It's sobering how much race dominates the public discourse today. But as long as we're discussing stereotypes, we should note that leftists and elites are the ones obsessed with race, not the flyover Neanderthals to whom they impute this evil. Give it a rest, eggheads.
Leftists can scarcely discuss any issue without injecting this toxicity. They imagine it everywhere -- the ubiquitous boogeyman that validates their perpetual vilification of conservatives. (Note: I considered using "white men" instead of "conservatives" in the preceding sentence but realized it would be unwise because A) as a possessor and unwitting purveyor of white privilege, I'm not allowed to opine publicly on these matters and B) though race-baiting elites pretend white privilege is the culprit, neither women nor African-Americans are exempt from the taint if they are political conservatives.)
Think about it. Liberals invoke race in discussions of immigration, voting, sports, education, taxes, health care, welfare and law enforcement. It is sick stuff. Consider a few examples.
--President Trump calls himself a nationalist, and liberals accuse him of speaking in code -- signaling to his supposedly alt-right base that he's a neo-Nazi. Sorry, but Trump doesn't speak in code. What you see is what you get, and to him and his grateful base, "nationalism" means patriotism. They appreciate an American president who's unapologetically bullish on America.
--Border enforcement hawks don't see immigration through a racial lens. That leftists believe or pretend to believe we do may indicate they are projecting their own prejudices onto us. For us, it's about the rule of law, our national sovereignty and our national identity, which is distinctly based on ideas grounded in liberty, not race. We are a melting pot, and a compelling reason to control our borders is to ensure that immigrants enter at an orderly pace and learn to assimilate into our culture rather than settle into Balkanized ethnic enclaves.
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--Democrats constantly harp on alleged threats to "our democracy" -- which is odd, given their authoritarian proclivities, but again, they project. They see no inconsistency in advocating that immigrants here illegally be allowed to vote and railing against foreign interference in our elections. Here again, they invoke race. Republicans, they baselessly claim, suppress minority votes. If liberals truly cared about the integrity of "our democracy," they'd support voter identification measures, because reasonable people understand that you should have to prove you are who you claim to be before you can vote. How patronizing of Democrats to suggest that minorities are incapable of accomplishing this menial task as a condition for participating.
--With Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's victory in the Mississippi runoff election, Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris may be removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee, because Republicans will be entitled to another committee seat and Harris is the least senior member. But -- you guessed it -- Democrats are saying it's not about her seniority but about her race.
--Speaking of Sen. Hyde-Smith, Democrats, in a desperate effort to elect Mike Espy, shamelessly smeared her as a racist based on certain lighthearted remarks she made. In the weeks between the midterm election and the runoff, Democrats ignored issues affecting the nation -- the economy and foreign policy, for example -- and framed the contest solely around whether Hyde-Smith is a dastardly racist. It didn't work.
--I just read a long essay in which the author critiqued the "Rocky" movie series in light of the latest installment, "Creed II," which he believes redeems the series from its racist themes. If I understand the piece -- and I readily admit I may not -- the series has provided white racists the vicarious enjoyment of seeing a "great white hope" defeating a superior black boxing champion. I've watched every "Rocky" movie, and race never entered my mind. Like most people, I rooted for Rocky because he was an underdog, not because his opponent, Apollo Creed, was a stand-in for Muhammad Ali, whom whites presumably loathed. Sorry again, but I was a Muhammad Ali superfan, beginning with his first fight against Sonny Liston. I rooted for him in every fight, irrespective of his opponent's race. As a Michael Jordan superfan, I rooted for him and the Bulls against Larry Bird and Bill Laimbeer. I doubt I'm much different from most white sports fans.
The left's cynical exploitation of race is wrongheaded, twisted, patronizing and incalculably destructive to society. One can pray that with improvement in economic conditions for minority communities as a direct result of conservative policies, minorities will eventually rebel against the political party that casts them as permanent victims and support the one that sees them as individuals with equal dignity, equal rights and equal aptitudes for success.
David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney. His latest book is "Jesus Is Risen: Paul and the Early Church." Follow him on Twitter @davidlimbaugh and his website at www.davidlimbaugh.com.
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