Imagine wanting to initiate a large-scale conversation with people about the importance of a good math education, only to realize that over half of them do not know that 1+1=2.  On top of that, try as you might to explain the concept, they still do not get it.

That is how I feel right now regarding race issues.  If Josh's most recent post is correct in indicating that 53% of Americans think that Barack Obama made a "racist" comment when he pointed out that he does not look like the presidents who are on our currency, then there is no hope for a meaningful conversation about racial inequality in this country.  In fact, the statistic indicates that we are so phenomenally stupid that there is no point in having much of a conversation about anything.

Racial inequality remains one of the top, if not the top, domestic policy issues in this country, and will continue to be so even if Obama is elected president.  But how can we have a conversation about this if Obama's comment is considered racist?  This is just about one of the most depressing pieces of information that I have come across in a long, long time.