THE AESTHETICS OF RACE VERSUS THE BEAUTY OF HUMANITY Race is an inherently divisive—and recent—idea. There is no cultural issue more explosive today than race. It is a matter that continually evades any attempt at rational analysis and instead distorts our politics and inflames the passions. A sad consequence is the debasement of our cultural life. Rather than being united by objects of love, by shared and commonly embraced ideals, we are increasingly divided along racial lines by competing objects of desire, all presumed to be of equal value, each demanding its due. Such competing desires, because they make...