Is America Only for White People?
by Joseph C. PhillipsIs America only for white people? The question stuck in my mind following yet another e-mail exchange with a friend of mine, regarding my conservatism. For this particular gentleman, being black in America is at odds with conservatism. As he put it:
“…Particularly as African-Americans, I feel we are in no real position to idealize the American experience and get too choked up about institutions and symbols that were not created with us in mind. Certainly, we cannot cast our lot with those who are actively seeking to destroy those gains we have made.”
I have a number of issues with the above statement, not the least of which is that the principles that inspired the American founding were always viewed as universal principles, which applied to all of mankind. Curiously, it wasn’t until the introduction of Historicist and Darwinian philosophy (which gave birth to Progressivism) that some Americans began to argue otherwise. And of course, I disagree that conservatives are actively seeking to destroy all of the gains black America has made.
It is important to note that the sentiments that my friend expresses are similar to the political attitudes which continue to permeate much of the black community. These same attitudes are also particularly present in the thinking of the black leftists, who have long held the conviction that the existence of slavery at our nation’s founding renders our Constitution a hollow document; the institutions and symbols that sprang from the founding were bereft of moral authority; the founders were hypocrites and liars, and the American dream is little more than a cruel myth.
From this conviction a kind of “cultural revolutionary defiance” has arisen, that is to say: black authenticity began to be increasingly measured by the degree to which black people defined themselves by way of their ethnicity, expressed anger at historical injuries, and were critical of, or rejected American symbols and institutions.
In this respect, my friend is a true new-revolutionary. But the issue he raises is not a new one, neither is it exclusive to American blacks.
In July of 1858, Abraham Lincoln addressed the question of how almost half of the citizens of this country could take pride and ownership in the accomplishments of the nation when they were not “historically related” to the founders, or those living on these shores at the time of the founding. Lincoln answered: “If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none, they cannot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us, but when they look through that old Declaration of Independence they find that those old men say that ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’ and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together–that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world.”
The essential element that my friend and the black leftists have missed is that what binds us together as Americans is not shared blood, race, ethnicity, or tribe; it is the unshakable belief in certain universal principles. The American experience is not attached to men who were flawed, but is instead fixed to ideas that remain flawless. The institutions and symbols of America are reflective of the revolutionary idea that all men are the property of God, created with an equal right to life, liberty, private property, and the free pursuit of bettering their station in life. Martin Luther King, Jr., put it more succinctly: “The American dream reminds us…that every man is an heir of the legacy of dignity and worth.”
All of us, whether our ancestors arrived through the gates of Ellis Island or survived travel through the Middle Passage are heirs to that grand idea. It is this idea that animates true conservatism and moreover, it is ONLY that idea—those principles—that made possible the huge gains that black Americans have made in this country and indeed in the world. It is, perhaps, also the reason that more Africans have freely chosen to come to America than were ever imported in slave ships.
In response to my friend, all Americans should ask: If not America, where? If not American symbols, which symbols? If not American institutions, which institutions will do? If not the principles of the American founding, upon which principles do the black left propose to build a new America—an America they can “idolize” and “get choked up about”?
Ask Van Jones.
These forward-thinking paragons, nursed on the mother’s-milk of Marx and Mao, would build their new America on the bedrock of economic redistribution and racial favoritism. I believe we tried that once in this country…
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154 Comments
Thank you Joe — I fear the left has brainwashed so many of many colors to hate instead of create – One cannot build with truth while destroying in hatred. Thanks for your article!
The American experience is not attached to men who were flawed, but is instead fixed to ideas that remain flawless. The institutions and symbols of America are reflective of the revolutionary idea that all men are the property of God, created with an equal right to life, liberty, private property, and the free pursuit of bettering their station in life.
—
Well said. Excellent article.
I can understand a cultural perspective where someone feels alientated from the institutions and symbols of America, and I can accept the reality that there is no country that would offer more opportunity than America, and if there were, it would be simple enough in this day to migrate there. What escapes me is the method by which any man of any race would hope to enrich himself and growth wealth, if the needs of the collectivist state will strip him of his hard-earned income as he makes it. Except being satisfied with the dole and what it provides, why would a man want a system where he doesn't keep what he earns?
Not being Black,but deciding that Blacks will,and have been their own best and worst Representatives in America.
"as African-Americans…we cannot cast our lot with those.."
Then leave. Take your 'lot' and cast it into another country. Speaking on behalf of 'those' Americans who are proud of the institutions and symbols you hold such contempt for, I say leave. I am tired – no, I am beyond sick and tired of listening to your self-pitying lies that we deprive you of belonging to this country. We didn't – you did that when you refused to become a part of it. So you don't like it, leave. Just leave.
