THE SYSTOCRAT PAPERS

Dear Jimmy:

Hey man!! Long time no see!!  How's the peanut farm?  

So . . . just got wind of your remarks at a town hall the other night.  Some of the opposition to Obama and his proposed reforms is racially motivated?  Really?  We had no idea - thanks for letting us know.  While we're on the subject, please allow me to thank you for building the lunatic fringe a much bigger platform to hurl their bullshit from.  Yeah.  Thanks for that too, Jim.

I understand that there are two schools of thought here.  On the one hand, it's great to bring these things to light, renounce them publicly.  And there certainly has been quite a bit going on lately.  I can't say I necessarily disagree with Maureen Dowd when she opines that Joe Wilson, he of "Sons of the Confederacy" fame, might as well have called Obama "boy" when accusing him of being a liar this week.   Like you, I was watching when Wilson's mouth betrayed his brain on national television, and I was gratified by the collective groan of disgust that could be heard from end to end of this country.  The House voted to censure him too. Completely appropriate, I'd say.

On the other hand, the same folks that opposed health care reform in the 90s sure gave the Clintons a hard time too - called them all sorts of nasty names, etc.  While I'm sure there are some genuine feelings of racial animosity against our President down in Dixie and elsewhere, I'm also certain that there are some shrewd people who are using Obama's race as a tool to stir things up.

But Jim . . . c'mon, buddy.  Did you really think that by calling these racists out, they'd rethink their position?  "Gee, Jimmy Carter thinks we're racists.  I feel really bad about this."  Sheepish looks all around. "Guess we'd better cut that shit out, eh?"

Not a chance.  Instead, our radical friends are using your conveniently timed comments to distract the nation from the real issue at hand.  Rush Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to have an "open conversation about race" on Tuesday.  The cable news cycle this evening was dominated by a discussion of your remarks and the role of race in politics generally.  Chris Matthews reported tonight that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs answered 18 questions today dealing with race. 

Don't get me wrong, Jim.  I agree that racism is still a serious problem in this country.  Just ask Tashawnea Hill, an Army reservist who, earlier this month, was mercilessly beaten by a white thug yelling racial epithets outside of a Cracker Barrel in Georgia while her 7 year old daughter looked on in shock and disbelief.  And it's no secret that the number of hate groups in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 2000. 

But now we're talking about race instead of health care.  Who does that benefit, I wonder?  Certainly not those of us who would like to see meaningful health care reform in our lifetimes. 

To be fair, I suppose your remarks could inspire rational, reasonable people in this country to rise up and stand together against the reckless hate that has infected our political discourse lately.  Melissa Harris-Lacewell, professor of African American studies at Princeton University and a leading commentator on race relations in the U.S., "congratulated Mr Carter, saying he had once again "demonstrated the power of interracial solidarity against racism", and had "carefully, powerfully, and accurately pointed out that racism is currently motivating some Americans' opposition to President Obama". 

All very positive stuff.  Meanwhile, we're still being distracted from health care reform by the race issue. 

The problem here is that I think most of us are already aware of people out on the fringes of society who will never approve of Obama because of his race.  More specifically, racism, i.e. "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race" is wholly irrational - there is no evidence whatsoever to support this view.  People who hold tightly to racist views are not likely to be swayed by rational arguments.  I'm not sure I've ever heard of a situation where a racist was persuaded away from their irrational beliefs by the reasoning of another. 

In my experience, the best way to counter racism is to put people in different groups together and let them see for themselves that all people are fundamentally the same, regardless of race or color, and that, given the same chance, we're all equally capable.  In recent years, our society has become more integrated, and I think there is no better barometer of our increased tolerance for each other than the very fact of Obama's election.  Certainly he wasn't elected because he's black - he was elected because American voters felt that he was best suited for the job. 

Let me sum things up here, Jim.  Racists are crazy and not likely to be coaxed away from their irrational views, even if you, me and everybody else with a heart and a brain speaks out against them.  As a former President, your voice carries a long way in these parts.  While I do think it's important to speak out against racism, I'd also appreciate it if you'd use that bullhorn of yours a little more carefully in the future. 

Let's not allow the issue of race, which didn't prevent Obama's election in the first place, distract us from other issues of equal importance, like health care reform. 

Sincerely,

TD