Tim Wise is an author and speaker whom I've just discovered, but his words articulate clearly and plainly the opinions I've been stating for years, inspired by my reading of Howard Zinn and general study of white and black demographics as well as the social ramifications of modern day segregation and prejudice. His work is very powerful and absorbing and I recommend you give him a listen.

He speaks of a systematic effort to seperate people holding common aims and goals using the playground level ignorance, that of racism. The same can be said by considering oneself either a Republican or Democrat. Nothing reduces the power of union in a community by allowing the populace to feel they have the illusion of choice towards political stances that result in the same conclusion anyway. The point is to dilute and direct passions and ideologies into pre-structured political and social doctrines. In the immortal words of Bill Hicks, "...you look at the puppet on the left, and you look at the puppet on the right, then, holy shit! It's the same fucking guy pulling the strings..."