Oh Matt… there’s no half-joking about it. I honestly think it’s a full-on reality. Look at some of the stuff that Howard Dean has said. (There’s literally too much for me to recount; I just don’t have the time.) Further—look at Kerry… (Can I get me a hunting license here?) The disconnect between politicians and their constituents is just astounding—on both sides of the isle. I honestly wish there were term limits. Being a politician just shouldn’t be a career; once it becomes that way, the looming threat of re-election totally screws up everything. It becomes a race of pandering, rather than doing what may be right.

The thing is—I know I may come off as some kind of typical neo-con… but it may be better described as an all-around frustration at a democratic system that is fatally flawed and will ultimately break. And the single biggest and most pervasive underlying fault for said breakdown is the relativism of ethics and morality. But we’ve been there, done that.

Secondly—I may have offended 100% of our female readership the other day. So please let me take this opportunity to say that I love the ladies! (And the ladies from your home town are the best! Am I right?) (Ok—that was an obscure Kids in the Hall reference.) I would also like to take this opportunity to point out the obvious. Michelle speaks academic. :) Matt—tell me if the words “internal validity” and “external validity” make it into any Enlow family “discussions.” (Not that I’m looking into the mirror or anything; clearly, nothing of the sort has ever erupted from my lips…)

But as far as racism… I’m honestly not buyin’. Sorry. Prejudcie—I get. Prejudice isn’t a bad thing. It’s what keeps us alive. That milk smells bad—I’m not drinking it. A benefit of pre-judging. That arab looks a bit jittery; let’s put him through extra screening. I’m ok with that. Unfounded prejudice is another thing entirely. And when it all comes down to it, it’s a facet of life and reality in which we all must deal. I just wish our culture would shut up about it.

But what’s racism? What exactly is racism? How is it defined? Am I a “racist” when I asked a (black) mother to turn down her amplified speaker so I could talk to another parent in the observation room? (The black mother certainly seemed to think so…) Am I racist when it annoys me that there are different standards for students relative to special boxes on an application? What about a po-dunk private-entity family “church” that approves segregation? While dumb, how is that act (in and of itself) specifically “racist”? Are people not allowed a certain amount of freedom within the confines of their own property? I don’t oppress people, and I really don’t see any other legitimate oppression out there—at least within the U.S. We’re at the point were people are oppressing themselves by believing the lies in which they are fed. That’s not oppression; that’s pseudo-oppression. So if there’s no real oppression, then where’s all this racism (in its truest form—whatever that may be)?

I guess what I’m getting at is this: As long as there is opportunity for all, then how can the concept of racism exist? Despite the liberal agenda, there is no “equal” (in terms of opportunity or outcome), and life is generally unfair. Suck it up and deal with that. As such, the concept of “racism” seems to be invoked as a methodology to keep this myth of entitled equality alive. And despite our best efforts, such a utopia will never occur.