Another excellent article.
When the hell are you going to run for office!?!?!?
America needs you now more than ever Joseph C. Phillips….
Particularly as African-Americans, I feel we are in no real position to idealize the American experience and get too choked up about institutions and symbols that were not created with us in mind.
Your friend is right: it's all America's fault that his ancestor was kidnapped by other Africans and sold into the European-owned slave trade.
And if that hadn't happened, he'd be living in a Third World country right now, instead of living in the most prosperous, free nation on Earth. He clearly has a lot to be angry about.
Maybe if AFRO-Americans, started thinking of themselves as AMERICANS, their perspective and experience might change.
Great article! Unfortunately many African Americans have fallen into the trap set by the Democrats created to keep them as a permanent underclass. Thus allowing the left to continually promote class warfare by pitting rich against poor (the left's code for blacks against whites). This strategy has worked for the left for so long they're starting to get complacent in taking the minority vote for granted. And now w/ the reality of Obama's policies and ineffectiveness taking root It's reached it's apex. As a result many Blacks (as well as other minorities) are starting to question if it is indeed in their best interest to contiinue to support the Dems!
Yes, only to add to your excellent articles, I ask every Atheist, which non-Christian influenced nation would you want to live in today? I've asked about a dozen. And for me, an Atheist is someone who believes the rules of Govt are better or seperate from the morals of Christianity and believe "seperation of Church and State" is in the constitution. Anyway… no real answer yet, only meanderings, squirmings, eyes dashing to and fro. Japan and Sweden were amusing answers.
And more to Blacks… which African or Middle East nation would they feel free in? Which Zulu Nation or Hutu/Tutsi tribe…?… Which African War Chief slave exporter or Islamic slave empire? And if Mandela would have protested against an Islamic or Atheist leader? Where would he be now? Would we even knew he ever existed? Imagine Ghandi going up against a Castro or Saudi Prince? Hmmm… Ghandi who?
Best article I've ever read on this website. I would love to shake the hand of its author some day! God bless, Joseph!
Very well said.
Also the U.S. is still a work in progress. Our ancestors gave much in blood and treasure to rectify mistakes of the past. We're still striving toward perfection, but if things are so bad some of our black fellow citizens can't take it, they are free to leave and take their goods with them unlike those countries held in such high regard by the left like Cuba, China, the old Soviet Union.
It amuses me that so many disgruntled blacks admire Islam, not only because as a commenter above mentioned, their African ancestors were sold by other blacks to Arab slave traders who took them to European slave markets before they ever got to our shores, but because blacks wouldn't find a welcome in many Moslem countries, especially in the Middle East.
This administration's constant cry of racism has set us back in some ways, but in other ways, since nobody takes the charge of racism seriously anymore, the epithet has lost its sting. We can thank Obama for that.
"In response to my friend, all Americans should ask: If not America, where? If not American symbols, which symbols? If not American institutions, which institutions will do? If not the principles of the American founding, upon which principles do the black left propose to build a new America—an America they can “idolize” and “get choked up about”?"
Mr. Phillips, you are a national treasure. Wonderfully said and precisely the questions we should ask of them.
I may not be religious, but I do understand the power of forgiveness. It doesn't mean FORGET, it means to remember, but to forgive the transgression and move on. If you do not, then your heart is filled with hate and anger which just eats at the soul. That is what is happening to so many blacks. It was wonderful too see blacks at the Beck rally, standing proudly side by side with their fellow Americans. How much love was in their hearts – love for God, love for country and love for the fellow Americans.
Your articles always encourage me Mr. Phillips. You hit the nail on the head each time. I truly hope your rational appeal can slowly work its way into the hearts and minds of the confused who are twisted to oppose rational and free thinking.
It's like we opened the door and they refused to come in. I remember doing a study in college about self-imposed segregation. And this was in the early 1990s! It was still going on! Ridiculous. My friends were of all nationalities, ethnicities, creeds, etc. I felt no need to just hang out with "whites" or "Poles". And the "segregation" the blacks were experiencing at that point was self-imposed.
Amazing.
I second that!
Sort of a GOOD unintended consequence of the slave trade. Perhaps he'd like to live in a country where people of his own race want to kill him because he belongs to the wrong tribe or the wrong religion.
Amazing.
Very good points about Mandela and Gandhi.
