In light of the Michael Richards debacle (Kramer screaming racist remarks on stage), Paula Zahn featured “Skin Deep: Racism in America.” I was skeptical at what new information or cutting edge revelations could possibly arise from this old debate. To deliberate the idea of racism is ridiculous. Of course it exists, hiding or radiating from every color skin in America. But, typically, and as this show proved, the accusations are aimed at white people.

I am continually frustrated by attempts to exacerbate racism in America. That they even took the time to delve into this topic for two hours of primetime only breeds more of it. They took us to a podunk town in Texas to exemplify the existence of racism in America, thereby magnifying a minute population as the real America. This is disproportionate and inaccurate reporting. A video quote of a clearly ignorant and perhaps mentally unstable woman in a local diner saying, “As far as eatin’ with ‘em and socializin’, that’s where I draw then line.” Huh? Do you really expect us to believe that kind of attitude is prevelant in modern society? Try featuring a more realistic and stable person as a representative of the entire white population.

Al Sharpton whined about the lack of black talk show hosts on television, and the number of blacks arrested as compared to whites. Looking at the facts alone will tell you that poverty and crime are directly linked in higher numbers to the black community. But, as Star Parker, wrote today in her column, Zahn’s show “ignored the most destructive and widely prevailing racist attitude in our society today, one of which both blacks and whites are guilty. This is the attitude that blacks cannot be held to the same standards as whites.”

It’s true that black people in this country went through horrendous times. The Civil Rights movement was a glorious victory. The legacy of racism does live on to the next generations, but holding onto it benefits no one. It is the black people in America, who endured and persevered agonizingly through the Civil Rights movement, who exemplify the attitudes that should prevail today.

America must stop feeling so indebtedly guilty to black America for a past we can’t undo. The government must stop trying to pay back those wronged because no amount of handouts, affirmative action policies, or historical justifications will suffice for that wrongful prejudice fueled by irrational hate. No matter what, justice won’t be served. However, that reality must be finally be accepted and real racial equality should be elevated. This means the same standards for all colors. This means not focusing on race. This means challenging every individual person to take control of their own life and accomplish things without a mentality of hindrance. Wasting energy on something that could hold you down, only does just that.

If you don’t make something happen for yourself, no one is going to do it for you, and no one really cares why you never became what you could have. Your excuses only comfort you. Those who inspire us most in life are those who had no excuses. You watch them run against the grain, make the right decisions in the midst of hardship, struggle to overcome whatever obstacles are in their way, and climb achingly over the precipice. I want to be a victor. That is impossible when dwelling on victimhood. Of course this applies to more than color. There are a thousands things any person could use as an excuse, including bad childhoods, abusive pasts, unfair tragedies, physical impairments, and more. All of these things could defeat you. But standards are not pre-fixed or relative for everything in life that is unfair.

No one is exempt from the agony or ecstasy that is this life. The American dream is alive as well, waiting for you to choose. The government can’t give it to you. And it doesn’t thrive in a sea of excuse either. It is the road less traveled, the difficult path to freedom, the daily choices we make, the hard ones. Yes, racism exists, but as Parker writes, “It's a racism of diminished expectations. A racism that says blacks still need special treatment in education and job placement, that we can't give black parents freedom to choose where to send their kids to school, that we can't let low-income black workers build wealth through a personal retirement account, instead of paying Social Security taxes, because they won't know what to do.”

My thoughts on this topic are often disregarded because I’m white. But that’s just another way around the real issue.