It remains a tenacious threat because we can face in others only that which we can face in ourselves. Our unwillingness to confront the perils has unfurled about this entire nation a veil of uncertainty. Blinded by its obstruction, an identity suspended between black and white is cast in profanity. The resulting myopia extends from a very arcane concept of identity that threatens the myth of race some of us cling to so desperately. From the womb of race mythology is born our cultural rhetoric.
Rhetoric is the salve that soothes the sting of forced labels.
Jaded by the inevitable conflict between who we are and who society forces us to be helps sustain the burden. After all, few are ignorant of the unspoken but profound assumptions that live in unfamiliar stares. They fashion the fishhooks and barbed wire that define the identities of some at the expense of others. It bestows validity upon the 'melting pot' sustaining the illusion that no matter what your creed or color, you may come here, work hard, and go as far as your talents will take you. It is what we romantically refer to as the American dream.