And the reason for that is, I think, that many voted for him in order to be "historical" and maybe a small part of them figured the race baiting would end. I mean, within 45 years of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we have a black man in the White House. Pretty much one generation. What could there be to complain about?
And yet, the complaining continues. And I think that turns a lot of Americans off. We're tired of being brown beaten. They pushed the limit I think and used their last race card.
its sad to say that happens here too only trbes are called street gangs
Joseph this may offend you. The reason people like that e-mailer and most Blacks hate Conservatives is they see there gravy train of government money going away PERIOD. I guess your friend thinks the gains they made was to get food stamps welfare free medical on and on. The see us "conservatives" as people who expect people to stand on their own two feet and work hard. Thus no more free money. Why do you think they still are over 90% for Obama? He keeps the hand outs coming. If Obama started to cut the hand outs even though he is Black they would turn against him. It is the mentality that is ingrained that they are "Owed" something for slavery etc. It is centric to American blacks. I live in Fl and see many non American blacks from Haiti etc. working their asses off as they see opportunity here not racism. JMO.
Good article.
America is an ideal that may never be fully realized, but we can keep trying. Even with our imperfections, we're still the oldest continuous democracy on the planet and a pretty good place to call "home."
I trace my roots back to immigrants from Europe who were little more than slaves where they then lived.
America gave them an opportunity to recover their dignity and keep what they worked for.
The same ancestors fought in the Civil War and bled. Not all were fighting for an end to slavery, but some were.
I would hope that everyone would remember that. It was one more step towards the ideal that is America.
In many cases, they are not allowed to think of themselves as such. This hyphenation business pushed by the diversity industry drives me up a wall. You've no idea how I LOATHE the term "Jewish-American". All this time, I thought I was American. The folks over at Age of Treason or Stormfront may not think so, but I think I am.
I was born in the US as an American citizen to a naturalized Mexican immigrant and American citizen mother of Mexican descent. My parents knew early on how fortunate they were to be in this country and despite her flaws, mainly from her people, there wasn't any other place to achieve what was impossible in their country of descent (i.e., if you weren't born into politcal/economic privilege you will never break in). Thus, as Lincoln so eloquently put it, her history became my history, her blood became my blood, because if those that put this country together, defended her, died for her, hadn't existed, none of the opportunities and freedoms that exist today would've been possible.
Mr. Phillips, you seem to be able to write what I always intend to say with words, but never can put them in the right order. God Bless.
Excellent article as always Mr. Phillips.
What I want to know is when they're going to decide enough time has passed for them to opt-in? I mean really. When are they (those who don't think America is for the black community) going to feel enough time has passed to suit them? When are they going to finally grow up and quit grievance mongering? Race baiting is not doing them any good. Counting on affirmative action only derails ambition– as does welfare. I would think all this stewing in your own resentment would get old.
That's what the Democrats want you to think. But it's just not true, never has been, never will be.
Why not someone ask Obama why he didn't spread the WDC voucher program for inner city kids to all 57 States, instead he canceled it. Sounds like plantation building not improving the lives of black children.
"All of us, whether our ancestors arrived through the gates of Ellis Island or survived travel through the Middle Passage are heirs to that grand idea (the American Dream)." – Joseph C. Phillips
………Amen, Brother……….
I address this mindset at some length in my new book in a chapter called Ballot Cattle. (Thanks to Alfonzo Rachel for giving me the perfect term for what I saw.) These people grow up the the ProgLib handout being told that they aren't smart enough, they're not good enough, and Gosh darnit, they really don't deserve to eat at the white man's table, so they have to fight for their place. So, even if they do manage to make it up anywhere, they still feel like they shouldn't be there. Which is what the progressive liberals want, because they can't afford to have too many cattle going out of the pasture. I point to the pits of despair known as The Projects in any greater metropolitan area as my Exhibit A.
Only by working hard and letting their talents and abilities put them over the top will they ever know that not only do they belong at that table, they've earned that damned right.
All in favor? *raising hand*
I call that a Romans 8:28 thing.
Bitterness is like swallowing poison and hoping it will kill the other person.
The left have brainwashed black Americans in to thinking their first identity and loyalty is to race. They left has a vested interest in maintaining this color coded identity politics because they are the racists.
30-35% of black Americans are unemployed, yet 90% still support Obama — they will learn sooner or later. SociaIism always hurts the poor the most.
.
