Backstrom: Am I an extremist?

I have been accused of being an extremist, angry, negative, loudmouth, trouble-making Uncle Tom — and black.

All this before breakfast. I plead guilty to four out of six. I don’t have an uncle named Tom, and my grandfather was Jewish. I’m only part black, just like Barack.

To the charge of being an extremist, I plead guilty.

Was Jesus not an extremist when he said “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that hate you?”

Was Abraham Lincoln not an extremist? He said, “This country cannot live half-slave and half-free.”

Was Thomas Jefferson an extremist when he said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal?”

I dare not put myself among these great men, although I have tried to advocate for change because of the fierce urging of now. We have a school system that continues to fail our children and the world. We live in a society that doesn’t value life. The only thing that really is important is sex and money.

What shall I tell my child — that we are here by accident? Shall I teach her to get hers before somebody else does? Shall I ignore the Alpha and the Omega in my life? Shall I downplay the miracles that have occurred? Shall I, in the mist of the rain, turn my back on those loving hands that guided me to the sun? I cannot, and I will not, ever do that.

I say this because several people have responded to me, and they have said, “Walter, I enjoy your writings, except when you talk about that God fellow.”

I write because I believe that we can do better and that we must do better. I have, to the best of my ability, advocated and worked for the change I believe in. I have not just sat back and pointed fingers. I am aware that some of the things I write about make people uncomfortable. So much so, that they wish this column would go away. The things I advocate, the things I want, are the things that are deeply rooted in the American dream. It doesn’t matter whether I write, or my critics win.

The reality is: The truth will always win, even after me and my armchair critics are gone. Is it wrong to point out that we are 43rd in graduation rates, and to demand that we do better? Is it wrong to say that a D average is unacceptable, even when the Seattle school district says it isn’t? Is it wrong to be pro-life, as I take my daughter’s hand to school and she whispers, “Daddy, I love you.” The challenges that I have overcome have happened because I believed — and I didn’t quit. We live in a wonderful country filled with honorable and decent people. The world needs us to be a beacon that says yes.

I am guilty of being an extremist who is deeply disappointed in how we have treated our children and the less fortunate. Martin Luther King once said: “There can be no great disappointment without great love.”

I promise I will continue to write and advocate for something better. If I have said anything that offends you, forgive me. If I have said something that prompts you into action, thank you. No excuses.