My Word: The system and truth

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott recently got in hot water with motor mouths and liberal politicians for having the audacity to state plainly America is not a racist country as the left insists. This amounted to a clobbering of liberal orthodoxy.

If you haven’t heard Scott’s remarks, I hope you will Goggle them and judge for yourself if what he said is false and inflammatory as his critics claim or if they are a credible assessment.

Personally, I believe what the senator said because I know how the country views race now is considerably different than it used to be. My memories are clear on the matter.

The left argues racism today is systemic, but it is not. They insist America is a racist nation, but it is not. When Senator Scott called out those who insist we haven’t changed in this country, he made a heroic stand for the truth. Some Democrats, you see, don’t want the facts revealed or their party’s history known.

Understand, systemic racism was once woven throughout the fabric of American life. For decades slavery was allowed to exist despite the obvious depravity of it. Institutionalized slavery was protected by law, practiced openly with the support of leadership, and profited from by a system that exploited humanity. Slavery was too widespread, too large in its economic and social impact, and too vile in its practice not to be systemic.

However, it is also important to acknowledge slavery was despised by many Americans who recognized the immorality of it and fought hard against it. This culminated in a civil war that was moral in its purpose and final in its results. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery forever in 1865. That effort was led by Republicans.

Of course the Civil War was followed by segregation and discrimination. Here is a quote to ponder: “Jim Crow laws…were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Southern Democrat-dominated state legislatures to disenfranchise and remove political and economic gains made by black people during the Reconstruction period.”

This is a truth left out of the left’s presentation for political reasons. They prefer everyone believe racism is a result of Republican or conservative behaviors, but Democrats had a huge role in the suppression of black people‘s rights. Republicans did far more historically to end discrimination and bigotry than their political counterparts. Even so, they should’ve done more.

In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy vs. Ferguson that separate could indeed be equal, and this doctrine was widely accepted by our society. It was, therefore, systemic. I can give you examples of systemic racism, but understand yesterday isn’t today.

Here’s another quote: “President Woodrow Wilson, a Southern Democrat, initiated the segregation of federal workplaces in 1913.” This did much to slow the progress of black Americans for years. It is worth noting Wilson was a so-called progressive Democrat. Segregation and Democrats are bound by history and fact. They are mighty quiet about that, aren‘t they?

Woodrow Wilson was a product of his time. That time has long passed.

Systemic segregation ended with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I know no one today who believes separation is the way to treat fellow Americans. Anyone who still clings to that is surely a lonely and misguided individual.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was advanced by LBJ, a liberal Democrat. Its final version was supported by 69% of Democratic senators but by 82% of Republicans. In the House 63% of the Democratic congresspersons voted for the bill but 80% of the Republicans supported it. These statistics are a matter of record, but they do not support liberal politics that somehow Republicans view equality less favorably than they.

The leftist argument is systemic racism is still being practiced, but there is no support for that other than accusation and carefully driven activism on the part of white liberals and special interest groups. Liberals know it is illegal to discriminate, the opposite of systemic support. They know the Constitution supports equal rights. The Constitution is the real system.

If racist practices are still being followed here and there, then that must be dealt with honestly and cautiously, but that isn’t the same thing as systemic racism nor is it even close. Don’t let politicians, pundits or activists tell you differently without solid evidence. It’s okay to challenge them to produce it. That’s what Senator Scott did.

Senator Scott set the bar for truth. I see him as a potential presidential candidate. Tolerant liberals are already calling him names, so it is clear they are threatened by his message. That is a good thing as is mythology busting.

Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator.