In response to liturgical readings from October 12, 2008: Isaiah 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22-1-14.

If asked, almost no one of us would admit to making distinctions among people because of race. The word "racist" is a strong word with many connotations. But if we understand it as judging someone by the color of their skin or by their ethnic origin, nearly everyone would say they do not discriminate.

Nevertheless, sociologists have found that racial bias pervades the subconscious of most Americans.

Pollsters have discovered a hidden or unconscious bias that most of us are unaware of because our culture has implanted certain associations in our heads. This happens even with many immigrants who come to the U.S. with little racial prejudice; within several years they absorb the dominant racism in our country and sometimes become more racist in their opinions than people born in this country.

Racism or discrimination based on race is not simply a matter between blacks and whites. Discrimination affects all nationalities and ethnic groups, Asians, Africans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners, and Native Americans. At some point, generally when we are young, we are taught that specific ethnic groups have certain negative characteristics. We easily judge everyone in the group to be the same way, and thus make generalizations and accept stereotypes. The older we get the harder it is to change or counter these stereotypes, even when confronted with overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The elderly hold more such prejudices than those who are younger. For example, 35% of Americans age 60 and older believe it is unacceptable for Whites to date Blacks, yet only 16% of people between ages of 40 and 60 disapprove of interracial dating, and only 6% of those under 30 years of age find it objectionable.

Throughout American history, different ethnic groups have been the subject of intense discrimination. For nearly a century, signs in our cities proclaimed "Irish need not apply." After World War I, U.S. immigration laws were changed precisely to limit the entrance of the so-called "undesirable" element from southern European, meaning primarily Italians. Asians have been the subject of discrimination since the Chinese were brought to this country in the 19^th century to harvest the fields, work the mines and lay the railroad for the Western frontier. The enslavement of black Africans and their descendents has been undoubtedly the most extensive, oppressive, and long lasting racism our country has experienced. Even the current negative reactions to millions of Hispanics who have entered our country in recent decades do not compare to the persistent racism experienced by African Americans.

Enter Barack Obama on the national scene. A man whose mother was Caucasian and father was African. How is he perceived? How do we react to him? Will people not vote for him because he is black? Will they say they are not racist but once they are in the privacy of the voting booth, will they refuse to pull the lever or touch the screen to vote for an African American?

Pollsters claim that about 6% of voters will cast their ballots based on race, meaning they will probably not vote for Obama because of the color of his skin. Conversely, most Blacks will vote for him, and some may base their vote solely on the color of his skin. Because he is black, they believe he will act in their self-interest.

How would Jesus look at this matter? Would he form his opinion of a candidate based on the color of his or her skin? Even though the apostles disapproved of Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Our Lord respected her, looked into her heart and saw her potential. He did not judge her because she was a woman or a foreigner. So must we be open to the value of the person, the level of their experience, the tenor of their character, and their position on the issues. We must judge our candidates and make a choice, but our judgments should never be based on race or something as superficial as the color of skin.

Many of us have heard others say quite clearly they will not vote for Barack Obama because he is black. They might say "I just can’t vote for those people." They might make all sorts of arguments against him based on erroneous and stereotypical assumptions about black people. For example, they may believe he is a Muslim (which labeling reflects another prejudice) when he clearly is not; he is a Christian. Or they may say he will only promote his own people, which is clearly not what he did when he was in the Illinois Legislature or during his tenure as a United States senator. If we look at his positions on a host of issues, he has clearly fought for all peoples, young and old, men and women, Hispanics, blacks, Asians and whites.

Of course, Barack Obama is not perfect. No one is. It is okay to disagree with his positions, but those disagreements should be based on issues and character, and not on the color of his skin or his ethnic background.

We must avoid stereotypes of black people; they are certainly not all the same; they respond in all sorts of different ways, just as Hispanics and Whites. For example, there are good and bad Hispanic politicians, good and bad Asian employers and, sadly, good and bad white priests. The color of skin does not determine how a person will perform, and it should not be the basis of our vote. Our votes must not be based on race but on the candidate’s position on issues and their character. That is our civic and moral responsibility. It is clearly what Jesus would do and clearly what he wants us to do.

It is ironic that Hispanics and other people of color, who have experienced similar discrimination because of the color of their skin or their accent, would discriminate against African Americans in the same way. On the contrary, it would be more understandable if there were solidarity among all people of color, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others because they all generally have suffered some form of discrimination for being people of color, whether on the job, in the housing market, while shopping, or in their dealings with the police.

No one is totally free from the sin of making distinctions among people based on outward appearances even though we believe we all are created equal by God and called to love one another as brothers and sisters regardless of the color of our skin.

As Christians we are all challenged to act as Jesus did. Jesus welcomed everyone; he included the excluded; he embraced the stranger; he accepted the rejected. He looked beyond people’s skin to their hearts and to their potential. That is what we are called to do.

Thus, in the remaining weeks of this electoral campaign, if we hear anyone say they will not vote for Barack Obama or anyone else because he is black, we should speak up. I know Jesus would. Let us challenge people to elect public officials based not on the color of their skin but on the strength of their character and their position on issues. Let us choose elected officials who will strive to achieve a more just society.