Toure: Electoral Map Looks Just Like Confederate Map
Andrew Sullivan originally made this point and Republicans can whine all they want about this, but this is deeper than politics. This is about the racism built into US culture, into humanity. In 1864, if you focus on the states in existence at the time, Lincoln was looking at the exact same map that Obama is looking at in 2012. In 1864, Lincoln was a Republican advocating the end of slavery. In 2012, Obama is America's first black President and a Democrat. The exact same map is staring him in the face. This speaks directly to the fundamental cultural reality of the USA and of the south. The parties 'switched sides' when Johnson signed into law Kennedy's Civil Rights Act in 1964. That fundamental divide has not disappeared in modern America. The scar of slavery and the legacy of the fight for Civil Rights still stands for all to see.
On a positive note, I still believe that America is light years ahead of most countries in the world on the issue of racism, despite the racism that exists in America, because no other country has such an honest and open dialogue about race relations as the United States. Anyone prepared to criticize it must also acknowledge the genius of the 'open' political fight that has taken place on this issue. Other countries tend to pretend that they are far more advanced on the issue, but with the exception of Canada, I maintain that no other culture has made the strides that America has made on this issue, and their starting point, constitutionally institutionalized slavery, was one of the most difficult to confront.
Andrew Sullivan originally made this point and Republicans can whine all they want about this, but this is deeper than politics. This is about the racism built into US culture, into humanity. In 1864, if you focus on the states in existence at the time, Lincoln was looking at the exact same map that Obama is looking at in 2012. In 1864, Lincoln was a Republican advocating the end of slavery. In 2012, Obama is America's first black President and a Democrat. The exact same map is staring him in the face. This speaks directly to the fundamental cultural reality of the USA and of the south. The parties 'switched sides' when Johnson signed into law Kennedy's Civil Rights Act in 1964. That fundamental divide has not disappeared in modern America. The scar of slavery and the legacy of the fight for Civil Rights still stands for all to see.
On a positive note, I still believe that America is light years ahead of most countries in the world on the issue of racism, despite the racism that exists in America, because no other country has such an honest and open dialogue about race relations as the United States. Anyone prepared to criticize it must also acknowledge the genius of the 'open' political fight that has taken place on this issue. Other countries tend to pretend that they are far more advanced on the issue, but with the exception of Canada, I maintain that no other culture has made the strides that America has made on this issue, and their starting point, constitutionally institutionalized slavery, was one of the most difficult to confront.
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