My wife is a school teacher in Nevada. Yesterday one of her students said it was racist for him to not be able to sit where he wanted. This would be ludicrous, if there were not people living in this country completely willing to take that statement on its face value. The accusation of racism has become a default reaction to any inconvenience whatsoever for a significant portion of black America.
When Katrina devastated the gulf coast, it did so, somehow, because the white administration in Washington was racist. When others began to rebuild their lives on their own, those who cried “racist” sat on the rubble of their houses and did nothing, claiming that the government was supposed to do it for them. When young black thugs are caught committing a crime, they are prosecuted because the cops are racist, even though a good portion of the men and women in uniform wear the same skin tone. It has become a badge of honor among young black men and women to claim illiteracy. Speaking with appropriate diction and being able to read is now acting “white”. Insisting that a black student actually listen in class has become racist, even though Bill Cosby says much the same thing. When the end result of that attitude is unemployment, the prospective employer is racist.
All of this is sheer stupidity, and in most cases it is based on intellectual laziness. Every boy and girl in the United States has the same opportunity to learn from history as any other, regardless of their circumstances. It takes work. Yes, “work” is a four-letter word and to most of those crying racism it is a far more foul expletive than other common curses. The Declaration of Independence says this in its second paragraph, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The fact that slavery existed then, that some of the founders of this country owned slaves, is not applicable to the reality of today. The rights expressed as an ideal during the writing of the declaration in the eighteenth century are solidly established in the twenty-first.
I don’t know about you, but neither I, nor my great grandparents ever owned slaves. I do know that a good number of my Scottish ancestors experienced far more severe oppression than any of the complainers today. I would also suspect that not one black American born in this country was ever enslaved. What is needed is a solid grasp of personal responsibility. Don’t sit on your hands and complain that the government is oppressing you. Learn to read. Become an educated help to those around you. Produce something good, and hopefully get rich honestly. That is how you “stick it to the man”.
A bit of history people like Jesse Jackson choose to ignore is the fact that nearly all the slaves shipped from Africa were captured by competing tribes. The men purchasing them for shipment were in most cases either Dutch traders or Muslim pirates. So, then why the cries of American oppression, why the claims of American racism? Don’t blame people like Gingrich or Reagan. Blame those who depend upon a culture of victimization for their livelihood. Blame Jackson, Sharpton, and the entire black caucus in Washington. Unlike Ronald Reagan, not one of them has done anything of significance to make the good life a reality for all Americans.
Believe it or not, if you only focus your kindness on one race, you are, in fact, being racist.
Showing posts with label race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
King John is laughing
Even though the term ‘civil rights’ is disproportionatly linked to the struggle for equality of American blacks during the mid twentith century, the term does in fact cover much broader ground. The aim of that struggle was on its surface to cement equal protections under the law; to receive equal treatment regardless of one’s skin tone.
Civil rights are the basic legal rights an individual receives from the government. In the US those rights include personal, political, and economic rights. They are supposed to be the rights of citizens. Later discussions will cover the extreme broadening that some groups desire. Since the civil rights act of the early 90’s those rights cannot be legitimately denied to a person on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or disability.
Martin Luthor King established what should be common ground where discrimination is concerned. But there is a broad gap in the debate over how far and how deep these principles should be implemented in law and policy.
Adding to the confusion, sub groups such as GLAD are fighting to include sexual orientation as one of the catagories covered under the law.
In 1215, the Magna Carta required King John to establish the first set of citizen rights. It forced the gentry to respect certain legal procedures and, this is the big one, accept that the king’s will could be bound by the law. It was also the first formalization of the writ of habeas corpus, forcing the gentry to prove a reason for the imprisonment of their subjects.
Our constitution owes much of its creation to the Magna Carta. The great document also established that a man’s home was essentially his castle. Regardless of the position of the guest, even in the lowliest cottage, the host had prominence. Now, due to the pressures of the ultra liberal left, with complete and willing assistence from the media and Congress, the constitution is in danger of becoming little more than a moot point, and one of the biggest weapons being used is the twisted maze of tax law.
The Democrats do not want the average working man or woman to be able to control any of the money they earn. To them, government knows far better how to handle your life and you should rely soley on Father Washington for your needs. On the Republican side Father Washington is replaced by the corporate board, and you should be happy to simply have a job and be a good little worker drone because Big Business knows best, and if a prisoner in China can do your job for less money…too bad, and if you complain about either circumstance, wait for the IRS letter.
The second paragraph of the Declaration of Indepence reads:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
The preamble of the constitution says:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Men who have dared to read either document in certain US Courts, and sadly, within certain halls of Congress, have been declared in contempt.
Somewhere, King John is laughing.
Civil rights are the basic legal rights an individual receives from the government. In the US those rights include personal, political, and economic rights. They are supposed to be the rights of citizens. Later discussions will cover the extreme broadening that some groups desire. Since the civil rights act of the early 90’s those rights cannot be legitimately denied to a person on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or disability.
Martin Luthor King established what should be common ground where discrimination is concerned. But there is a broad gap in the debate over how far and how deep these principles should be implemented in law and policy.
Adding to the confusion, sub groups such as GLAD are fighting to include sexual orientation as one of the catagories covered under the law.
In 1215, the Magna Carta required King John to establish the first set of citizen rights. It forced the gentry to respect certain legal procedures and, this is the big one, accept that the king’s will could be bound by the law. It was also the first formalization of the writ of habeas corpus, forcing the gentry to prove a reason for the imprisonment of their subjects.
