Scrambled Eggs

I took my bike out the other day. It’s only the second time I’ve used it since I’ve moved here and the first time I left the development. I went out towards the campus and once I got away from the major roads it was a real nice ride. One of the things I like when I ride off the main streets is that I can really get lost in my head. By that, I mean I can just start thinking about anything. Today’s thoughts were all over the board.

For some reason I started thinking about Rodney King. I lived in southern California when the police beat him up and it was shown all over the world. I kept getting that picture in my head of when he made the infamous statement that we all laughed about, “Can’t we all just get along?” I remember that I, along with millions of others, laughed when he said it at the time. It was great fodder for late night television shows and you can still hear it said in any bar or social gathering on a regular basis.

Then, of course, I started thinking about that question. I mean, there’s the obvious, I don’t like you and you don’t like me but does that mean we have to do some sort of violent dance until one of us either agrees that one is better or possibly gets hurt? Easy answer, of course not. Maturity usually brings us to the point of either resolving our differences or simply agreeing to disagree.

I think most right thinking folks would agree that the question is one that should never have to be asked. That being the case, why is it we have such a hard time getting along with each other? I’m not talking about other countries, just right here at home.

We’re in the middle of an historic Presidential Race where, odds are; we will have either a black or a woman President. I swell with so much pride just thinking about it. Then I see some of the exit interviews from the West Virginia primary and I’m embarrassed to be of the same species as some of these folks. There were three in particular that I think need mentioning. The first was a woman who looked like she was just coming out of the mall, nicely dressed and by the looks of her, a relatively intelligent person. After saying she had voted for Hillary Clinton she was asked why? She stated, “It’s the racial thing, we’ve had problems in the past.” Her only stated reason for voting for Clinton over Obama was that Obama is black. Well, I guess she at least gets points for honesty.

It gets better. The second woman, asked about her vote, said she also voted for Hillary. When asked why she said. “Because he’s a Muslim and I could never vote for a Muslim.” Has this woman read a newspaper or seen any news program in the last two years? It has been stated numerous times on many stations and in scads of newspapers that Barak Obama is not a Muslim. If he were, the whole Reverend Wright controversy would never have happened. Apart from the falsehood of the statement, religious beliefs should be irrelevant when it comes to elections in this country.

The third person interviewed was another woman who, when asked why she didn’t vote for Obama stated, “I won’t vote for Hussein, we’ve had enough of Hussein.” And that was the end of her statement. Kind of makes you want to propose an intelligence test to be able to vote. John Stewart of “The Daily Show” showed all three interviews and ended the segment with a sign that said, “Welcome to West Virginia. Please, No Interviews.” How embarrassing.

I don’t mean to pick on West Virginia here, I’m sure there are people all over the country that have these same types of thoughts. It just goes to show how far we, as a nation, have to go until we can “all just get along.” I’m willing to bet that, in most cases, the very same people who won’t vote for a black or a woman will tell you that they are very progressive people that hold no race or gender bias. This ingrained racism is something that’s been with them for as long as they could possibly remember. It’s easy to let your fears control you once the curtain closes and it’s just you with your head in that voting booth.

Let’s be honest though. It’s not simply fear that causes these thoughts to go through ones mind. Sad as it is to say, there are a great many who still feel that men are smarter or better than women and Whites are smarter or better than Blacks, Hispanics or any other group that’s different. Does anyone really wonder why we “can’t all just get along?”

Please don’t think that I pretend to be above the fray. I too have my own prejudices. I’m not proud of them and I’m not even sure I can admit to all of them but I know they’re there. Of course I’d like to believe that I don’t let them influence my daily life but I’m sure they do. I do like to think that I know how ridiculous they are and that I constantly work on myself to not let them define who or what I am. I certainly would never go on television and use them as my reason for choosing the next leader of this country.

Anyway, that’s the kind of stuff I was thinking about when I took my little bike ride. I should really try to work on paying a little more attention to the road but that’s not nearly as entertaining.