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Sadly, too much of the wind is being blown by the race baiting bigots who pontificate not equality, but only the segregated opportunity of reparations, for those who choose to sit back and wait for their ship to come in while ignoring the horn blowing (softly now) in business all over this great nation. The ships horn is a sign that says "HELP WANTED". That is the golden ticket for all who are willing to work for success. It will never be found in hiring quotas or lowering of standards. Success requires personal effort and sacrifice. It is not usually easy but it is worth it to most of us. It is a chance to succeed while others settle for less. The freedom to make the choice and be rewarded for your individual efforts in life is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of a free society.
It is too bad that your friend continues to wear the blinders of victimhood which has kept the black community behind. As long as the black community, or any community for that matter, looks at themselves as victims then they will never advance.
I don't care what color you are, as long as you are a resonablee human being who is willing to contribute to society and live their life decently, then you are OK with me.
Could any Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan have devised a more absolute means of reducing African-Americans to desititution and slavery than has been accomplished by the Great Society Welfare State? Could they have concocted more distorted images of corrupt and venal Black politicians (the legislature scene from "Birth of a Nation") than are provided by current members of the Black Congressional Congress?
In place of Rev. Martin Luther king, we now have Revs Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakahn.
PLEASE run for national office, Joseph. Black Americans need leaders like you Col. West to show the way back into the American Dream.
America belongs to all Americans. Problem is that some folks do not realize that, at one time or another. every ethnic group ever to enter the borders of the US has suffered – Italian, Irish, German, Japanese, Dutch, Scot, Vietnamise, White, Black, etc. It is the collection of principles fostered by our founders that pull us together as a culture not one's background, religion or skin color. Wake up folks. We are all Americans and all part of the great experiment. We're not perfect and we have problems, but we're working on them to better ourselves and the country.
Extremely powerful and well written! Easily one of the top five articles I have read on the Bigs. Keep it up.
*raising hand*
Great article. Well written.
I'm a little rusty on my Romans since I'm a lapsed Catholic. ;-D
What does it say (if too long, a summary will be fine).
Thanks.
Ah, how true that is. And all because of leftist policies both over there and over here.
Amazing, isn't it?
Perfectly said. That's exactly what it is.
And Black Liberation Theology does nothing to take that bitterness away. It only fuels it.
KIRK: This was not written for chiefs. Hear me! Hear this! Among my people, we carry many such words as this from many lands, many worlds. Many are equally good and are as well respected, but wherever we have gone, no words have said this thing of importance in quite this way. Look at these three words written larger than the rest, with a special pride never written before or since. Tall words proudly saying, "We the People." That which you call "Ee'd Plebnista" was not written for the chiefs or the kings or the warriors or the rich and powerful, but for all the people! Down the centuries, you have slurred the meaning of the words, "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution." These words and the words that follow were not written only for the Yangs, but for the Kohms as well!
CLOUD: The Kohms?
KIRK: They must apply to everyone or they mean nothing! Do you understand?
Great article.
"If not America, where?"
Well, freed slaves attempted to create their own state after the Civil War. Many blacks returned to Africa in the late 1800's to create the nation of Liberia. Unfortunately, it is wickedly corrupt and has never been able to create any level of freedom and liberty for its citizens. It has a long history of despots and tyranny. I would bet that any time a Liberian watches TV from the US and sees what life is like for African-Americans, they wished their ancestors had stayed put.
Well said, Joseph. I'm hoping a lot more young people will start noticing that conservatives have the more articulate and reasonable arguments and that the concepts behind our Constitution are more radical in promoting freedom than anything the left has ever come up with. I remember Eldridge Cleaver did a tour of Africa and found all the socialist run countries were ruled by corrupt and totalitarian elites. Even though he was a co-founder (but no longer recognized) of the Black Panthers his greatest interest was in liberty, not race. I find that encouraging.
This is the BEST ARTICLE I have ever read on this website. Being a white person, I think it's fair to say that I can't relate to the black experience and the mindset of a race who came to this country as a people, not through the doors of Ellis Island, but in the shadow of slavery. Many times I have thought, "why can't you see the truth?" when trying to understand African Americans' love affair with the Left and where the progressives want to take this country. I never felt like blacks weren't a part of "us", our history, our past. To me, their roots were as much a part of America as my family who came from Germany. The assertion that the principles of our founding apply to ALL men, ALL humans is the real truth. If not America and our founding principles, then what? Then what, indeed.
Very well said, excellent article.
I have trouble understanding why so many black Americans have forgotten that virtually all the opponents of the Civil Rights Act and proponents of segregation were in the Democrat party.
"Particularly as African-Americans…"
How can we ever get past racial issues with terms like "African-American"? I've traced my ancestors to Ireland on my mother's side and Germany on my Fathers side, but I call myself an "American" because I was born in America. Unless you were born in Africa and/or have a dual citizenship… isn't it time to call yourself just "American"? Drop the labels and lets move forward together.
