The current crisis on the international scene created by the Ukraine tragedy at the hands of Russia is being played out on a world stage reminiscent of the most serious confrontations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The possession of nuclear weapons has been the greatest complicating factor in the competition among radically different ideologies.
The drawing of global lines between the democracies and the countries that are or tolerate authoritarian political inclinations and practices is most visible in the activities designed to isolate and pressure Russia to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine. This process has also served to mask internal political differences within each of the democratic countries that are experiencing deep divisions involving things like immigration, race and eco- nomics that have caused other things like British Brexit that describes its separation from the European Union.
The most important domestic story in the United States that parallels the Ukrainian exigency is the Biden nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United Supreme Court. Her appointment would be historic as she is the first African American women to serve on that bench.
The give and take during the United State Senate confirmation process of Judge Brown Jackson appears typical of the deep divisions amplified by the political parties that seek to advance or deny the nomination. More importantly is the follow-through by President Biden on his commitment to the Black community that began with the selection of Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate for his successful election to the White House.
That commitment was in part shaped by the comeback win of candidate Joe Biden in the South Carolina primary engineered by Black voters and led by Representative Jim Clyburn. This has resulted in African American political leaders feeling that they deserve a prominent role in the affairs of the Democratic Party.
President Obama’s nomination of Justice Sotomayor in 2009 is even more historic as she was the first woman of color, first Raza and first Latina appointed to the Supreme Court. At the same time, it appears that Obama could not have looked to an African American to nominate as it might look like overkill because he himself was a historic figure as the first Black American elected to the presidency.
Barack Obama’s election served to raise the prominence of the Black community even higher in the Democratic Party. This prominence, solidified by their role in the Biden turn around, has put African Americans in the driver’s seat.
The developments have created the appearance of a competition between Blacks and Whites at least at the extreme ends of political life. The Black civil rights movement features grievance issues like those presented by Black Lives Matter on the one hand and a firm control of Progressive elements of the Democratic Party on the other. The extreme wing of the White Conservative com- munity has also embarked on a “civil rights” movement designed to keep, what it characterizes as its culture and race, in charge of the country as well as maintain a firm control of the Republican Party. Black and White America are demonstrating the image of the political divisions that are afflicting our country.
Because of its diversity, the world that the Latino community is navigating finds segments of its body in the traditional wings of both the Republican and Democratic Parties as well as in its extremes. By in large however, there is a sense that Latinos are more interested on finding their own way to the middle class.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
