Personal Responsibility
This is probably one of the more politically incorrect entries on the site thus far. It's racially charged and pointed but I believe straight to the heart of the issue. Is personal responsibility a conservative idea and do Democrats, most notably Black Americans, have a type of schizophrenia when it comes to this issue? I believe they do, but what do you think?
posted by Danian Michael at
1:06 AM
10 Comments:
Not sure I agree with everything here, but I would like to make a few points regarding the Democratic party and African Americans in general. 1) Historically, the party has a questionable history with Blacks...especially in the early civil rights movement. In fact, the Republican party's history relating to civil rights is better in some cases. 2) Racist Democrats (ie:Robert Byrd) are often given a pass simply because they are Democrats. Conversely even the suggestion of racism by a Republican may result in a firestorm leading to someone losing everything and never being forgiven (this is perpetuated by the media). 3) You correctly point out that most Blacks are socially conservative. They are mostly pro-life...yet the abortion industry (ie: Planned Parenthood) is allowed to be almost predatory in marketing their "product" in urban communities where blacks are indeed disproportionately more likely to have abortions. Because of the Democratic Party and media bias toward abortion (which has been mis-characterized as some kind of a women's "health" issue), this is allowed to flourish.
Anonymous,
Before I address the comments you made, I am really interested in where you disagree with my position on personal responsibility. I hope you will voice those differences.
To the points you made: You picked up on something I alluded to in the presentation and you expounded on it quite astutely. This sheepish allegiance of the black community to the Democratic Party doesn’t make any sense given all the things you stated above. Your facts are sound and beyond contestation. The Civil rights movement has had a friend in the Republican Party and a foe in the Democrats; Why aren’t blacks overwhelmingly conservative? The only thing I can see is that the Democratic Party will not call blacks on their faults; they nurture the whole, woe is me, mentality within the black community and it has taken root. Conservatives see Blacks as being no different than anyone else and are thus more likely to tell them for example, stop having kids out of wedlock. We see blacks as our equals, without impairments and so we hold all people to the same standards, and that of course includes Blacks. So we Conservatives, to the eyes of the Black person, seem cold and without compassion. The truth is, if African Americans would open their eyes to the role they themselves actually play in their own successes and failures, they would see friends amongst us Conservatives; conversely, they would see condescension and resentment from the Democrats.
Danian,
In your response to Anonymous, do you really see the Republican Party this way; a friend to African Americans? You are kidding right? I am still looking for all the black and female Candidates for the Republicans. Yeah, I think we all know who the real friend of the African American community is.
In your presentation you mention Blacks being conservative in church and liberal outside of church, while I would not pick on, or paint with so broad a brush an entire race of people to make my point, I do agree with you that the lack of personal responsibility is a big problem in our country, across all races.
Ease up on Blacks a bit there Danian and calm down.
To the terror,
Amen my brother. I think Danian might secretly hate Black People. I can’t prove this yet but I have my eyes on him. He looks Black but the verdict is still out on that one :).
To the Terror,
I remember you from my first presentation, welcome back. To your first question/ statement: Yes I do believe the Republican Party is a better friend to Black Americans than the Democratic Party. There are no black or female candidates for the Republican nomination because none have presented themselves ready and capable, the operative word there being CAPABLE. By the way this is the case for the Democratic Party also. A black person or female can drag the country down just as easily as a white male; race and color ought not to be a consideration.
And to your second point, thanks for the complement, albeit back handed. Call me what you will but I think when 80% of a group act in the same way, then I think we have grounds for a generalization, don’t you?
