Can't we all just get along??

Last night, President Barack Obama welcomed a diverse group of poets to the White House, and among them were rapper Common and R&B singer Jill Scott. While anyone with even a passing knowledge of popular culture will probably agree that these two are more socially conscious than subversive radicals, FOX NEWS, Sarah Palin and others, coupled with the political blog The Drudge Report attempted to paint the rapper as a racist and cop-hater and Jill Scott as a racist and segregationist. (Really though?)

Here’s what these idiots political heads had to say:

Sarah Palin lashed out, tweeting a link to a Daily Caller article with the words “Oh lovely, White House . . .” The article sated that [Common] is quite controversial, in part because his poetry includes threats to shoot police and at least one passage calling for the “burn[ing]” of then-President George W. Bush.

Matt Drudge has chimed in, posting a quote and link to an article Jill Scott wrote for Essence last year, “When my friend told me his wife was Caucasian, I felt my spirit wince.”

Sadly, no one took the time to research the background or even ask these poets their thoughts on the matter. In fact if they had taken just a little time they would have came across Scott’s article where she reveals her thoughtful examination of her internal conflict before eventually writing:

“I was taught that every man should be judged by his deeds and not his color, and I firmly stand where my grandmother left me. . . My position is that for women of color, this very common ‘wince’ has solely to do with the African story in America.”

Although there seemed to be a heated  debate (over nothing) to prevent these two poets from reading their pieces – President Obama summarized the essence of poetry and its significance in his opening:

“The power of poetry is that everybody experiences it differently. There are no rules for what makes a great poem. Understanding it isn’t just about metaphor or meter. Instead, a great poem is one that resonates with us, that challenges us and that teaches us something about ourselves and the world that we live in.”

Check out Common’s White House performance here:

Check out Jill Scott’s performance here: