I am very glad for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and for the speech he gave recently on the subject of race in America. I think he was trying to be honest on one of the most difficult and controversial of subjects. I admire him.
What does racism come from?
See Aesthetic Realism: The Solution to Racism, the article in The Black World Today, by anthropologist and Aesthetic Realism consultant Arnold Perey. He quotes one of the greatest passages against racism I've ever read -- it's by Eli Siegel. This is it, in part:
"The reluctance to give meaning to the possible thoughts of others is one of the great victories of contempt and therefore one of the great disasters of man .... Contempt is present wherever some people know other people who are different from themselves. Contempt is in the race question, is in the nationality question, ... is in the youth and age question, is in the parents and children question."
Eli Siegel shows that the subject of racism is part of a larger, even more prevalent and very ordinary evil. Dr. Perey's article brings wide knowledge of human society and culture to Aesthetic Realism's explanation of racism. It is a must-read for anyone interested in ending racism.
