Refusing to ascribe importance to something morally neutral is a virtue. And because colorblindness is a refusal to discriminate against others on the basis of their skin color, it remains the best remedy for old-fashioned racism that we have.
But:
The world is a much more peaceful place today than it was as recently as a century ago—largely because of attempts to emphasize our common humanity. If we focus on what unites us, our altruistic instincts take over and we become kinder and more trusting towards each other.But our tendency to favor the ingroup can never be completely eradicated.
Perhaps the answer, then, isn't to embrace some unachievable notion of colorblindness, but A) to refuse to discriminate against others on the basis of their skin color, B) recognize that many people are discriminated against on the basis of their skin color, then C) act accordingly. Recognizing that people are and have been discriminated against and that this fundamentally transforms their relationship to ingroups and outgroups and groups of all sorts doesn't have to be "hyper-conscious." It just has to be conscious.
