The Hauser Group | Public Relations in the Public Interest

As Socrates once said, “As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.”

White people (like me) should remember that sentiment as they think about the Henry Louis Gates / Cambridge PD conflict.  What white people know about being black in America is very little.  Our approach to racial situations should be guided by that core premise.

Every single second of every single day being black could mean that you get treated differently.  I literally can’t imagine what that’s like.

That doesn’t mean white people are racist, or indifferent, or not liberal enough.  Maybe any of us are one or all three, but most meaningfully, we are white.  And it doesn’t mean we are lazy and won’t understand what it’s like to be black.  It’s just not something you learn, like carpentry or poker.

That isn’t a flaw, but it is a barrier.  And it’s potentially destructive when awareness of that barrier dims.  That’s when only the things we understand matter, and prejudice goes right by us as we celebrate the Civil Rights Act, MLK Day, and Obama’s election.

I’m not a self-hater.  Of course white people have been a major part of racial progress.  But we need to remember that, outside the headlines, bigotry can be a daily, crappy fact of life for African-Americans.  Just because we don’t or can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Today’s poll news that President Obama’s personal popularity far outpaces his agenda’s should come as no surprise. First, complicated policy is always a tough sell to Americans who don’t care about Medicare reimbursement rates, and second, elected Barack Obama largely because he was a celebrity.

That last, disturbing point will be revisited soon. But for today my focus is on what this paradox means for progressives. It means we have a long way to go.

Let’s start by acknowledging that Barack Obama is not Paul Wellstone. The President is a good man, moderately progressive, and a strong leader. But he didn’t run as a fire-breather (which is good, because he would have lost) and it is largely emergency, not philosophy, that is defining his domestic agenda.

The existence of a President Obama is a good thing, but also a dangerous thing if his celebrity masks a greater and more lasting truth: progressives are behind the times.

To put it one way: when is the last time someone made a full-throated case to significantly increase the poverty line? Or to put another way my wife and accountant will not like: I should pay more in taxes.

The today and tomorrow of progressivism will be the central subjects of this blog. I seek to add my small bit to a thankfully growing conversation, and welcome your ideas and feedback.