He Is An American

I try not to get overly political here, but today made it hard.  Despite work to pass federal voting standards, the Senate has voted down precursor measures that would allow its passage. At a press conference Senator Mitch McConnell had the following exchange, as reported by The Washington Post:

“What’s your message for voters of color who are concerned that without the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Act they’re not going to be able to vote in the midterm?” a reporter asked.

McConnell replied, “Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”

Needless to say, the backlash was swift. How dare someone make such an implication? Soon enough there will surely be a statement that this was just a stumble over words, a misspoken or misunderstood thought. While I could easily make this a partisan issue I am choosing not to simply because the impact of this statement is more than that. Even with the benefit of the doubt that his statement was an unintentional mistake, there are others out there who truly believe in what he said and have no problem saying so.  Putting all political analysis aside, this is a timely reminder of the work still to be done. Instead of trying to eloquently and passionately argue against racism, I simply choose to add Little Man to the list of those who are proudly reminding us that they are Americans. I'm not trying to exploit him or center myself here. Instead, I want to do what I can now to try and work towards that more perfect union he deserves to inherit.