When it comes to racial equality, America is being led around by a posse of self-serving liars, profiteers, manipulators and knuckleheads confusing yodeling echoes with social justice.  

Yes, our country – like every other country – struggles with the issue of race. 

But in this century, we actually haven’t even struggled. We’ve run in place and pretended.

Each year the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. is trotted out and throttled with insincere rhetoric that mocks everything the gentleman was about.

Shame on every one of us who participates in this ruse.

Here’s the script — (1) Endlessly replaying the same tired, old, angry voices screamingly selling a recycled script of race-based entitlement and permanent victimization. (2) Our leaders gushingly regurgitating homogenized and neutered racism declarations. (3) The rest of us prattling along with “Groundhog Day” predictability with “prove you’re not a racist” MLK dinners, marches and local government proclamations. 

It’s all an empty deception that, thanks to some really bad actors and an America that seems to have lost its marbles, finds us stuck on stupid when it comes to color.

Want some examples?

In Asheville, we have some of the same black Americans who struggled mightily for school desegregation in the ‘60s now struggling with matching enthusiasm to re-establish school segregation. 

They are seemingly clueless in their violation of reason, progress and the sacrifices necessary to winning the original battle. 

Though most local governments have dodged anything but politically correct verbiage and declarations on race, the Democrat-controlled Asheville area — always in the lead on social pretense — has taken the bold step of investing uncounted hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on a stumbling “paid to play” reparations committee. 

To date they have done little beyond spend other people’s money trying to figure out how to get more of other people’s money.

The reality that giving people public funds on the basis of color is against the law doomed this misbegotten racist enterprise from the onset. 

It will be interesting to watch when either (1) Reparations Committee members don’t get what they want or (2) they finally realize they were set-up for failure. 

Spoiler Alert for all those engaged in this wicked enterprise — one cannot travel on the easy paths of entitlement and victimization and the road to equality at the same time.

Ironically, if there ever was proof we have made progress in race relations, it is the fact that in 2008 we elected a black president. 

Progress personified. 

Unfortunately, we erred mightily by ignoring his betrayal of promise and reelected him in 2012. 

Error? Well, Obama and his spouse turned out to be racially obsessed sociopathic charmers. 

Instead of bringing us together, they fed the flames of division that led to racial regression. 

Obama should not be allowed to dodge the seriousness of his harms.

Unfortunately, once again he and many others like him will similarly abuse this MLK Day. 

Ironically, at the same time, two things will happen that will actually validate Martin Luther King Jr. in honest form.

First, a new president is going to be sworn in who doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about a person’s color, but very much cares about their character, choices and convictions.

He has the potential to bring us together without consideration for color and discard the self-serving pretense of liberal elitists and race profiteers. 

Secondly, the final game of the college playoffs also goes down on MLK Day.

During this event, we will have witness to one of the least racially poisoned entities in American culture.

In spite of all the kneeling nonsense that poisoned the sport for a brief time, football players, at least most of them, also don’t give a tinker’s damn about a man’s color. 

What they care about is his competence. 

Martin Luther King Jr., President Donald Trump and our two-remaining college-level football teams — each a model of imperfect merit — will share this special day.

All the rest — the parades, the MLK dinners, the proclamations, the politicized declarations and the calls for race-based entitlements – will continue as little more than background noise.

Do we have a race problem? 

Sure, but we’ve come a long way and should finish the journey vs. run in place, pretending motion is action.

It remains that anyone who judges another on the basis of something over which they have no control — skin color — is a fool.

Anyone who fails to gauge others on the basis of their character, choices, and convictions — likewise.

It’s time to get real on race and move forward.

Give MLK’s birthday your meaningful attention by doing just that.