McCain Reminds Me He’s White

I have not been up-to-date on my news the last three days.  Today, I decided to catch up on a little of it.  I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the final weekend before elections.  There is a quote by John McCain that I think is important to highlight.

“My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends,” he said. “I’ve always had faith in it and I’ve been humbled and honored to serve it.” – Senator John McCain

I am not surprised that he makes this statement.  John McCain is white.  Of course, his country has never had anything to prove to him.  He’s had the wheels greased for him.  He’s had the benefit of the doubt given to him.  He’s had the old boys network favoring him.  If he had all of this and more working for him, why would he not be proud of his country?

John McCain isn’t black.  He isn’t Latino.  He’s not Vietnamese.  He is not Sikh where people can confuse him for being Muslim.  No, sir, John McCain is white.  And he just reminded me again that he’s white.

Now, I’m not going to fault him for that.  No one has control over where they are born.  Of all the things in this world, the most important thing that can determine our future, we have no control over.  Yet, the parents we are born to, the religion, the country (and a whole host of other parameters) have a significant affect on our lives.

Imagine being born into a country that considered you less than fully human?  Imagine being born into a country where you couldn’t eat or drink in a restaurant because of the color of your skin?  Or being born into a country where your religion or language made people dislike you?  Think of those being suspected of a crime, or not trusted, simply because of who they were?  Then there are those who are not promoted year after year because of their country of origin?  If you had to deal with that or if your family members had to deal with that, would you be proud of that country?

There is inequality of all kinds in the United States, from race to gender.  When I moved there, I had this utopian view of America.  Granted I was a kid with little exposure to the world, I saw it as “the” way to be.  Twenty years later I still largely feel that way but my view has definitely been tempered.  I’ve seen and heard things that I wish I had not.  I’ve experienced things that tell me the United States is not a land of utopian equality.  It’s a land where some have to work harder than others to get the same reward only because of the color of their skin.

In America, a person can pick up opportunities probably more than in any other part of the world, but being white gets you those opportunities much more easily.  Bosses hire not only people who can do the job, who are qualified, but also those who are similar to them.  This includes race.  It is not only human nature, but it’s also structural.  Those who have not experienced this, but have experienced privilege will not know it.  Well, they may know it intellectually, but they don’t know it experientially.  Knowing something with your head can affect the way you see the world.  Seeing it and feeling it daily is something entirely different.

What I am going to fault John McCain for is that it’s sad he doesn’t understand why someone would make a statement that says he’s not proud of his country.  Well, he probably does get it, in his head, but he doesn’t look at it in that way.  He needs to get his party’s base voting for him.  Instead of asking why, instead of using it as evidence of the reality many people face in his country that he should be wanting to change, he uses it as a political rally call.  It’s just sad.  So where’s the maverick?  Where’s the changemaker?