America Goes Astray

American politics has gone astray. Confusion is inadequate, but quite apropos. Going left is right, and going right is left. It makes no sense.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was such a powerful figure; his legacy so rich, that even 42 years post death, his name is powerfully provoked. August 28, 1963, King led the March on Washington, where he delivered his world acclaimed speech, "I Have a Dream" at the Lincoln Memorial. It was a day recorded in American history--the speech, the scene, the people.

Talk show host, Glenn Beck, held a March on Washington last weekend, and claims he didn't recognize the anniversary of King's historical moment, as he planned his day in the nation's Capitol but later stated that he now thinks it was "divine providence." Beck was on. Take America Back. The Tea Party Movement was alive as they imitated King's greatest moment. They had the media spotlight, as they resembled, "Saturday Night Live."

Glenn Beck

They made a charade of King's day and memory, making him what he wasn't and using family members to do so as well. It was like the Ku Klux Klan having an Affirmative Action program or a diversity membership recruitment drive. It was a very sophisticated media move as they played strategic politics.

Across the way Rev. Al Sharpton held his March on Washington. He injected the real spirit of King and his legacy but disappointedly played second fiddle to Beck. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson had a march with real authenticity in Detroit in a fight for jobs and played to no national media attention whatsoever.

The White House will not play into the hands of racial politics.

It may be smart politics or it may be dumb politics. Only time will tell. Beck is clever as he recreates the "hate" strategy using modern day scare tactics, of 'take our country back.' This is a loaded phrase. Take our country back from where or from whom? It translates into 'get the Black guy out of the White House.' It translates into 'let's get the Black guy.' As we watch Beck form "White Male Scare" logic nightly, it is not merely a scare tactic.

Beck has now started a movement that the White House will not respond to. Black leadership has weakened and their voices are ridiculed rather than heard, as was King's. The "younger" generation who thinks we live in a make believe "post racial" society because the ads are mixed and it is fashionable for white women to adopt Black babies and whites vote for Black political candidates and a variety of other fashionable notions, won't fight back.

Or, if you fight the obvious you are portrayed as a race whiner or too old to be listened to. So, the Beck methodology is brilliant because it begs response and there is none. He plays race politics in your face and there is still no address!

Consider this scenario: The President of the United States stands on the steps of The White House or returns to the scene of King's speech in front of the Lincoln statue and recalls The March on Washington with his very own speech on where America is, has been and where he is taking it. There would be confusion at street level. Such a speech would have brought clarity and then Beck would have been wiped out.

The bottom line is that, something is brewing in this country. The Tea Party is not to be ignored or denied. They are becoming a force and will have winning candidates as they play their game of politics. The Democratic Party is threatened. But underneath it all, there is the fear of the Black man, "keep the Blacks down" is the coded message. Let's take our country back sounds like a Ku Klux Klan warning.

There is something brewing in this country that is scary. I don't like the language. And I don't like the way the media is playing it. It is a moment of tough times, where many are threatened and not satisfied with their stations in life--jobs are threatened, homes are foreclosed, pensions are lessened, jobs are lost, and businesses are closing. People are turning on each other and everyone is looking for someone to blame for their ills. All is understandable, but the backward race game is not the way. What will be solved?

Last weekend with Beck in front of the Lincoln Mall, was a well-staged joke, if nothing less. It is time for this country to host a real meeting on race. The discussion needs to be open and honest and everyone needs to be present. Perhaps Bill Clinton could lead such an effort. Perhaps there should be another Million Man March.

Perhaps there will eventually be a leadership of genuine substance and an advocacy for positive and equal change.

Perhaps Dr. King's words will truly ring a bell, and at that moment we are all confronted and forced to Wake Up.