There's been a disturbing growth of racism in the US for the last two years; now, what was it that happened two years ago? I wonder... Oh, a Black man was elected to the White House! Aha! This angered many in the Congress, and the media, and was the beginning of the "Tea Party" movements around the country. Its been a rollercoaster of guns, FUD, and exclamations of "Taking back our country !". But, underneath it all is fear. Fear that the status quo is going to be altered; that power and the concept of privilege will be transferred, lost, irretrievably. This isn't new, its a social model that has repeated in the past whenever the country starts to suffer economic disaster. What's important is to step back, make up your own mind on where YOU stand, and live as an individual whose actions reflect thought and altruism.
The "tea party" is working hard (with Millions of dollars being thrown to them by corporate interests) to keep the dialogue centered on slim slogans, subtle racist messages, and class-centric imagery. Its working too. Unfortunately this is not only misleading and manipulative, it is managing to inhibit examination of the true sources of the world's current economic fall.
Can anyone say banker? Wall Street? Crooks?
Has anyone seen our "fearless leaders" insisting those whose greed and uses of a de-regulated economy, be tossed into court? No. And you won't.
We're a democratic country, not a capitalist country, herein is the confusion. So, just keep the racism ball rolling; its easy to start, easy to use, and hard to battle.