America is great again. When the most talked about issue is the lack of a black actor being nominated for an Oscar, the country must be doing pretty well. Can there be anything more deserving of our attention?

From the final Amen of the last MLK Day event, it seems the only roadblock facing blacks in America is getting a movie industry atta-boy. That's it? We're screaming mad because no black actors were in the race to win an award?

The last movie I was forced to see at a theater was "American Hustle." Before that, it might have been five years since I last saw a movie in first release. Therefore, I am the last person qualified to chime in on the debate of deserving nominees, black or white. But I can argue with the best about the lack of black men present at other places I associate.

Instead of counting the black men not nominated for a movie award this year, how about we count the black men not among registered voters every year? Why don't we count the absence of black men standing between young angry black youth who think the only way to resolve a dispute is with violence? Why aren't we at our wits' end about the continued high school dropout rate, high unemployment rate and teenage pregnancy rates?

Should someone black publicly disagree with the majority on this year's Oscar nominations, why must they be cast as a sellout, Uncle Tom or House Negro? Actress and television commentator, Stacy Dash is this week's enemy of the people. She merely pointed out the hypocrisy that has long sustained the racial divide in this country since the Jim Crow era.

During an appearance on Fox Network, where she is a regular contributor, Dash weighed in on the proposed Oscars boycott, saying, "I think it's ludicrous. We have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the [NAACP] Image Awards, where you're only awarded it you're black."

Her comments propelled her to the top of the social media trending meter, surpassing Donald Trump and the return of Sarah Palin. Dash, for all the scrutiny she has received, might as well have advocated the return of slavery. How dare she throw logic into the argument. It wasn't that her point was wrong, but that she had the audacity to say it publicly.

And, I agree, her point was very valid. There cannot be a calling for integration and diversity on one side of the aisle while practicing and justifying segregation on the other side. This applies to every sector of our society. Someone pointed out that a white basketball player would like to be included in the NBA Most Valuable Player category once in awhile, too. But white fans don't call for a boycott, because that only happens about as often as Haley's Comet passes by.

I don't give a darn about who gets nominated for an Academy Award, but if I did have a chance to offer a solution, I would submit my friend's suggestion. Give every person who worked in the movie industry this year a participation Oscar.

And the Oscar for participating goes to everyone, from the food caterer to the biggest star.

Sadly, that still wouldn't make everyone happy.