So you want to change the name of the Washington Redskins?

Every couple of years, some alleged do-gooder comes around and starts pushing the issue that the NFL's Washington Redskins should change their name. The latest wave of "Rename the Redskins" seems to have started up over the past couple of weeks, with Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports (a company that I, kind of/sort of work for sometimes) sounding a clarion call that others have picked up.

It's always the same arguments: the name's offensive, would you call someone the San Antonio Wetbacks or the New Orleans N-Words, blah blah blah.

All valid arguments. Probably accurate.

And they should get a life.

Is the Redskins name an issue? It is, but it's a minor one. There are a great many more pressing issues that are affecting the Native American community that you never hear people talking about, and it's a travesty. Going after the name "Redskins" is an easy way for the intellectually lazy, physically doltish, morally indignant and overwhelming arrogant in society (read: liberals) to think they're doing something wonderful while really doing nothing at all.

Consider these statistics:

• Seventy-one percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives were at least high school graduates, compared with 80 percent of the total population.
• American Indians and Alaska Natives were less likely than the total population to be employed in management, professional and related occupations.
• The National unemployment rate for Native Americans in 2006--in the height of the Bush Boom--was 49 percent. (Note: this statistic, due to lousy record-keeping, I saw that this stat somehow varied between 14 and 50 percent. But, if you even take the low end, the national unemployment rate was about 5 percent in 2006, so you've still got a serious problem.)
  
• The unemployment rate for American Indians on reservations is approximately five times the national average.
• The number of Native American working poor is two to three times that of caucasians.
• Native Americans have a high school dropout rate of any ethnic group, approximately three times the national average and in excess of 30 percent.
• The avearge household income for native Americans is around $33,000.

Native Americans also have extremely high rates of alcoholism, drug abuse and divorce. Essentially, you have a proud and honorable race of people who have been dumped in the crapper and deserve better.

And you have the alleged intelligencia in this nation worried about a damned nickname for a football team.

The plight of the American Indian is a blight on this nation and should be addressed. Instead, it's largely overlooked, which is an outrage. What's even more outrageous, in my opinion, is the effort expended going after the Redskins that could be put to good use with job training, literacy programs, anti-alcohol programs--things to get real folks out of the dumpster.

Nah. These nitwits waste millions of dollars on protests, scurrying for media attention and dragging the team into federal court, where their lawsuits are promptly thrown out.

Why does the left expend so much energy on this one issue? Because it's simple, visible and easy to grab the moral high ground. Essentially, it's to make themselves feel good, not do anything productive for society. It is hypocrisy of the highest magnitude.

In case you were wondering, I am a Redskins fan. So is my wife. Coincidentally, we are both of Native American decent. Neither of us give a damn about the name--but we do give a damn about the real issues plauging this ethnic group. Apparently, we're in the high minority behind those who are full of crap and ego.