Ending Racism
Where Are We Today?
By Daniel Muniz

For some people, nothing makes their blood boil more than the topic of prejudice and discrimination, especially in an explosive politically charged environment. Of divisive issues, perhaps class warfare would be a good second runner-up but that topic is often tied up with racism. So where are we today with racism?

For the polarized segments of America, prejudice and discrimination is a simple cut and dry topic (perhaps too simple).

On the left, there are plenty of racial arsonists, such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who firmly believe that America is no better off today than it was during the segregation era or even back to slavery. In fact, so many racial arsonists and their avid supporters adamantly feel that the United States is the most racist country on the planet even though in our current generation there are plenty of nations that have experienced genocide and “ethnic cleansing” based on skin color, ethnicity, or religion (or a combination of all of the above).
 

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Consequently, there are also plenty of white liberal elites who kowtow to the racial arsonists. And they do it not because they are as passionate as the racial arsonists are, but they simply see it as another convenient way to demonize Republicans and their leadership.

On the right, there are a number of conservatives who have a hard time believing that racism ever existed in any great severity in this country or at the very least, simply downplay its extent. They tend to see the racial arsonists as being the only bigots especially since the arsonists are intentionally inflaming racial tensions. The right has a legitimate beef but they sometimes suffer a bit of historical amnesia.

However, there happens to be a huge swath of people who are, more or less, in the middle.

This middle group includes a large number of conservatives and liberals as well as plenty of people who are unaffiliated with either party or political ideologies. And unlike the proclivities of influential leaders from the left or the right, many people in the middle tend to see racism as being a more complex multifaceted issue.

That is, racism has not been completely eradicated, but that enormous seismic progress has been made. Prejudice is no longer institutionalized as it once was but certain individuals haven’t let go of it either.

And as a conservative Hispanic, I often feel that I am caught in the middle.

I naturally reject the racial arsonists and the racial organizations who merely seek to exploit racism for their own political gain. And I also denounce the paranoid type of minorities who see racism under ever stone and ignore the tremendous accomplishments from the civil rights movement. This hysteria covers almost every facet of life, from banking, to medicine, and even religion (as if God has an affirmative action program).

But I also reject the WASPs who greatly downplay the severity of racism or who have selective amnesia about the cruel history of segregation and prejudice. And living in the South, I have had my share of encounters with rednecks. And unlike upscale WASPs, some rednecks proudly admit that they have no amnesia of the past and many can vividly recall how segregation once played a dominant role in life.

Perhaps the most difficult thing for me to deal with is the right-wingers who nostalgically reminisce about the supposedly golden era before the turbulent 1960’s. I have seen quite a few of them get misty-eyed about these so-called “good times” (something similar to Trent Lott). And many conservatives look at me as if I have a horn sticking out of my forehead when I tell them that that era was awful and that I am glad that I did not live through it. It may have been a paradise for WASPs but it definitely was not a wonderful experience for anyone who was not white.

And where I am most flabbergasted is when WASPs attempt to explain to me that life wasn’t so bad for minorities before the civil rights movement. My parents and my grandparents lived through very tough times being Hispanic and poor. My father as well as my other relatives fought in foreign wars for this country but they still had to deal with the harsh realities of prejudice and discrimination back at home.

But times change and people change.

Very big changes did happen in this country that has had quite profound implications on the social dynamics of our culture. And for the people who accepted the changes (that includes minorities as well); the fabric of the nation was irrevocably altered for the better.

Unfortunately, there are some people who won’t let go of the past and there are others who have too easily forgotten it.

Although this nation is far from perfect, I do believe that I am living in the greatest country on earth. The United States is a land filled with almost unlimited opportunity and awesome potential for anyone who chooses to take advantage of it. I am proud to live here and I am proud to be an American.

And now that I have children who are half-white and half-Hispanic, I want them to grow up in a place where people no longer exploit racism or inflame racial tensions to advance a political agenda. Racism hasn’t ended but this country is a totally different place than what my parents and grandparents grew up in and it already has become a much better place for my children to grow up in.

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