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Monday, October 17, 2005 Racial Politics, Part Deux: And, now for a rebuttal from CB, a good friend of mine
I come from a liberal tradition, black, grew up in a university town, listened to NPR everyday, even had a pair of birkenstocks and frequented Starbucks, etc. However, as I began to have children, I realized that everything that glitters ain't gold. Liberal policies, specifically, welfare, lack of school choice etc. have done more harm than good. To add insult to injury, The old media (I'm not trying to be insulting), NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, race/poverty pimp preachers and white liberals, I believe have done more to harm the fortunes of especially poor blacks than the Klan and crack combined. They preach/publish/advocate about how the government owes poor blacks and how they are entitled to government paternalism. The result of which Katrina exposed with blinding clarity.
Before I came out of the dark side, the issue I had with conservatives, was the face of it and the use of racial undertones by certain Republicans until the early 1980's. Jesse Helms and before him, Nixon and Goldwater using the "Southern Strategy" in the crass politics of division. More recently, David Duke under the guise of the Republican banner and "conservativism" came out of Louisiana. On the other hand, Robert Byrd is a former head of the klan in W Virginia and as recently as two years ago, he referred to so called "white niggers." Of course these indiscretions are passed over by the press. Mary Landreiux, recently, in her defense of Ray Nagan and Kathleen Blanco, said that they couldn't rely on those lazy civil servants in their administrations (notwithstanding that the folks she is talking about are by and large black). How about when Chris Dodd praised Robert Byrd last year on the Senate floor for his service to the country even during the years when he was the head of the Klan. That is all window dressing though, but the inconsistency is forgiven by black folk. All that is preamble to this point. There are different factions within conservativism. To be certain, there are those with a racist agenda among those who refer to themselves as conservatives. By and large, most conservatives aren't concerned about holding someone else down, to the contrary, they are looking to preserve liberty for themselves and their children. In fact, I contend, the largest faction of racists in this country are not conservatives, but liberals. Anyone who suggests that I am not as smart so I need affirmative action is a racist. Anyone who concludes that I need the state to provide for me and mine and that if my children receive assistance, that I shouldn't live with them, is a racist. Anyone who suggests that I can't control my behavior and need to be understood instead of jailed when I beat my wife or children, shoot someone, sell drugs to children, is a racist. Anyone who suggests that the behavior we see on BET is "black culture" is a racist. Bill Cosby merely exposed the conversations we have among ourselves about us and he is vilified. Specifically with regard to Roe v. Wade (the original plaintiff is now pro life), two points: Margaret Sanger, the founder of planned parenthood, like Hitler was a follower of eugenics. She intended to introduce and promote abortion in the black community to clean up the gene pool in America, facts not in dispute. Yet black folk continue to support the concept. My point here is, when we won't defend the most innocent and defenseless among us, how do we value those that remain? The second point is, for judicial conservatives, aside from the moral argument, it is a matter of liberty. According to former ACLU chief counsel, abortion supporter, Clinton appointee and US Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Roe v. Wade is bad law and was wrongly decided. The overturning of Roe won't eliminate abortions, it will merely send it back to the states to decide through the process of representative government - legislation. The court has become imperial, with Stephen Breyer looking to foreign law to decide precedent regarding the US Constitution. That is merely looking for the result you want and trying to justify it. We the people have been stripped of our liberty. When the court can decide that the city of New London CT had the right to Ms. Kelo's property because the city could earn more tax income from a commercial property, the courts are out of control. When the Massachusetts Supreme Court can create a right of two same sex people to wed, outside of the will of the people, the courts are out of control. What makes America great and the envy of the world is liberty (limited government), the rule of law (not man - or rogue courts), and free markets (capitalism) informed by Judeo Christian values and defended with strength. In a little over 200 years, America has amassed nearly 25% of the world's wealth with a little less than 5% of the world's population. $6.6 Trillion has been spent on the "war on poverty" in just over 40 years. It has done more harm than helped. We don't tell our children that 86.5% of them that finish school, get a job before they get married, get married before they have children and stay out of the criminal justice system, never come close to poverty. Economies are contrary to liberal belief, not a zero sum game. As you engage in capitalism, the pie gets bigger. Evidence of this is America's "poor." Let's look at the world's poor first. The biggest health problem of the world's poor is malnutrition. The biggest health problem of America's "poor" is obesity. The world's poor typically don't have or have inadequate shelter. 46% of America's "poor" own their homes. The average size of the homes of America's "poor" is larger than the average home of all citizens in France and England. The world's poor don't have adequate clothing. With some exceptions, America's poor children wear $200 tennis shoes etc. The world's poor are uneducated. Even America's "poor" are required to go to school until the 12th grade. Poor black folk, given the choice of schools to educate their children, rejecting the BET thug culture, having the rule of law on their side to protect property rights, benefitting from a growing economy due to tax cuts (that even liberals concede have worked), stand more to benefit from conservative principals than any group in America. The face and delivery of the message may need to change, but the principles are true and effective. Conservatism takes on many flavors, the brand I identify with supports judicial original intent, deeper tax cuts and deep spending cuts, a strong military, school choice, border enforcement, faith based initiatives - government is extremely inefficient, social security reform, elimination of the prescription drug benefit, etc. etc. etc., all of which I believe will benefit our people more than anyone else in America. 2 Comments:
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