Is a Child of A Racist Always Racist?

This weekend, the Washington Post ran an article on Danielle Allen,  an MacArthur genius grant winner at age 29,  who has taken it upon herself to track down the source of the Internet rumor that Barack Obama was Muslim.  She traced it back to one of his early political opponents, Andy Martin.Martin, an Internet newspaper publisher who sends e-mails to his mailing list almost daily,began questioning Obama's religious background after hearing his famous keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.    "I feel sad having to expose Barack Obama," Martin wrote in an accompanying press release, "but the man is a complete fraud. The truth is going to surprise, and disappoint, and outrage many people who were drawn to him. He has lied to the American people, and he has sought to misrepresent his own heritage."

Martin reasons that a child of a Muslim is, in fact, a Muslim by birth. Therefore, Sen. Obama, he believes,  is Muslim and he should say so.

 OK, first let me state clearly that there is nothing wrong with being Muslim. Many people have biases that are triggered by mere mention of this religion. Those biases are hurtful and harmful to our society, for they hinder our ability to be our better selves. So let's stop blaming Muslims for being Muslim, and start attacking religious biases (among all faiths) It is time well spent.

Second, as American citizens, we have the right to decide who we are. African Americans gained that  right only after bloodshed,landmark legislation and court rulings during the civil rights movement.  We are overstepping our bounds if we boldly demand that others mold their ancestry or heritage in a way that is to our liking. This practice keeps the past in the present and the future. If any of John McCain's ancestors were racist, for instance, Martin  would say that Sen. McCain is, by birth, a racist. Which of us thinks that is a fair argument to make?

My point is simple: Use the same size tools to size up the worth of all peoples, religions, and cultural groups. When we save the larger and wider yardsticks to measure the other racial, ethnic or religious groups, they are bound to come up short. By default, we come out ahead. 

While it makes us feel good, it undermines our community. One day we will awaken to find we have lost the ability to find the truth hidden among the pack of lies. 

It will be tough to make the right decisions then. And that makes us vulnerable.

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'We each create our world by what we choose to notice, creating a world of distinction that makes sense to us. We then 'see' the world through the self we have created.'

Margaret Wheatley and Kellner Rogers