"All things work toward the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." Notice it doesn't say all things ARE good. It says all things work TOWARD the good. Ever have an even happen in your life that was just awful, terrible, horrible, rotten? And then years later, you realize that the awful event prepared you for a specific moment in your life? That's Romans 8:28 in action. So, with the slavery issue, as awful and terrible and horrible as that period was, the people who now live in the USA as descendants of those slaves are living a comparatively good life in a free (so far) country (and by "comparatively" I mean compared to those who are in Africa living in tribal warfare societies or other oppressive societies without the luxury/comfort items we have). OK, OK I know that was longer than you wanted.
Great article Joe! I always looked at it like this. The left is very, forgive the Trekky in me, Borg like. Their only goal is to grow their Marxist/Mao collective by any means possible. Usually by inciting racism, atheism, hedonism, socialism, communalism, etc. Unfortunately several groups of good people in the US have trouble escaping this assimulation. Luckily some escape their group/collective and therefore can express individual thinking and ideals. I thank god for those individuals.
America is like a Christian in that she sins just as all Christians do, but the redeeming quality she has is that, again like a Christian, she strives to avoid repeating her sins.
One of the biggest reasons black people don't believe in the Constitution is that they are never given the task of reading and learning about it in school. Whenever it's referenced it's linked with slave owners. If they were taught about the founding, and to learn the Constitution in a way that empowered them, they would be a lot better off.
The left, Democrats especially, have used the school system to make black children feel that they're not part of this country. They used it to teach kids that the Constitution doesn't include them simply because it didn't at first. So the document that ensures them the opportunity to succeed on their own merits is, to them, an insult. What the left has done is nothing short of criminal.
I disagree with you. It's the education system that teaches black children from a young age that the Constitution doesn't include them because it was written by slave owners. They don't know anything about it and can't see how it covers them. They're taught they're owed something from the government and they accept it, thinking that's just their due. They're taught that they'll never survive without welfare.
It's not greed. It's indoctrination perpetrated by the Democrats and it's evil.
Joseph, your friend's email message makes me so sad. I grew up with middle class blacks in a small town in the north, in an area that was known for the underground railroad and a strong abolitionist history. Even those blacks I grew up with, where they were denied nothing and all access was integrated, have turned away from America due to the indoctrination of the left into a horrid victim mentality. I am so sorry this has happened here in our America. It seems they chose to be disenfranchised and bitter. I only wish they would listen to you. And also to Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams among other black American leaders who believe in the founding principles of our great nation.
Really great article! Thank you for writing it!
My black buddy of 32 years has never once invited me to his annual Super Bowl party. I'm white. All the others there are black.
Don't corrupt the child!
An excellent article that I intend to re-read in the morning. As I read your words, I am reminded of the "American Adventure" show at Epcot. It is, of course, a patriotic show and the first time I saw it, it moved me to tears. But what surprised me is how visitors from other countries react. That whole nonsense about how the rest of the world hates us is bogus. As you said,
"If not America, where? If not American symbols, which symbols? If not American institutions, which institutions will do? If not the principles of the American founding, upon which principles do the black left propose to build a new America—an America they can “idolize” and “get choked up about?"
By the way, here is a link to the Golden Dream song that plays at the finale of the American Adventure show. When I hear JFK and MLK speak, I get chill bumps:
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?que...
Really good article! I agree wholeheartedly with "if not America, then where?" My first trip overseas made me a firm believer in America.
One of the issues I believe black leftist deal with is that the our forefathers owned slaves they erroneous believe the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were never for us. It appalls me when I engage in these conversations because of the lack of knowledge of AMERICAN history. In world history we are a young country complete with mistakes and failures – but we are a great country.
Racism, so called, is so over-rated.
I'm a Trekkie too and I agree with your analogy!
I like what one commentator said – that America is a work in progress. I just finished an excellent article in Smithsonian Air And Space – one of the best aviation magazines out there – and they had an article on the WASPs – the Women's Airforce Service Pilots.
In a lot of ways they faced the same barriers as the Tuskogee Airmen – those black pilots that were trained separately, had their own segregated unit, and whose one unit – the "red tails" – flying the mighty P51 Mustang, became the requested (and preferred) unit by those white bomber pilots in the 15th AAF to keep them safe from the Messerschmidts.
Some of their planes ( WASPs) were sabotaged by resentful male pilots – and Congress even refused them veteran status until 33 years after they were disbanded. Resentful male civilian pilots lobbied Congress at the time keeping them from being in the Air Force.
