I still wonder why the media’s misrepresentation of the Tea Party gets decried while a different media segment’s cherry-picking of rogue activists under the BLM banner tars the whole group. It strikes me as particularly disingenuous to bemoan the excessive bureaucracy the Tea Party confronted, replete with blithe speculation that the former president directed the whole “logjam” while not also taking a moment to recognize that those obstacles are mild compared to what millions of black folks have dealt with for hundreds of years. Things are better but systemic racism is still quite real and it’s difficult to muster much sympathy for people chafing at charges of racism when they express so little sympathy themselves for people dealing with actual racism. This is not a condemnation of people saying “I’m sick of being called a racist,” but it is my contention that the absence of recognition for the specific difficulties black people face is quite stark. However many Tea Party members made common cause with birthers, few issued vocal condemnations. And why aren’t more black people in the Tea Party? I am aware that a canned explanation that blames the left is at the ready, but maybe it’s a question that bears deeper examination. Ultimately, my point is not that the Left are the good guys while the Right ain’t. It is that, despite the intellectual marching orders generated by think tanks and issues through media organs of left and right alike, neither side has a monopoly on virtue (nor evil) so I’m just trying to fight past canards on both sides. And may the tension between unbowed principle and compromise be ever present in American political life.

Consider the Colin Kaepernick thing. It really bothered many people that he didn’t rise for the anthem. That’s fine. But rising for the anthem is a mighty tradition, so if that feels vulnerable to celebrity grand standing, imagine for a moment how vulnerable the traditions of communities ravaged by centuries of abuse must be to insult and disrespect. When the anthem plays, I stand and remove my cap (I’m also a NRA member fwiw). But the notion that poor black folk just need to straighten up and fly right, otherwise it’s not our problem is one fueled by media you seem to selectively excuse. For example, while the tragedies in Dallas and Baton Rouge got national attention and rightfully so, the number of police fatalities in the line of duty declined steadily in each year of the Obama administration. And yet the current president has exploited the same media he insists is less honest than him (an ENORMOUS lie) to convince many of his supporters that Obama turned America into a crack den. It’s too bad if it’s uncomfortable, but believing opinion like that despite data to the contrary is in fact racist. And it needs to be fought with greater vigor than the feelings of the people who exercise the personal preference to believe lies. This applies in equal measure to the hypocrisies of the left. But I will continue to rebut to your stark portraiture of high ground v. Low ground. Objectionable as I find many of your points to be, I do appreciate your responses very much and wish you a good week.