Editor,
I am thankful that I was born in today's historical epoch than any other. This is because our American society is finally making great leaps toward the "Promised Land" that Dr. King once dreamed of. In many ways we are about to say goodbye to the ways of the past in which we discriminated against others because of the color of their skin. We are unquestionably moving in the correct direction on our journey toward social justice and racial equality, yet I feel that we have a long way to go.
With the column last Friday by Scott Darnell, "Politics Don't Reflect Race," I was intrigued by what he had to say about race in today's political realm. Mr. Darnell writes, "Black conservatives, and conservatives as a whole, along with many moderates, simply feel our nation's bad racial history is behind us (our societal worldview has changed)." As much as I wish this statement were true not only for conservatives but also for all Americans, I cannot help but conclude that conservatives are missing a key piece of the civil rights movement.
The key that conservatives are missing is the thought that our long and hard history with racial inequality is behind us. Each day, we are inundated with different acts of racism in many different forms. Just because we do not have the community lynching like the ones of the south after the Civil War, does not mean that racism has been erased from society's way of thinking.
Take for example the death of James Byrd Jr., who was dragged to his death chained to the back of a pick-up in 1998. His body was so ripped apart that there was a trail of body parts strewn throughout Jasper, Texas. Racism is not only in physical actions, it is also when a Republican majority leader in the U.S. Senate makes remarks that America would have been better off having the segregationist, Strom Thurmond, be president in the 1940's. So how is it "conservatives as a whole" believe that racism is behind us?
What started out as a movement for the civil rights of blacks has now begun to include other minorities of American society. Also in 1998, Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten to the point of near death and was left tied to the fence for 18 hours before help arrived, even then it was too late. Although Matthew was not part of a racial minority, he was part of the gay and lesbian minority of America.
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From the times of Moses liberating the slaves of ancient Egypt to the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century, the fight for social justice and equality is as old as the dawn of time and as young as the morning dew. Our society is still waiting for a modern Moses to part the sea of hate, injustice, and ignorance in order for us all to reach the Promised Land.
Paul C. Campbell
UNM student
