I, for one, am very glad the issue of race has entered the national dialogue, and I believe that any American who advocates for racial harmony should see this crack in the wall as a window of opportunity that may not be open for long.

Every so often in this country, our citizens must revisit the issue of race relations on a national level, if for no other reason than to gauge our progress. The last time the discussion of race entered the social fabric of our cities, towns and villages, it affected a monumental change in the way we, as citizens, approach basic civil rights. Unfortunately, as with most things, it was the details which created the misunderstandings.

Take, for example, conservative Barry Goldwater, who in the 1960s was unjustly accused of racism. For him, the issue was never about whether those basic civil rights were unalienable and universal (most conservatives believed that they were), the question was how the process towards rectifying the law was to be carried out. Goldwater's belief was that circumventing the US Constitution and state's rights in order to affectuate change, no matter how laudable the intention, would set dangerous precedents for those times when the motives weren't so clear. To his profound and utter devastation, Goldwater, a friend to many African-Americans, was branded a racist and treated with contempt by many within the civil rights movement.

Nevertheless, the changes that ocurred improved society and marked a turning point toward improving race relations in the US.

This time around, things are different.

It is plain to see that there are a wide variety of views, which all seem to be connected by a universal feeling of anger. The anger takes radically different forms, depending on who is talking, but can be distilled into two distinct catories: the tremendous anger blacks feel about being discriminated against and the tremendous anger whites feel about actions of reverse-discrimination. What seems to have gotten lost in the discussion is that both sentiments are warranted, and both are valid.

With the recent allegations, counter-allegations and declarations made within the 2008 presidential campaign, the veil shrouding race in America has been lifted once and for all. The subject has been broached, and the topic is open for discussion. A collective breath should be taken as candor is voiced and long-harbored feelings of anger, resentment, frustration and helplessness are spoken of and addressed not just by blacks and whites, but by Hispanic-, Asian- and Native-Americans, as well.

For far too long, political correctedness in America has stunted discussion and made it virtually impossible to progress beyond accusations, argument or innuendo. Now that the seal of polite silence and angry debate has been broken, it is time to set aside hate-talk of all kinds and confront the issue head-on.

The only way past it is through it.