Is Racism an American Value?

In light of the November 5, 2009 attack on Fort Hood, Army officials and Muslim servicemembers have expressed concern of a possible backlash against Muslims in the military. Whether or not Major Nidal Malik Hasan's religion played a role in his attack should not matter. He is one man out of 3,000 other Muslim servicemembers. When one Christian commits a similar act, we do not condemn all Christians. We did not denounce Christianity when Timothy McVeigh, a white Christian, bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. In this case, however, there has been some talk of removing Muslims from the military. Timothy Rollins of Oklahoma even called for the "honorable discharge" of all Muslims in the Armed Forces.

The reaction to the attack on Fort Hood raises concerns about racism and prejudices in America. Do Americans hold racism as a part of traditional "American values"? Despite equality being one of the founding ideas, U.S. History has shown that Americans have not practiced the idea, and still harbor racist prejudices. Despite the laws and Constitutional amendments, the truth is that minority groups fear that their group will be targeted when an individual commits a crime to this degree. If equality were truly an American value, minority groups would not have to worry about backlash in instances like Fort Hood.