Close to Nowhere - Linda Jones


Thursday, November 13, 2008
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Close to Nowhere
By Linda Jones

Climbing onto my soapbox!

Tuesday was Veteran’s Day -- I hope we all remembered our veterans; not just the ones in the cemeteries -- the ones who are still with us need to be thanked in person.

My late father-in-law was a member of the VFW in Memphis, Tenn. (Frayser Post). He was very proud to be a veteran and worked diligently at the post. I enjoyed many a spaghetti dinner at that post.

At one point, I was trying to list in my brain, all the wars since America became America. Couldn’t do it, too many. I could have Googled it, but somehow, that seemed to be cheating.

As Americans, we need to at least be aware of every war our country has fought in.

One of the “wars” that just won’t go away in America is the “war on racism.”

I was so happy, if I could be happy about anything during an election, about the fact that neither side in the presidential race brought up “race.”

The only time race made the headlines was immediately after the extremely racial remarks of Barack Obama’s preacher were quoted on national television.

Here is a snippet of Obama’s response:

“One of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.
“This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
“It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.

Until the day after the election, I was very proud of the fact that finally, finally, race was not a factor in an election -- what was important in this election was the man (or woman!) and his platform.

I apparently don’t have conventional Southern views on race, although I was born and reared in the South. My dad was a true Southern racist, but my mom was from Michigan -- she didn’t come South to live until she was 18 or so.

My mom couldn’t cook Southern (according to my dad), and she didn’t think Southern either. So, I grew up without racism in my house.

I have been so disappointed in many in Marshall County after this election.

Yes, it was historic. It would have been historic if McCain/Palin won (she is, after all, a woman).

However historic, if McCain/Palin had won the election, neither of their photos would have been on our front page.

Why? Because we are a Marshall County newspaper. Unless the president-elect had been from Marshall County, whoever he (or she) was, they would not have been on our front page.

We have never, in the 22 years that I’ve worked here, run a picture of the president-elect.

Doing the Pages of the Past each week, I’ve never seen a president-elect on the front page.

Of the 10-15 local newspapers that are delivered to our office weekly, none had a picture of the president-elect on the front page.

We’ve had many comments on this and Dr. McMillan has even written us a letter, chastising the paper for “racism.”

I have, over the years, seen many, many racist remarks against “whites” printed and distributed in this county. At no point, did anyone point out that not only were the remarks untrue, they were racist. Never!

I am very proud of The South Reporter and proud to be a part of it. We work very hard to print the local news, accurately and fairly. We print news about people -- not black people or white people -- just people.

Not black school or sports news -- just school and sports news.

Not black society or white society -- just society.

And many times, we’ve been called to task for printing “too much” black news. I have received letters, most of them anonymous, accusing me of “catering” to blacks. Both the former editor and the current editor have been accused of the same thing.

Barry, the current editor, is choosing to take the high road and not respond to the criticism for not putting Obama’s photo on the front page. I’m hoping he won’t pull this and will let me “preach from my soapbox.”

I’m betting President-elect Obama would be on “our” side on this!

All the late veterans that we hopefully honored on Tuesday would say that they did not die for white or black -- they died for freedom.

Now is the time for us to be one nation. Not a black nation or a white nation and especially not a divided nation.

We have issues much bigger to worry about -- like wars and financial problems.

Let’s work to solve them as one nation -- united. Under one president -- American.

Together, yes we can!

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