IS IT TOO LATE TO SELLOUT?

by G. Dan Buford
12/06/04


We live in a generation where people think of a crossover as Iverson on the perimeter giving Jordan a few reasons why he should have stayed retired.

Twenty years ago, in high school, a crossover was what we called that lone minority kid in a clique of 10 to 20 whites. If my school had been in suburbia, perhaps he could have gotten a pass. What bothered us most about students like him were how his mannerisms mimicked the others in the group in which he traveled, as if clearly stating his desires to be the other.

Our school had a very balanced mix of nationalities and ethnicities, much like today’s national landscape. We were deeply divided along racial and cultural lines, as to what was cool. Our differences led to two separate proms and senior trips.

Technically our differences were kid-stuff. Yet, this past presidential election reminded me much of that period. I now understand the difference between being ‘for’ something as opposed to being ‘against’.

The Republicans framed their campaign as being FOR: God, morality, and national security.

Simply put there was no way for Kerry to denounce any of these principles. He followed the party line and placed emphasis on the need to fight for libertarian ideals, of individual freedoms. In the end his campaign was essentially an ‘anti’ campaign.

That was the nature of his support base: those who were anti-Bush.

True to democratic ideals in a pluralistic society, the Democratic Party believes each group should send their representative to address their specific issue. National elections continue to show the flaw of this approach.

Whereas the various voting blocs stand side-by-side with other democrats, they do not champion each other's cause.

This is best illustrated by observing how celebrities and mainstream artists made their political stance. They rallied around their individual issues, or voiced their anti-Bush sentiments. Did any of them back what was deemed the most unfavorable issue: same-sex marriage?

How powerful would it have been had a heterosexual male singer made a song or statement supporting this issue?

Politicians reach across voting blocs and hold hands with everyone: women, minorities, gays, pro-choice groups, etc... Yet, few top artists or celebrities asking voters to support politicians ever come out and say I am FOR...

The two major parties have different, albeit underhandedly offensive ways of dealing with minorities. Democrats are the party of majority rule where it's truly a number's game. Since no individual minority bloc will ever constitute the party’s majority, the upper level positions will continue to be manned by those from the centrist base.

Though the Republican Party’s membership is less than 20% minority, Bush’s past and upcoming cabinet includes Blacks, Latinos and Asians. This makes the old question, how come there are no black people on the wall, obsolete.

We can opt to call these representatives crossovers, but I bet their high school pictures will show they were never in our clique.

G. Dan Buford's first novel, "My Baby's Father" was
published by La Caille Nous Publishing. His next
novel, "Separate But Equal" is due out this year.