Their job was to ferry new planes – fighters and bombers – to coastal cities to be shipped to the front.
Some of them lost their lives, including Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins, who took off from Mines Field (now LAX) in a brand new P51D (North American Aviation made them right there) – she had trouble and crashed into Santa Monica Bay – over the flight paths of countless airliners in the intervening 66 years.
Some Constitution founders were slave owners but that didn't make the document any less revolutionary. I believe that the Constitution was divinely inspired, and it left the country, over the years, to more fully conform to its ideals.
Like you, my first trip overseas made me a firm believer in America. As wonderful as it was to experience a new culture & meet wonderful new people, I just couldn't wait to get back home. I even joked that when I got off the plane that I was going to get down and kiss the ground. Well, it really wasn't a joke, but since there were at least a hundred people behind me & it was in the middle of winter in Chicago I symbolically kissed the ground and turned my head upwards and said, "Thank you, Lord!"
Certainly the ideals of universalism that shaped our nation ("All men are created equal…" etc.) should have appeal to anyone who seeks freedom in a world where freedom is denied to those based on skin color or choice of religious belief, etc.
So fine. But what do the actions of so called conservatives have to do with that?
Excellent article. But what about the "Southern Strategy"?
Oh, no – I meant if it was too long for you to type it out! LOL!
Thank you for that. It's funny, because my mother-in-law always says "Things happen for a reason."
Thanks again.
My husband has even found it in the military – guys he knew in his unit were all cool during drill. But if he saw them on campus (in college), they'd barely acknowledge him and just hang out with their fellow blacks.
How awful is that? I've never done that to ANYONE. My best friend is Filipino, but I've got friends who are Jewish, Chinese, Indian. My older daughter's best friend is half black/half white. My younger daughter's best friend is Indian. My children are part Native American (My husband is 3/8 Native American).
It all just doesn't matter! I take people as individuals. It's just the way I was taught by my parents. I can't grasp any other way of thinking.
However, I also don't believe in affirmative action. But somehow, that makes me racist.
I just can't figure it out. Which to me, it means it's completely irrational and just a political power play that too many people in this country have fallen into (regardless of race).
It's very sad.
Beautifully said. The true inheritors of the American legacy are all who embrace it. It really is that simple.
Best regards,
Gail S http://www.backyardfence.wordpress.com
"The essential element that my friend and the black leftists have missed is that what binds us together as Americans is not shared blood, race, ethnicity, or tribe; it is the unshakable belief in certain universal principles. The American experience is not attached to men who were flawed, but is instead fixed to ideas that remain flawless. The institutions and symbols of America are reflective of the revolutionary idea that all men are the property of God, created with an equal right to life, liberty, private property, and the free pursuit of bettering their station in life"
Very well said. And it's true too. It's unfortunate what has become of many blacks in this country, resorting to "blame whitey" for their every problem. Being American is what it is all about, not being black or white. Who cares about black or white anymore, really? The only people I see perpetuating this are the leftist race baiters like Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan and Quanell X. These people are viewed as leaders but what they really are is dividers. They brainwash blacks into believing that loyalty to race should come before all else. What is this doing for them? Nothing. It's keeping them in this Welfare State mentality that blames whitey for everything. If Sharpton, Farrakahan and the like think they are acting in MLK's stead, they are sadly mistaken. All they are doing is holding the black community down, keeping them from reaching their full potential. We need more black leaders to speak to the masses and help them realize that they are responsible for their own American Dream and it no longer has to be an "us vs them" mentality. It would be better for them in the long run, and better for all of America as a whole.
Great article. God Bless
"30-35% of black Americans are unemployed, yet 90% still support Obama — they will learn sooner or later. SociaIism always hurts the poor the most."
So true. My fiance tells this to his liberal family all the time. Sooner or later they will all learn, I just don't want to go down with the ship when they finally do.
Thank you Mr. Phillips for a wonderful article. I wish more black people would give more thought to why a black man could be conservative. At it's core conservatism is about personal responsibilty. It's too bad that more people aren't listening to Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams and that they ignore the wisdom of Bill Cosby. Also the connection between Darwinism and Progessivism, perfect. The Toyota Prius with Darwin fish with legs, so obvious.
I'd say that is a stupid question since there is no other country I'd want to live in but this one.
WTF? Joe. My father was born in Bogota. My grandparents are Polish. Let the jokes begin.
But I can trade these manipulated markets better than the Mailman can deliver. Both parents have saved more lives than Valerie Jarrett has ruined lives.
