by Robert M. Traxler

Let’s discuss the concept of tolerance, the concept of prejudice, the concept of racism. Tolerance simply put is understanding others, prejudice is judging others by the group. No one truly knows what the contemporary definition of a racist is; broadly speaking, anyone who disagrees with a liberal point of view on anything is a racist. President Obama has been called a racist by other African Americans. Got to wonder how that works…

As I have written in this eminent publication before, I attended high school in the geographical center of the State of Georgia in the mid-1960s. The civil rights movement was in full bloom and the community was fully segregated: schools, churches, neighborhoods, restaurants, theaters, hospital wards, pools, and barbershops you name it. I knew drop dead racists — it was hard not to as there were lots of them.

African Americans considered uppity, who “did not know their place” simply disappeared or as in one case the death of a man shot in the back, the bullet coming from a rifle, was ruled a suicide. Being a Yankee and an Army Brat (the military full integrated when I was 3 years old) who had lived all around the nation and world I could never understand the intolerance, prejudice and racism. We are told racism is worse today than ever in our history, but no one who saw the horrible racism in the Deep South in the 1960s would ever believe that completely incorrect and ludicrous statement.

The term racist is greatly over used and incorrectly used today to the point that few people even believe it or are concerned about it. Racist was a branding that was used for horrible people like the late Gov. George Wallace, an openly unrepentant segregationist, and it was saved for truly evil people. Are President Obama and Governor Wallace both made of the same stuff? Both are referred to openly as racist, the comparison is unbelievably nonsensical.  

Intolerance, non-acceptance of others and other points of view are also overused labels. If you are not in favor of unrestricted immigration of anyone into our nation you are intolerant. If you favor deporting illegal immigrants, or do I need to say undocumented, even those who commit crimes, you are intolerant. If you object to bringing in, at your expense, Syrian refugees whose background has not been established you are intolerant, a racist and a prejudiced bigot.

Prejudiced is a label that was used to identify someone who did not deserve the racist label but harbored some level of disapproval of a minority group.

Given the contemporary definition of a racist, prejudiced, intolerant person, is it surprising that everyone running in the Republican Party for president is referred to by those vile titles?

Our nation is at a point where liberals can call the first African American President a racist, where millions of Tea Party folks, every one of us, can be called (an act of prejudice in itself) racist. At the high point of the Tea Party movement seventy percent supported Herman Cain, an African American for president. Common sense be damned, it fits the belief — anyone who disagrees with a liberal or Democrat is a racist, prejudiced, intolerant and truly evil person. The racists I knew in the 1960s would have lynched Mr. Cain but never voted for him, and would have attacked anyone who did support him.

Ask conservative Americans and they will tell you the liberals are wrong; ask liberals and they will tell you conservatives are evil, racist, bigoted, homophobic, intolerant and incredibly stupid. The truly interesting thing is that liberals will say those things while maintaining they are totally tolerant and not judgmental; how exactly does that work?

Our friends on the left sadly don’t even realize they are calling folks who disagree with them the same names they have earned by judging the folks with whom they disagree. Judging millions of Tea Party folks by the group is an unquestionable act of prejudice.

We have watered down our language to the extent a member in good standing of the KKK is referred to by the same label, racist, used to identify our president. Please stop using vile labels for honest disagreement.