'racist' around so freely, with little factual reason to do so, we will not have the public discourse we need on race. And just look at the accusers I am pointing to; they are all from the left. And even more important, not one of the issues being discussed by those who have been accused of racism had any type of racial connotation. Not one. In fact, race has almost been a non-issue since Obama was elected; anyone notice? The only time race has been injected into the discussion, it has been by the left.

If Mr. Holder really wanted more open, frank discussion on race he would have defended the New York Post. Why? Like James Taranto states in the Wall Street Journal,

Which brings us back to Eric Holder. If Americans are shy about discussing race, a big reason is the culture of intimidation promoted by people like Al Sharpton in the name of racial sensitivity. "Frank discussion" requires a willingness to trust that one's interlocutor is acting in good faith. If Attorney General Holder is serious about promoting racial candor, let him use this incident to make the point. That would show a bit of courage on his part.

Mr. Holder calls us a nation of cowards. Maybe so. But many of the cowards that I see are those calling others racists.