Nice Read

[Zafir]

Some mornings, I roll out of bed and feel like I'm stepping out into the middle of Dr. King's dream.

 

Like when Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses. Are you kiddin' me?

 

Or when news came recently that Oprah Winfrey, already the most popular woman on the planet, soon will get her own TV station. Talk about good times.

 

Then there are days that I wish I hadn't gotten out of bed. Like last month, when I saw the filthy racial epithets painted on a black couple's garage door in Arlington.

 

Or a week ago, when I read about the Hispanic family in Benbrook feeling compelled to abandon their home after it was vandalized and racial slurs were painted on the family car.

 

Who would do such a thing?

 

Better question: Which of these Americas is real?

 

Is it (A), an America willing to transform Oprah into a billionaire media mogul and Obama into a viable presidential candidate?

 

Or (B), an America where racial intolerance and bigotry still leave profound marks?

 

The answer is ©, all of the above.

 

America remains a land where progress can be measured in the amazing achievements of Oprah and Obama. And a place where examples of intolerance can be found on any given day.

 

I know that dichotomy oversimplifies the complexities of America's race problem. But to some extent, it really does matter how we look at things and how much emphasis we put on them.

 

Case in point: One of the big stories circulating right now involves a Golfweek decision to can the editor responsible for putting a noose on the magazine's Jan. 19 cover.

 

The noose was used to illustrate a story about a Golf Channel anchor who came under fire – and was suspended – for using the term "lynch" in a comment about Tiger Woods.

 

In some ways, the slip of the tongue, or whatever you want to call it, can readily be explained away. If you work with words for a living, you know precisely what I mean.

 

The rest of it.