And I'm the AHOLE?
I'm getting angry. Why am I grouped by Al Sharpton? By Jesse ******* Jackson? Civil war is closer than you think. Barack (Michelle) Obama is tearing this nation apart. And she (he) is doing it on our dime.
The question is how important the "Southern Strategy" really was and for how long. See the David Brooks column History and Calumny for a lengthy look at one part of it.
Great article. My father was an immigrant and we share no bloodlines with the founders yet I feel a reverence for our early history. I remember traveling up near Ft. Ticonderoga and reading an old text about our early revolutionaries who fought up there and in the winter were without shoes! As someone who has camped up there I cannot even imagine this.
As an immigrant my father was so thankful for the opportunities he found here. His father was blinded in a coal mining accident and when his mother got TB , his younger brother, my uncle , had to move into a Catholic orphanage and his younger sister was sent to relatives. His other brother worked in the mines. I never heard them complain about their country or expect anything. Despite their difficulties , they made the best of what they found. Sometimes when I hear all the grievance politics about getting this or that from others and while I understand their ancestors hardships were beyond my imagination, I think modern decedents have no more claim to the suffering of their ancestors than I do to those of my ancestors. We can only hope to appreciate their struggle but to claim their suffering as our own is blasphemous.
Those who wish to divide us by this or that surface characteristic rather than unify us around our great heritage are thieves. Those sufferings of our ancestors upon which our lives today are built are a sacrament that we should reverence. Those who overcame are our saints. Those of us who know stories of the suffering of our own kin are actually the lucky ones. We have been given a gift of depth of character from them . We have been given a lesson in values without the extreme harshness of the first hand experience. To sell that for a few government trinkets is akin to trading off Manhattan for some beads.
I remember a '60 Minutes' segment nearly 2 decades ago showing black students in a prestigious university flatly refusing to have anything to do with non-black students. They totally socialized, ate, slept, studied and lived only with each other. And the whole time they were doing it, white students were trying desperately to make friends with them but the blacks would have nothing to do with them. It was bad enough these black students 'ghettoized' themselves – the worst thing was that they were proud of it.
I am black and I am American; I never thought that they were mutually exclusive. My ancestors bled and died for this country, too; therefore, I am as entitled as anyone else to embrace the magnificence of Old Glory. Godspeed to my countrymen and women.
PS: Thank you, Joseph, for telling our story.
There are tribal lines that are just not ever going to get crossed much. People tend to hang with their own kind.
My friend is a good guy. Married with mostly grown children. They raised them good, too. No 'ho's' or 'playas' or any of that 'pop black crap' b/c that is not what they are about. He and his wife of many years are hard workers and church goers. Good solid values etc. BUT he and his wife both voted for Obama and his wife made the trip to Washington, DC for the inauguration even though she and her friends had no place to actually be.
Oh, well…………
Thank you so much for all of your articles, Joseph, but really this one. I grew up being told the things your friend said, but my reality proved your point to be true. I now have to re-learn just about everything so I'll have the proper perspective. It's difficult, but slowly and surely people like you, Thomas Sowell and Mark Levin are giving me the knowledge, courage and the proper ammunition to speak up about these things and to take a stand for what is right.
Thank you sir.
Awesome Star Trek reference…!!!!!
That was a great episode!!
Thanks again, Joe for speaking up. I feel that black conservatives pay the highest price of anybody for expressing their views.
Now my ancestors came here from scandanavia in the late 1800s, and I have a photo of a sod hut that some of them lived in. My great grandparents lost their farms in the depression. I have no less or greater claim on the american dream than blacks who's ancestors were brought here in the 1800s.
We all choose between love and hate. Between counting our blessings or feeling victimized. Many, if not most, blacks will choose to see themselves as a predated class, an object of white opression and hate. They will live in varying degrees of luxury, and at times extraordinary wealth, and feel they have somehow missed out on something, that they have some sort of grievance against the country they were born in–even as they see that africa offers poverty and geocide to many born there. They are in the best country they could be in, yet they choose hate, paranoia, and misery.
Contd–comment size limit is really too small.
Well, so be it. If my ancestors could live in a sod hut, if my grandparents could be dirt poor and proud, working hard to give their children a better life, then surely I can pitch in and do what I can to preserve the country of my birth from moral and financial bankruptcy, or perhaps help it rise from the ashes after it becomes another failed marxist state.
Its all about choices, and this sad, alienated black man has chosen the easy road, the road which ignores the greatness and beauty of america. Nothing anyone else can do about that.
