Our Voice Now

By now most people have heard about the cover of The New Yorker. They claim it is a satire. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but I doubt they would do that about McCain.

But that real issues plaguing America goes far deeper than being offended over a magazine cover. On Friday night, on CNN’s Election Center, they did a piece where one of their reporters is now travelling around the nation finding out what the average voter thinks. During the West Virginia primaries three elderly woman shocked many by blatently stating they would not vote for Obama because one believed that Blacks were a problem and why would she vote for a race we have problems with. One said he was a Muslim and she would never vote for a Muslim and the other said she was sick of Hussein.

Fine, people laughed, figured they were old women from West Virginia (which played into the stereotype of W. VA) and figured they were in the minority. Their comments did not represent the South by any means.

Until Friday… their reporter went to a minor league baseball game in Nashville. The first person they interviewed was again an older woman who has voted Democrat for 18 years. This year she is voting for McCain. Why? I was waiting for the age issue or that she was a bitter Hillary supporter - lame but acceptable reasons. No. Her reason? He’s a Muslim. She then referred them to her friend who is more politicially involved. He was 50-something. He was not voting for Obama because, and I do quote “I’m an old Southern Boy. I don’t see a black man making change. The only black man I’ve seen make change had a cup in his hand.” Yes, he said that. On camera. And said it as if there was nothing wrong with it - that everyone in the world says it.

THAT is what is wrong with America. The South for far too long has been laughed at as a bunch of inbred rednecks who’s opinion and voice doesn’t really matter and it’s okay that they stay racist and ignorant because they are the south. Well maybe it’s time we force the South into the 21st Century. Maybe it’s time we stop laughing at them and start holding them accountable for choosing to remain ignorant and hold onto the views of the 1950’s.

We have chosen to ignore that racism is a problem in this country because no one wants to talk about it. It’s an uncomfortable topic that will get both sides up in arms and fighting but the fact is, it needs to be dealt with. Whatever one’s views are regarding Obama the fact is that maybe he had to run to make the rest of us see what we have been ignoring and allowing to be acceptable practice in this country for far too long.

How do we, as a nation, have a right to invade other countries and tell them how they are supposed to run their government and how they are to work for peace when we are ignoring so many major problems and issue in our own country with our own people?

How do we, as a nation, expect to move forward when we allow such a large part of our nation to remain in the past?

The New Yorker should be held accountable for their cover. There is nothing funny about it when it is a cover made up of lied. But we should all be held accountable for not dealing with the real problems in this nation on an individual basis.

And why have none of the people who make such an issue that Obama did not wear a flag lapel pin gotten up in arms over the fact that The New Yorker’s cover shows a burning flag?

EDIT: I would like to clarify that my response wasn’t so much to the fact that The New Yorker used that cover but the double standard that a) they probably wouldn’t have done that to McCain and b) if they had heads would have rolled before the ink was dry. And yes, my comments regarding the South are a bit hypocritical it would seem and not all Southerners are like that but that guy in Nashville really, really ticked me off. Yet on the flip side - there is still a lot of that going on in the South (and yes, some in the North and West) whether we like to admit it or not.

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