Agent of Change,
I’m use to you making some pretty well thought out comments, so I’m a bit baffled. I will say this however, your comments made me laugh, very funny, very funny indeed. I of course do not hate Black people; I certainly hold no ill will towards them. Doing a critique on someone or group does not imply hatred, certainly not in all cases and certainly not in mine.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'll let you know where I'm coming from... I'm a progressive Democrat. Barack and Hillary are still too far to the center for my taste. They are still in the pockets of the corporate world, and the slogans and propaganda of their campaigns is nothing more than that. They are excellent campaigners, and mediocre legislators, at best. Hilary comes straight from the DLC, which has turned out some of the most Un-Democratic democrats
But, getting back to your original thesis; personal responsibility. You seem to focus your argument on how the Democratic Party has been such a burden to the African American community, and that the people need to lift them selves up out of the ghetto, and quit looking for handouts. I would agree with you on that point. Looking to the government for handouts, and a "solution to all your problems" is not practical, and it is certainly not how I live my life, nor is it the viewpoint of Progressive Democrats. But, if you look at how things are being run at the top; Federal legislature, the executive branch, and in board rooms in most major corporations in the U.S. and around the world, people are not behaving responsibly. When something like health care is turned into a for-profit business, the only thing that happens is the people with the most money get the best treatment, and the poorest, and even working poor, are slapped with bloated bills that leave them bankrupt and even homeless. With almost 50 million people in this country without health insurance, it is hard to argue for keeping things as they are... which I believe is the position of conservatives. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
This may be the same reason CEO's flock to the Republican Party; not because they are so socially conservative, but because they are looking for government handouts. Whether in the form of tax breaks, bail-outs, or subsidies, it's a joke. The Federal Reserve, the very institution that prints and therefore controls our money supply, is a privately owned bank. Our federal income tax is used to pay the interest and fees to that bank, not to mention the interest on the National debt. But I guess the government is a proven failure in your eyes, so why not push for CHANGE instead of sticking your conservative head in the sand.
Lastly, to compare a forest fire in California (not a first), to an entire city being put underwater is absurd. Not to mention the fact that some of the worst damage was caused by the levy breaking AFTER the storm... hmmm, another infrastructure debacle... big surprise it was in a black neighborhood. I guess they'll never learn, you can't trust the government to do anything right, at least not this government.
Peace out!
Andy
And don't get me started on McCain. He comes from a long line of expansionist, imperialistic war mongers. If he wins, we'll be in Iran within 6 months. Then all hell is going to brake loose, and there WILL be attacks on our own soil, and not because we weren't aggressive enough, but because we continue to impose our will on other nations. I honestly can't understand how people think that by invading Iraq and spreading our military so thin, that we are actually making our country stronger. The rest of the world used to look at us for moral and technological leadership. Now they only look to us to sell us cheap shit made with slave labor, or sell us oil at $100 a barrel.
And if you think that the patriot act is heping us fight terrorism, and isn't enabling the government to listen to your private conversations, you're on crack. And to top if all off, the government has now granted amnesty to the telecom companies that helped them do it. Now no one will know exactly how the whole operation is being run. WAKE UP.
Andy
As I was reading your comment I came across something you wrote that was quite revealing. You very aptly articulated, albeit unintentionally, the core difference between liberals and conservatives in how they each see the government:
You said, “This may be the same reason CEO's flock to the Republican Party; not because they are so socially conservative, but because they are looking for government handouts.” Andy, was it really your intention to make your point in this way? If I take all your money then give it back to you, am I giving you a hand out? Let’s get something straight here, the government would be nowhere without successful companies; the government doesn’t give companies handouts; they simply give companies their money back. A hand out is only a handout if the recipient did not contribute to the “pot” in the first place for example people on welfare. I hope you will give that some thought.
You also said, “With almost 50 million people in this country without health insurance, it is hard to argue for keeping things as they are... which I believe is the position of conservatives. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.” First let me correct you; conservatives don’t want to leave things the way they are, they just don’t want the government to take it over. You said it yourself, “I guess they'll never learn, you can't trust the government to do anything right, at least not this government.”
Further more, you said that people should not wait for a hand out from the government. “…and it is certainly not how I live my life, nor is it the viewpoint of Progressive Democrats.” These are your words Andy, now tell me, what pray-tell is universal healthcare if not one big huge government handout? This is the dual personality inherent in liberals that I alluded to in the presentation; I still find it perplexing.
Finally, you are focusing on the wrong thing in my looking at the two natural disasters, I was merely trying to show the consequences of people not taking responsibility for their own action and seeing about their own wellbeing; I don’t see how you can deny that. And by the way I will tell you what is absurd; calling a hurricane racist for targeting a black neighborhood.
Andy,
First of all, I’m not on Crack, I know… Black guy from Detroit, how could I not be on Crack. :) Just kidding, hope you and everyone reading found that funny. Please remember history, they attacked us while we were minding our own business and have not attacked again since we took the fight to them; you do the math. It seems to me that we need to keep taking the fight to them. No body likes war Andy, not McCain, not even me but I do hate being bombed, I bet you do too.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home