Dear Editor:

A Sunday editorial praised Barack Obama’s speech in reply to the airing of his pastor’s outrageous claims about America.  The Pilot saw the speech as a “remarkable” effort toward “a larger conversation on race”.

What does the senator’s poor choice of religious mentors have to do with race relations in the first place?  Is Obama explaining that his pastor hates America because he happens to be black?  Why did he not instead explain in his speech why he would follow such a man in reaching the most fundamental beliefs one can hold?

If the Obama campaign wishes to turn the page on race, the senator needs to stop explaining so many events in terms of race. 

Most Americans today do not think much about race relations really.  After all, there should be no such thing in a color-blind society.  Racial discrimination has been unlawful in the United States in every way since 1964.  A larger conversation emphasizing bigotry is not now helpful or needed.  We are one nation finally.

Hopefully someday our government and even the media will learn that slicing and dicing racial claims is itself an expression of soft bigotry on all sides. America has long practiced the equality that makes all of us free to succeed no matter what others may happen to believe.  Free citizens anywhere can ask for little more.