Monday we once again observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Undoubtedly, all of us learned at one point in our education why King had such an impact on American history: he supported the radical idea that all are created equal, regardless of skin color.
In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, he proclaimed his vision of a society that judges individuals by the content of their character, and not by the color of their skin.
More than 30 years later, King has to be rolling in his grave. Our society is far from achieving his goal. One need not look past recent events on this campus and in this nation to recognize this.
The first major obstacle to achieving King’s dream is the refusal of many individuals in this nation — especially academic elitists — to accept the idea of the “melting pot” American culture. The United States is a nation of immigrants, but the idea is to burn our bridges and become Americans. Instead, our nation has decided to backslide away from the “melting pot” in favor of multiculturalism and hyphenated Americanism.
Undoubtedly, UW-Madison has been backsliding along with the rest of this nation in this regard. Starting next year, there will be a “multicultural community” in the Witte residence hall. This “community” is designed to exclude and separate certain students from others based on nothing other than skin color. If this does not fall into the category of division and segregation King sought to end, there is not much that does.
If there was one good thing that came from the horrible events of Sept. 11, it was the resurgence of unity and patriotism this country experienced. For once, people of all races and backgrounds were united and proud to be Americans. It’s unfortunate that it took such a terrible event to bring this about. However, I hope and pray this state of unity and patriotism will remain.
The second huge obstacle to achieving King’s dream is the constant use of “the race card” by liberals in national, local and campus politics. Many members of the Associated Students of Madison have frequently been guilty of this in recent times.
For example, the Multicultural Student Coalition did not need the $1 million they asked for. They knew, however, that very few people would ever demand a sufficient explanation for the expenditures, and those who did would immediately be labeled racist. When a few students objected to the MCSC budget, this did indeed happen.
If I were to ask for $1 million for a pro-life organization (or some other conservative cause), I would have been laughed out of the SSFC meeting room, as well I should be. The only reason that the MCSC wasn’t treated the same way is that they claim to support minority issues.
Liberals realize the race card is extremely powerful in today’s society, and they shamelessly play it whenever they feel it will help them enjoy privileges others do not have. Undoubtedly, there are many individuals who may have been racially insensitive at some point in their life. However, there is not a racist sitting at every table as the liberals would like you to believe.
There are many things all of us can do to help make progress with regard to King’s dream. It’s time we all acknowledge ourselves and all other citizens, regardless of ethnic background, as Americans, nothing more and nothing less. This would only be a start, but it’s much farther than where this nation is now.
Mark A. Baumgardner ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in electrical engineering.