Disunited America
Paul Craig Roberts
Prior to the Democrats becoming the anti-American political party of Identity Politics, whites, blacks, and Puerto Ricans could laugh at themselves and at one another. Dean Martin turned a roast, in which good humored fun is poked at a prominent person, into mass entertainment. That blacks were equal opportunity targets was testimony to the success of black entertainers and athletes. In the humorless world of today, these roasts would be considered “hurtful,” “offensive,” and “hate crimes.”
Americans had to be trained to this new mentality. It was done in order to break us apart as a people, and it has succeeded. Recently, in response to overwrought reactions to youthful blackface experiences of current Virginia Democratic politicians, I posted a Dean Martin roast of Sammy Davis Jr. and asked if Davis was a self-hating black for permitting himself to be ridiculed on stage before a large audience. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/02/07/was-sammy-davis-jr-a-self-hating-black/
The younger generation has been programmed to see Sammy Davis’ roast as a ‘step-and-fetch-it” black being ridiculed for white entertainment. That many of those roasting Sammy Davis were themselves black and Sammy Davis was a very successful multi-millionaire entertainer does not affect the modern perception of the event. I wonder if they see Ronald Reagan as a self-hating white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve1z48hljYY
Muhammad Ali, a justifiably proud American, was pleased to be an honored roastee and gave as good as he received. Everyone knew it was all in fun. No one in his right mind would really insult the heavyweight champion of the world while standing next to him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC4MJhqJf4E&t=2s
The race and gender hatreds instilled by identity Politics have not only produced a humorless country but also a disunited country. Unity has been destroyed by the Democratic Party’s Identity Politics, and the absence of unity precludes any restoration of American greatness by President Trump.
Identity Politics gives us not only fake news but also fake history. Histories have been made up in order to instill a victim consciousness in women and blacks, the better to teach gender and racial hatreds. The hopes of the civil rights movement for an integrated and unified country are being defeated. Once unity is shattered, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put unity back together again. American society is headed for a split as serious as the Shiite and Sunni.