Now And Then

My blog is more of a lifestyle blog than a cultural/race blog.  However a big part of who I am has been shaped by my mixed heritage, so sometimes I’m going to go there on the subject matter. I also happen to think a lot about racism, economic end educational inequality (separate from race), world hunger, gay rights….child abuse, child trafficking, animal cruelty….pretty much every injustice you can imagine.  Blame it on my nurse mother who works with abused children, volunteers with the homeless and adopts shelter pets.

Anyway…hopefully everyone thinks about at least a few of the above-mentioned issues some of the time. I suspect that most people tend to sweep them under the brain-rug until something like the Arizona Immigration Law creates a massive dust bunny impossible to sweep away.

I’m not saying that that immigration reform is not needed (frankly, I really don’t know enough to debate the how’s or the why’s).  What I am saying is that we’re on a slippery slope; this law will absolutely lead to racial profiling. Above, I’ve shared a few American illustrations through the years for thought.

I came into this post with the POV that the U.S. hasn’t come very far in the inequity game. As I typed I realized this is a fallacy. None of my friends think much of interracial dating. Places of work take time to celebrate diversity month. Companies are investing in multicultural markets. Boys can kiss on TV.  And we voted for our first African American President.

We have come far and I’m really proud of our country.  There will likely always be racists, traffickers, animal abusers, homophobes, etc..  What history has taught us and what I think is pretty freakin’ amazing is that every now and again radical acts- like this latest dust bunny- unify people to enact positive change.

As an aside, if you are feeling low about our country read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” for a tearful reminder of just how good we have it.