The most effective prison ever conceived–to make a man's mind his own jailer. To choose servitude and slavery when some try to force freedom on you. Many who are lost will never find their way out, will never want to.
I believe statistically, most people prefer to follow–to have their decisions handed to them. Our problem is that these people are running the show.
My limited experience with hispanics, legal and illegal, is that they are very pleased with america, very happy to be here, happy to work here and build their part of the american dream.
I am guessing one generation after victimhood stops being a valuable political tool. And I am guessing obama will mark the point where that happened.
I think you underestimate the emotional benefits of victimhood. The feeling that you are morally superior due to your exploitation, that nothing bad is ever your fault, and the feeling of brotherhood as people band together against an imaginary enemy.
Sure, for black leaders, its the road to easy riches, but to the masses, its just a self-esteem program.
Ceding control of the educational system to marxists is probably the biggest omission, the greatest colossal failure of conservatism.
The simple fact of the matter is that those who feel separated from mainstream American society do so at their own choosing. They refuse to put their country above themselves. Being an American first and foremost is what our country is about. Those who place their color, gender, sexual preference, religion, etc. before our country are parasites and should be honorable enough to have the courage of their convictions to leave. Anyone who continues to live in a country that they hate is a burden on that country. Integrity is not the forte of cowards, is it?
Amen. We need leaders, period.
Yeah, don't get choked up about not being a slave or laws applying equally to everyone. Gosh! America sucks, duh!
White America and Black America are like two trains on opposite tracks.
Blacks still believeing that they are owed something and are being held down by racism and discrimination of the White majority.
While Whites are coming to believe Blacks really are lazy, ignorant, and hard to get along with. That Blacks have taken advantage of the good interntions of White Society and the money provided them in the form of welfare, food stamps, public school funds, easy government jobs, and racial quotas yet still remain ungrateful and rude filling our prisons and putting an undue burden on our Social Services system.
At some point the trains have to collide, a smart enlightened Black President would stop this collision before it occurs but we do not have one.
What's wrong with Japan or Sweden? Ok, Sweden does not technically qualify, but they came to the christianity game quite late and never took it too seriously (apart from the whole cross in the flag thingy)… But i can tell you this, they take separation of church and state quite seriously in practice, if not in symbol..
All minorities must cast off the yoke of victimhood.
I have always been mystified at the loyalty of African Americans to the Democratic party. This is the party of slavery, copperheads and Jim Crow. The Rebublican party is the party of anti-slavery, Lincoln and emancipation. That history alone should have kept most African Americans from ever voting for the Democrat party.____What has astonished me recently is the unknown story of Robert P. Smalls: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls . It took a trip to Beaufort South Carolina this spring to discover this impressive man and his wartime exploits. Where are the Hollywood movies? Where are the school textbooks? How come it took 47 years for me to find this out–and I am well read in history and the US civil war. ____Here is my favorite quote from him: "The party of Lincoln which unshackled the necks of four million human beings…every colored man who has a vote to cast, would cast that vote for the regular Republican Party and thus bury the Democratic Party so deep that there will not be seen even a bubble coming from the spot where the burial took place."
I'm thinking he laughed at Japan because the Japanese constitution was written by Americans, so even though it is not a Christian influenced nation, it's constitution was written and based on one from a country that was.
Basically Japan is a free and open country not because of their Shinto and Buddhism beliefs, but because Americans wrote their constitution based on their own Christian beliefs.
I'm thinking he laughed at Japan because the Japanese constitution was written by Americans, so even though it is not a Christian influenced nation, it's constitution was written and based on one from a country that was.
Basically Japan is a free and open country not because of their Shinto and Buddhism beliefs, but because Americans wrote their constitution based on their own Christian beliefs.
If the existence of slavery negates the Constitution, then it negates the ENTIRE bible.
What I get tired of are the self imposed titles such as African American, or Mexican American……You either are an American or you are not. Americans are all the same color……RED, WHITE, AND BLUE!!!!
And the Koran, and the Torah, and………..
It always amazes me why black people and jews vote democrat. At one point in my life, democrats were so totally against the black people in my state, the governor made headlines by standing in the door of our most famous college and trying to prevent a black student from entering. The governor of course was democrat governor George Wallace. All of the south was democrat at that time. Politicians, escentially dirty. Some still are and we keep trying to weed them out. Wallace always received the black vote. Why? Remember, if you get free stuff from the government, you have to give them your freedom! Free is never free.
Everyone who believes in the Constitution and the Declaration Of Independence can be American.
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