The One-way "Dialogue" on Race

Back Channels: Beware 'dialogue' on race | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/22/2009

"Attorney General Eric Holder may get the dialogue on race that he called for Wednesday in a speech marking African American History Month. But the terms he offered are likely to promote division more than unity.

"Holder's speech demonstrated the contradictions that doom these dialogues before they start. The most quoted - and dumbest - line from his speech is, "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been, and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards..."

"...Unfortunately, the bigger lesson is this: These incidents - Imus, the cartoon, Holder's speech - are our national conversation on race. And they do not "foster a period of dialogue among the races," as Holder proposes. They foster anger, suspicion, and division. They consist of accusations, countercharges, and hard feelings, and they are often difficult to understand. Get involved, and chances are you'll get burned.

"Avoiding such dialogues isn't cowardice; it's common sense."