Time to face the truth.

Some of my best friends are racists. And they don’t know it. No. No. That’s wrong. They really know it. Instead, they won’t openly admit it.  They try to fool themselves.  Or maybe it’s that they are too ashamed. To face up to the truth. Many of our nation’s illustrious founders were racist. Of the worst kind. They owned slaves. Others may not have owned slaves. But they tolerated slavery. Overt racism. They thought of black people as inferior.   They thought of women as inferior, too. They thought of white men as superior. Especially rich white men. Those are some of the guiding principles. On which our nation was founded. And vestiges of these principles still remain. Less overtly. But nevertheless, racism is still a part of the American fabric. Inbred. Deep into our founding roots. We proclaim that the past is the past. That we’ve moved on. To a much better society.  But I don’t believe it.  We pass laws and rules. That make us feel better. But as a society. And as individuals. Many of us fall short.  No. No, we say. We’ve even elected a black president.  To two terms. Which is marvelous. On the surface.  But think about it. Barack Obama was stymied. Throughout his presidency. By racists who opposed his agenda. At every step. Not because of the issues. But because he was a black man. In a White House. Built by slave labor.  The white house was supposed to be exclusively. For white folks.  Black folks entered by the servants’ door. Think about it. Our president-elect. Ready to take office on Friday.  Became a candidate and the people’s choice. By campaigning for five years. Declaring that Barack Obama was an illegitimate president. That he wasn’t a U.S. citizen. Alleging that he was foreign born. Perhaps in Kenya. And that he might be a secret Muslim.  Many of Donald Trump’s followers. Still believe Trump’s ruse. Because they are racists. That’s why Trump won the election. He corralled the racist vote. He’s a racist in racist America.  Please tell me. In good conscience. That this ain’t true. You can’t. Because racism lives. Right here. In America. The so-called home of the brave and the land of the free.  I know better. We all should know better. Yes, America. It’s time to face the truth. ---Jim Broede