Our constitution owes much of its creation to the Magna Carta. The great document also established that a man’s home was essentially his castle. Regardless of the position of the guest, even in the lowliest cottage, the host had prominence. Now, due to the pressures of the ultra liberal left, with complete and willing assistence from the media and Congress, the constitution is in danger of becoming little more than a moot point, and one of the biggest weapons being used is the twisted maze of tax law.
The Democrats do not want the average working man or woman to be able to control any of the money they earn. To them, government knows far better how to handle your life and you should rely soley on Father Washington for your needs. On the Republican side Father Washington is replaced by the corporate board, and you should be happy to simply have a job and be a good little worker drone because Big Business knows best, and if a prisoner in China can do your job for less money…too bad, and if you complain about either circumstance, wait for the IRS letter.
The second paragraph of the Declaration of Indepence reads:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
The preamble of the constitution says:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Men who have dared to read either document in certain US Courts, and sadly, within certain halls of Congress, have been declared in contempt.
Somewhere, King John is laughing.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Racism caused the mortgage crisis
Yes, you read it right. Racism, not corporate greed, is the cause of the mortgage crash. During the days of the Clinton administration there was a young fiery community organizer/lawyer by the name of Barack Obama lobbying the Clintons to open up the mortgage industry for more minority loans. Since he liked the idea of being called the first black president, Bill Clinton thought this was a good idea. Disregarding the protests of the mortgage lenders, the Clinton administration began the process of altering the practice that had stood banks well for centuries. It took time and it took getting a few of the right politicians into power. California’s gift of Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi was invaluable. Adding into that the greed of men like Harry Reid and Duke Cunningham, Obama’s vision for the mortgage industry was well on its way.
With a few reworded bills, it soon became racist for a lender to tell someone with no credit and no job prospects that they could not have a loan. The Fed got into the mix and set up procedures whereby a lender actually had to practice fiscal insanity in order to keep their good rating.
A few smaller banks protected themselves by remaining insular and dealing only with their local community. Massive conglomerates such as BofA diversified so the crash they saw peering up over the horizon would be an irritant rather than a mortal blow.
Well, the crash came just as many analysts predicted it would, but rather than the corporate greed and lust for ever quicker profits, the cause was misguided “community organizing” and racism of the highest order. A bank is not racist merely because it will not lend money to someone unqualified to borrow. Isn’t just the smallest bit of responsibility on the prospective borrower’s side? Should they not have a valid way of raying that loan in a reasonable amount of time? Not according to the Democrats. Apparently fiscal wisdom is tantamount to racism, even if there is no color quotient applied to the loan.
You are a racist if you require a steady job for a borrower. You are a racist if you require a history of paying back loans on time. You are a racist of you take the steps you both agreed upon in the contract to recoup a default. But if you do all of this with a white customer, it is simply being a good businessman. In Obama’s world, we have to have it both ways. If we don’t, we’re being racist.
With a few reworded bills, it soon became racist for a lender to tell someone with no credit and no job prospects that they could not have a loan. The Fed got into the mix and set up procedures whereby a lender actually had to practice fiscal insanity in order to keep their good rating.
A few smaller banks protected themselves by remaining insular and dealing only with their local community. Massive conglomerates such as BofA diversified so the crash they saw peering up over the horizon would be an irritant rather than a mortal blow.
Well, the crash came just as many analysts predicted it would, but rather than the corporate greed and lust for ever quicker profits, the cause was misguided “community organizing” and racism of the highest order. A bank is not racist merely because it will not lend money to someone unqualified to borrow. Isn’t just the smallest bit of responsibility on the prospective borrower’s side? Should they not have a valid way of raying that loan in a reasonable amount of time? Not according to the Democrats. Apparently fiscal wisdom is tantamount to racism, even if there is no color quotient applied to the loan.
You are a racist if you require a steady job for a borrower. You are a racist if you require a history of paying back loans on time. You are a racist of you take the steps you both agreed upon in the contract to recoup a default. But if you do all of this with a white customer, it is simply being a good businessman. In Obama’s world, we have to have it both ways. If we don’t, we’re being racist.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Racism
Yesterday my radio was flooded with reports about Don Imus' ever-occuring bigotry. I have never liked the personality this raodio host portrays and I wasn't surprised that yet again he stuck his foot into his mouth, cramming it in all the way to his knee. What surprised me was the quality of the debate that followed. I did not hear one mention of Dr. Martin Luthor King. Have we moved along the path of political correctness so far that his words, "by the quality of his character and not the color of his skin" have now vanished over the horizon?
Imus' mouth is only a symptom. If you have skin as pale as mine and you question Obama's lack of a substancial campaign plank, you will be called a racist. If you wonder if Jesse Jackson will ever get a real job, you are accused of bigotry. Character is ceasing to matter and color is in. Well, today's culture could not be more wrong. Character does matter, regardless of your race, regardless of the circumstances you were born into, regardless of your peer group and regardless of your parents, or lack thereof...character matters. How you speak matters. How you treat your neighbors matters. How you add to the lives of the people around you, rather than taking away matters. Color should have to do with art, not politics.
Imus' mouth is only a symptom. If you have skin as pale as mine and you question Obama's lack of a substancial campaign plank, you will be called a racist. If you wonder if Jesse Jackson will ever get a real job, you are accused of bigotry. Character is ceasing to matter and color is in. Well, today's culture could not be more wrong. Character does matter, regardless of your race, regardless of the circumstances you were born into, regardless of your peer group and regardless of your parents, or lack thereof...character matters. How you speak matters. How you treat your neighbors matters. How you add to the lives of the people around you, rather than taking away matters. Color should have to do with art, not politics.
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