The World on PRI had a segment on a Sikh Indian American running for a senate seat in Illinois as a Republican. The piece highlights the fact that the candidate dresses like a traditional Sikh. What get’s on my nerves about this sort of piece are moments like when a spokesmen for an Indian American Republican group says they (Indian Americans) are “natural” Republicans. This is all glossy marketing, after all, Jews, blacks and now Latinos have been “natural” Republicans as well. Working class whites from the south are also “natural” Democratics (post-1964 presidential politics). Politics is more complex than pre-digested soundbites and many choices are obviously individual. Our culture is so saturated with discourse framed in identity politics and the importance of group affiliation that even the putatively individualistic Right now views issues through that lens. Perhaps that’s what most irritated me when National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru profiled Indian American Republican Bobby Jindal, who is running for the spot of governor of Louisiana. I know that Ramesh might be able to bring some extra perspective because of his commonalities with the candidate-but I don’t want this to be such a big factor that non-white conservatives (or liberals, or fill-in-the-black) are stuck in the same box as black conservatives, always being dictated & defined by race from both the Left & the Right through both ostracism & encouragement despite their attempt to argue that we need to transcend ethnic affiliation as a key organizing principle of civic life.
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