It is a surprise when commentators, white and black, express shock, dismay and surprise at the vile ditties sung by the white and privileged SAE frat boys on the bus at the University of Oklahoma. And then the collective American media are shocked that the Miami police department used images of black men for target practice. And then we hear more howls from the shock echo chamber when the Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives admits to having addressed a meeting of Ku Klux Klan members.

When discussions regarding race relations in America begin, there is a tendency of some commentators to suggest that “all sides” of this contentious issue be taken into consideration. Once again, this quote provides a useful guide:

“There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution.” – Frederick Douglass

The point, of course, is that any consideration of the various factors affecting the relationship(s) between the national black community and the national white community must, of necessity, begin with the recognition that from its literal inception, this nation embraced the theology of racism and the legalization of racist practices. This is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact based on actual American history.

Over the centuries this theology has morphed into schools of thought and political philosophies that link the pathological effects of racism to “cultural” differences instead of anthropological differences. The legalization of racist practices have evolved from outright slavery, to Jim Crow practices, and now to the employment of the law enforcement and correctional systems to continue to subjugate and marginalize huge segments of the national black community.

But the reality is that America is addicted to racism. The reality is that as a nation America is a raceaholic. And like the drug addict or the alcoholic, this country cannot begin to walk down the road of recovery until it stops its denial and accepts the problem that is literally part of its DNA.

It does no good to treat racist remarks by public figures as “misstatements”. It does no good to term the racially-based brutalization and murder of black Americans for centuries as “isolated incidents”. And it does no good to hide behind the fig leaf of “the inherent goodness of the American people”.

Because while all of humanity is inherently good, good people all over the world have stood silently through pogroms, massacres, holocausts and the ritual of the lynch mob. For centuries, good people in this country lived comfortably while black Americans were enslaved, raped, murdered and sold like cattle. For over a century good people in this country lived quite comfortably while black Americans sat in the back of the national bus.

And now, in the 21st century, good people are deaf, dumb and blind to the pathologies in the national black community, becoming conscious only to point out that the people who are damaged did it to themselves – ostensibly in some sort of cultural vacuum chamber that totally absolves the “good people” of blame or responsibility.

If anyone reading this column truly believes that the University of Oklahoma is the only university where the word “nigger” is spoken freely, then they are invited to visit any college or university in America. If anyone truly believes that Ferguson, Missouri is the only town in America where police officers racially mock President Obama and jail black Americans disproportionately, then they are invited to visit any town in America.

It is too bad that there isn’t a Betty Ford Clinic for nations. Perhaps this country could go, admit its addiction and begin a twelve step program that will heal this country and allow all the “good people” in this country to become truly good people.