re: #242 Joan

Many African-American people I know have versions of this egg sculpture in their homes—it is, I think, based on some traditional wood carving styles from West Africa (Ghana?). It isn’t sinister or uncommon. As for the dang “blue book” that is sheer capitalist entrepreneurship—and, no more sinister than the hero-worship of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. at MLK-Day gatherings.

I think African-American people are among the most resilient, loyal, enduring, faith-filled people in our country. It has been a privilege for me to work on various “team oriented” civic and service projects with them—they know how to organize, how to “make a way when there ain’t know way!” and they do find inspiration in Africa-centric artwork, mythology, traditions.

These are also fierce, fearsomely passionate individuals, and I would never want to come between them and a cherished, beloved member of the great extended family of black people in America. I don’t think I will ever understand, and Obama is their son, their darling, their pride. Therefore my dissent—even here, my free-speech “home” on LGF—needs to be dissent from policies, anger at bad ideas and failed ideology. We are on very thin ice and on dangerous ground. I have to watch myself, speaking just for myself, because sometimes I shoot from the lip.

Well said however, when are we going to get past this? Contrary to what some Europeans say, we do have our own collective culture which is a sum of all of our ethnic parts. Sure, we carry part of our ancestors with us and cherish it but we are all (or should be) part of the American culture. America isn’t just the place where we live; it is who we are and that is where I believe the whole multiculturalism movement is destructive. No, I don’t think that our culture should be defended and protected by dictate like the French do, but it should be freely accepted and that acceptance should be expected.

I think much of these “cultural differences” between black people who couldn’t find Africa on a map and white people who couldn’t find Europe on a map is a contrived and artificial difference.

There are those who may say “it’s a black thing, you wouldn’t understand” and perhaps they are right. I’m of Irish heritage, and what the English did to my ancestors was nothing short of genocide, but that was then and this is now.

Obama himself said that we need to “put away the childish things” - perhaps this “cultural difference” between 20th generation blacks and 20th generation whites is one of the childish things that’s in dire need of being put away. Obama is in a unique position to do just that, regardless of the damage that I fear he will do on other fronts.

“E Pluribus Unim” should be what we should strive for; A little unity would go a long way right now.