Walking down the street the other day in Chicago, a middle-aged panhandler sitting on the sidewalk asked me, “Do you have a couple of bucks to spare?” I had zero cash in my pocket and replied, “Sorry man, I don’t have any money on me.” Just as I passed him he asked me, “What, are you a racist?”  Though I walked away his words stuck with me.

I’ve thought about his question 100 times since then. I’m a racist because I didn’t have any cash? Really, that’s what it has come to in our country?

Regardless of your race, are you a racist if you disagree with someone of another skin color? That’s all it takes to qualify? Really?

Are you now considered a racist if you’ve gone to a Tea Party event? Should you be deemed a racist if you think Rev. Al Sharpton is irrelevant and will do and say just about anything to get on camera? So you’re a racist if you didn’t vote for President Obama? Are you now a racist if you think Sarah Palin doesn’t stand a chance in a general election? Are you suddenly viewed as a racist if you think Chairman Michael Steele should find another gig?  Are you looked at as a racist if think Nullification is a viable political process? Are you a racist if you dislike Glenn Beck or Nancy Pelosi? Are you a racist if you think the N.A.A.C.P. has bigger issues, real issues to address than to launch a website to hunt down alleged “racists” in rival political parties? One would think we would have learned hunting witches and communists. Are you a racist to think that if Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel or Rod Blagoivich are found guilty, they should be dealt with accordingly?

None of this is to suggest that racism doesn’t exist; as despicable and disgusting as it is, sad to say it has survived into the 21st Century. Unfortunately, that’s undebatable today.

Have you noticed of late that some now hurl the accusation of racism way too flippantly, political “Chicken Littles” shooting from the hip, building fences instead of bridges, turmoil instead of trust, playing the race card as a matter of strategy or political expediency? What happens to these lowlife activists when more and more Americans begin to ignore their unsubstantiated claims? What happens in those cases when the accusation is accurate and action therefore warranted yet the term is all but warn out through repetition and therefore ignored? What then?

The next time someone labels another a racist, take a moment and wonder about the accuser and their motives. Are the the accusers of racism “rooting it out”or are they “rooting it on” in hopes of justifying some ulterior intention or to unfairly sabotage their opponent? Ask yourself, just what are they up to?

Incorrectly demonizing the oposition with the charge of racism is the definition of degenerate. To falsely accuse another of racism, hoping to impugn or marginalize them with your attack, only stokes the fires that you so publicly pretend to quell. Look, if you can prove the charge of racism, please do so. If you can’t support your claim with evidence, why not slither back under the rock you crawled from?

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