I am not a racist. As a 21st century Caucasian in America, I want only to move on with my life, treat others around me fairly, consistently and with grace regardless of their ethnicity, and expect the same from them.

But I find that is increasingly frowned on in today’s America. I am not allowed, as Martin Luther King pleaded, to judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

No, that’s not allowed today. Today, I must take notice of the color of those with whom I have interaction, and extend consideration to them precisely because of the color of their skin.  If I don’t take account of a person’s non-white skin color, I’m a racist.  It’s actually worse than that.  If I am white and male and happen to disagree with the position of someone who is not, it must be, ipso facto, because I am a racist.  This is the level of thoughtful discourse informing today’s political “discussion”.

It is, of course, true that an entire industry devoted to imposing favorable political consideration on blacks grew up in the wake of Martin Luther King and the impassioned days of the 1960s’ civil rights movement. In those days, they were indisputably in the right. There were just reasons to pursue special “consideration” for those who had been the victims of institutional racism in America for 200 years.

But today, 50 years have passed. The generation then alive and in control is, for all intents and purposes, dead. That generation’s call for remedies to implement justice and equality for blacks (and all other races) has largely, though not comprehensively, been implemented – the Civil Rights Act of 1964, subsequent Affirmative Action initiatives, prosecution of those involved in real estate “redlining”, etc.

But, for those whose political careers are reliant on the perpetuation of the portrayal of “people of color” as ongoing victims of racism and oppression, such remedies are incidental. Their livelihood requires in a very real sense that I remain an “oppressor”.  Or, the functional equivalent, “insensitive”. So they’re not going to allow me to interact with people in a color-blind manner. They require me to operate in a perpetual state of apology for being white – for enjoying “white privilege” – and to constantly defer one way or the other, despite their founder’s eloquent words, to their skin-color-centric position.

How does this eliminate racism in America? If you’re not allowed to move beyond race-consciousness, whatever your race, how do you eliminate racism? If you happen to be black and you’re constantly incited to race-consciousness and race hatred, how do you move beyond it in your own life?

I have to conclude that the American people are being manipulated by the industry that benefits only if there is ongoing animus between constituencies that are based on race.  Those in this industry get to sell higher-priced ads in their media, get to occupy more endowed chairs in prestigious Universities, get to have their own talk shows and make money off of their on-line content, get to lecture politicians on what they “demand”.  And all of them — all of them — make a lot of money doing what they’re doing.  These people are known as “race hustlers”.

For myself, I’m not going to put up with it anymore. I intend to continue to operate in a completely color-blind manner, judging only by the content of character. If those in the industry want to use that behavior to label me a “racist”, fine. Bring it on.

But they will then have to answer the following question: If a population being completely impartial with regard to race is today’s definition of “racist”, what is it, exactly, that they are working for, besides themselves and their own selfish interests?