Skin Pigmentation

Stan Grimes

Skin pigmentation is a physiological event unpreventable and inevitable for all of us. It´s not some kind of intellectual enlightenment or spiritual awakening. Yet, for some reason unknown to me our country believes it´s important. Otherwise why do we talk about it so much? We worry about it like it´s something we can change, like it´s some kind of inoperable cancer. We, as a people, have made it an issue, a "card" to be played. We seem to worry about it more than oil prices, healthcare, mortgage foreclosures, and even war. Does skin pigmentation drive our economy? I think not. However, it does appear to drive our psyches.

It doesn´t seem to matter if John McCain´s campaign in the past two weeks has placed attack ads against Barack Obama that appear to have been produced and directed by some secret and mentally impaired Dr. Who showing just how demented and desperate his staffers are, and of course McCain himself who tags these outlandish productions with, "I´m John McCain and I approve this message." How could anyone with a straight face declare, "I approve this message?"

Little has been discussed about McCain´s little pilgrimages to Canada and Mexico trying to improve our chances of losing more jobs to our southern and northern friends across the border. Maybe pigmentation is more important. We would rather do close-up shots of his melanoma-ridden face. After all, pigmentation is important. Man, I admit that I have extremely light skin pigmentation, but this guy looks like he just came off the movie set of "Powder, The Sequel." But, hey, we´re more worried about those darker pigmentations.

Folks with darker skin pigmentation are okay in a good ´ol boy´s eyes when he´s watching the NFL, NBA, NCAA, and MLB sporting events, but run for president? Whoa horsey, we can´t have any of that going on. This idea of "All men are created equal" is great when it comes to sports, but politics? Let´s not get extreme here. Dark pigmented folks are good for playing sports, representing us in the Olympics, fighting on our battlefields, and working in our factories…but, hey, being the President is an entirely different matter. "It´s risky."

I guess voting George Bush into the Presidency wasn´t risky, right? After all, he was a governor and a…uh, well…he was a pilot in the military service. Being a pilot in the military must now be a prerequisite for the job. McCain was a pilot in the military, hmm. Risky? Let´s see, I´m a war hero so I should be qualified to be President. I was a navy pilot using drugs and alcohol so I should be President. Was Lincoln a pilot? Wasn´t he just a young guy out of Illinois, a little risky I´d say? Oh, I forgot, his skin pigmentation was lighter like those other guys that started wars.

I say we forget for a few months about the color of skin and start worrying about a nation that´s falling to its knees with such force the world can hear it. We have an economic earthquake going on, forget the pigmentation. Let's get to the real issues.