The Voting Rights Farce
Each state has citizens whom the other citizens consider an embarassment. Georgia seems to have a plethora of such embarassments. Obviously, Cynthia McKinney has become such an embarassment that half her constituency in 4th district is trying to run her out of office.
John Lewis is another such embarassment. Lewis is the representative for Georgia's 5th district, which encompasses the southern part of Fulton county mainly, including south Atlanta and downtown. Every time I hear this man talk, I shudder to think that the voters of Georgia would elect him. English is definitely his second language, as he is reminiscent of Mushmouth from Fat Albert.
Nevertheless, the reason that I have even thought of Mr. Lewis is that President Bush is signing the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. For those of you who may read this and do not know, the Voting Rights Act established Federal oversight of elections of states who were deemed to be a threat to the voting rights of blacks. Most, if not all, of the states that were targeted were in the south. Perhaps the act was good at the time, but, much like labor unions, it has outlived its usefulness.
One could argue whether or not over the course of time that issues will work themselves out without intervention of government. Some have argued that, eventually, slavery would have ended without the war between the states. Forty years after the Voting Rights Act, one would think that all attempts to disenfranchise black voters would have failed. We even have the gerrymandering of congressional districts now to ensure that minority voters, black in particular, have a black representative.
So why do we still have the Voting Rights Act? Race baiters masquerading as "civil rights leaders" must still have an issue to energize their constituency. It's a perpetual issue, since this act will come up for vote again in another 25 years. How better to stay relevant than to keep people under foot, believing that you are waging a battle on their behalf, even if the battle has been won for at least 30 years?
The Voting Rights Act is a farce. If people truly want to be progressive, they will purge the trash and move on.
John Lewis is another such embarassment. Lewis is the representative for Georgia's 5th district, which encompasses the southern part of Fulton county mainly, including south Atlanta and downtown. Every time I hear this man talk, I shudder to think that the voters of Georgia would elect him. English is definitely his second language, as he is reminiscent of Mushmouth from Fat Albert.
Nevertheless, the reason that I have even thought of Mr. Lewis is that President Bush is signing the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. For those of you who may read this and do not know, the Voting Rights Act established Federal oversight of elections of states who were deemed to be a threat to the voting rights of blacks. Most, if not all, of the states that were targeted were in the south. Perhaps the act was good at the time, but, much like labor unions, it has outlived its usefulness.
One could argue whether or not over the course of time that issues will work themselves out without intervention of government. Some have argued that, eventually, slavery would have ended without the war between the states. Forty years after the Voting Rights Act, one would think that all attempts to disenfranchise black voters would have failed. We even have the gerrymandering of congressional districts now to ensure that minority voters, black in particular, have a black representative.
So why do we still have the Voting Rights Act? Race baiters masquerading as "civil rights leaders" must still have an issue to energize their constituency. It's a perpetual issue, since this act will come up for vote again in another 25 years. How better to stay relevant than to keep people under foot, believing that you are waging a battle on their behalf, even if the battle has been won for at least 30 years?
The Voting Rights Act is a farce. If people truly want to be progressive, they will purge the trash and move on.
posted by Badbeans | 7:25 AM
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