Shirley Sherrod Do you hear yourself?

Before we start, let's remember I am a Black woman. Apparently that is somehow relevant to my ability to be candid about Ms. Sherrod's words and actions. So much for a color-blind, post racism administration. There are 5 parts of this story that should shame all of us as Americans:

1. Our government hired a person to represent it who sees race before need. Ms. Sherrod, I am so glad that your story ends with how you grew beyond these feeling, but you should have turned down the job if you wanted to use it to provide preference to people on the basis of color.

2. Ms. Sherrod believes that telling the world that she now understands that the goal of her position was to move resources from the haves to the have nots, not from Whites to Blacks should make us feel better. Forgive me, but I did not realize that her title was Regional Director of Wealth Redistribution?

3. Ms. Sherrod gets perferential treatment--a do over--when the multitude of conservatives who have misspoken or been taken out of context do not? Oh, I forgot liberals even get to say that being in the Klan was a youthful indiscretion (Sen. Byrd). Conservatives do not get context, do overs or explanations--just resignations in shame.

4. Ms. Sherrod may I introduce you to the concept of shame. Aren't you ashamed to admit that you used your position for anything other than helping all farmers? Or that you lead with your color, not your compassion? Or that you feel you need to tutor Americans, America and the President about "how we feel?" And who are "we?"

5. Finally, the idea that people will listen to interviews with Ms. Sherrod and not see her as a poster child for how liberals must divide us by groups to maintain control. And yet, people will still vote for this divisiveness in the fall.