It's too late for Herman Cain, but there's still hope for the rest of the nation by Richard in Japan
(conservative)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Season of Hope
For the past few weeks I haven't been Richard in Japan. As is my custom, I return to America at Christmastime to be with family and friends. I always look forward to these trips, to reconnect with loved ones and my native culture, but on this occasion especially I found extra tidings of hope for our future and goodwill toward man.
Following the disgraceful treatment of Herman Cain at the hands of the media (see my earlier article) I was gratified to see that average Americans were better than that. Everywhere I went (and bear in mind that I travelled through Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, the heart of the Old South) I saw people from all walks of life -- rich and poor, black and white -- treating each other with kindness and respect.
For example, my first night there I met my father at a waffle shop in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. Our waitress was a charming African-American lady who led this Yankee through the mysteries of southern cuisine and called my father "Dad". Later, while topping off the tank of my rental car, I told the attendant "$20 on pump 12." The guy behind me in line cracked "Hey, I'm getting$12 on pump 20!" "Don't say that," I mock-pleaded, "you'll confuse me!" Two complete strangers: he, African-American; me, the whitest of white men, but we were able to share a laugh over a mundane coincidence.
While in Roanoke, I splurged on a hotel room at the historic Hilton. Even in that stratified environment, all traces of the South's bitter legacy of segregation were gone, as the staff (both black and white) and the clientele (both black and white) treated each other with the warmth and civility they were due as fellow Americans and fellow human beings.
It's too late for Herman Cain, but there's still hope for the rest of the nation if we recognize that the image painted by the gutter press is not reality. In this political season, please reject the messages of negativity and hate. Americans at heart are good and loving people.
(c) Kublai Khan Unlimited 2011.
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