Despite the media's obsession with perpetuating divisive partisan politics, we actually have more common ground with our fellow citizens from all along the political spectrum that we sometimes think. Whether or not you've chalked up the Shirley Sherrod controversy as just another distraction tactic, I hope you'll concede that the full version of the white farmer story she told during her NAACP speech contained a valuable lesson.

I highlight that take-home message in my latest HuffPo piece. Here's a snippet:

On Sunday, Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary brought up an important issue that seems to be getting lost in the midst of all the Shirley Sherrod hoopla: What was Sherrod actually trying to say in her NAACP speech that day? Despite what the edited video that cost the Department of Agriculture official her job portrayed, Sherrod's take-home message wasn't promoting race-based division, but quite the opposite. Instead she pointed out the importance of recognizing the injustice that affects people of all races, across the political spectrum: Economic inequality. "The struggle," she said, 17 minutes into the full video, "is really about poor people. ...It's about those who have versus those who don't."
People like that farmer Sherrod mentioned—along with so many other white, blue-collar folks in this country—have suffered severe economic losses over the past several decades. And those losses, some are arguing, have resulted in shifting political allegiances.

Please let me know what you think in the HuffPo comments! The impacts of class issues on this country's political and economic landscape have gone unacknowledged for far too long.