Run With Mu

The mere existence of a debate about the American heritage of NYC Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi is uncomfortable proof there is still a great deal of ignorance and delusion in United States sports culture. We may have voted for a President of color, but the underlying tensions of race and nationality are still very much with us.

Of course, saying these tensions are “still with us” implies they are alien beings that have simply wandered into our midst. Our distorted perceptions are not “with us.” They are not even “they” — to refer to our wrong views of race and jingoism as something that is somehow separate from ourselves is a shirking of responsiblity. And it’s that kind of dualistic thinking which makes an unnecessary debate about Meb Keflezighi possible in the first place. Or, to quote Walt Kelly’s Pogo yet again, We have met the enemy and he is us.

This story resonates with the koan I’m currently sitting with: “A thousand mountains are covered with snow. Why is only one peak not white?”