The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Friday, August 13, 2004
Black Intellectual Bloggers: new vanguard for the Right?
I am really stoked by an article up today on National Review Online about The Conservative Brotherhood. Written by Dan LeRoy, the column discusses a group of black "brothers and sisters" who are the vanguard of a new revolution: African-American conservatives. I cannot express in words how much hope this gives me...I mean it's not like it is about damn time or anything...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to wonder just how long black support for the Democrat party could continue to remain so artificially high, given the fact that black Americans have had some 40 years since LBJ's "Great Society" programs were enacted to notice that there has been very little improvement in the inner city or in the culture of poverty that disproportionately permeates the black community. With so little progress after so many social programs, one would think people would think twice before adding even more. Who was it that defined "insanity" as doing the exact same thing multiple times and expecting a different result?
The causes of societal crises are difficult to gauge entirely; but is it not germane to at least suggest that the breakdown of the nuclear family in the inner city has something to do with the breakdown of culture therein? And at the same time is it not germane to equate the left-wing philosophy of discouraging any semblance of "official" morality with the breakdown of the nuclear family? It seems to me that what improvement in the standard of living in Black America there has been has been due largely to men and women who have worked hard to pull themselves out of those circumstances, rather than to rely on government hand-out programs; the very programs that foster greater dependency and make it more difficult to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty. Which of course is exactly what the Democrats want: greater dependency on them equals they keep power--the theory being that by keeping the brothers and sisters down it keeps the brothers and sisters coming back to the Government "dealer" for yet another "fix". And so the cycle continues.
If any one group is at fault for the continuing sluggishness of the black community's seeming inability to rise above its historical downtrodden-ness, I chalk it up partially to media coverage of Democratic anachronisms like Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Sheila Jackson Lee, etc. For a number of years there have been black intellectuals like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and Larry Elder with extremely coherent and well-articulated arguments for the conservative philosophy; a philosphy that should be reasonable to almost any minority who will just stop, listen, and ponder its clarity and wisdom. And, while there is some syndication of these voices in print, in my experience I have seen very little television coverage of black conservatives (although Elder does have a decent following on his radio show and we do see occasional guest appearances of Sowell/Williams on shows like the Rush Limbaugh show...). And I do not buy the weak argument that black conservative voices are not being heard because there are none. Rather, I think it is the case that those who have been up to now the "guardians" of public opinion: (e.g. Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, etc.) have supported for years the lie of social programs while the African-American community itself has failed to question any of it, causing black conservative intellectuals to languish in relative obscurity (especially when compared to their white conservative peers such as George Will and William F. Buckley). I do not think this mass-media ignorance of conservative black intellectuals is accidental; the left-leaning "intelligentsia" has much to lose and little to gain by letting on to its viewership that there exist African-Americans of great intellect out there (not to mention great courage, given the likely the backlash from the unwashed in their own community...) who do not subscribe to their same tired pronouncements and sycophantic slogans. Am I the only person who thinks that the African-American left and its willing accomplices in the media have been a huge factor in preventing greater self-sufficiency and wealth in the black community?
One need only witness the near-universal condemnation by so-called black "leaders" of the Clarence Thomas appointment, their vitriol against Condi Rice, and other examples which clearly show that it is not "Colored People" that the so-called civil rights establishment are promoting the "Advancement" of, but rather only those people of color who are philosophically left-leaning. Whereas if you are a black conservative, you will find that "leaders" like Mfume, Sharpton, Jackson, et. al., have shown very little inclination to "advance" your cause.
Fortunately today we have an Internet and a Blogosphere, a new revolutionary outlet where suddenly individuals who were not indoctrinated by American journalism schools can finally let their voices be heard. And they are being heard. I am hopeful that The Conservative Brotherhood and other groups like them are just the tip of a rapidly expanding iceberg.
Hopefully, the black brothers and sisters on the vanguard of this movement will not allow themselves be discouraged. For it is they who will be the primary difference 20 years from now between an America mired in state socialism, in economic decline and with increasing percentages of the population in poverty, or an America fully empowered to break the chains of its bondage by nurturing individual achievement, free enterprise, low taxation, and a truly color-blind population. Dr. King's dream can become a reality--but not by using the same tired and discredited programs.
The causes of societal crises are difficult to gauge entirely; but is it not germane to at least suggest that the breakdown of the nuclear family in the inner city has something to do with the breakdown of culture therein? And at the same time is it not germane to equate the left-wing philosophy of discouraging any semblance of "official" morality with the breakdown of the nuclear family? It seems to me that what improvement in the standard of living in Black America there has been has been due largely to men and women who have worked hard to pull themselves out of those circumstances, rather than to rely on government hand-out programs; the very programs that foster greater dependency and make it more difficult to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty. Which of course is exactly what the Democrats want: greater dependency on them equals they keep power--the theory being that by keeping the brothers and sisters down it keeps the brothers and sisters coming back to the Government "dealer" for yet another "fix". And so the cycle continues.
If any one group is at fault for the continuing sluggishness of the black community's seeming inability to rise above its historical downtrodden-ness, I chalk it up partially to media coverage of Democratic anachronisms like Jackson, Sharpton, Mfume, Sheila Jackson Lee, etc. For a number of years there have been black intellectuals like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and Larry Elder with extremely coherent and well-articulated arguments for the conservative philosophy; a philosphy that should be reasonable to almost any minority who will just stop, listen, and ponder its clarity and wisdom. And, while there is some syndication of these voices in print, in my experience I have seen very little television coverage of black conservatives (although Elder does have a decent following on his radio show and we do see occasional guest appearances of Sowell/Williams on shows like the Rush Limbaugh show...). And I do not buy the weak argument that black conservative voices are not being heard because there are none. Rather, I think it is the case that those who have been up to now the "guardians" of public opinion: (e.g. Rather, Jennings, Brokaw, etc.) have supported for years the lie of social programs while the African-American community itself has failed to question any of it, causing black conservative intellectuals to languish in relative obscurity (especially when compared to their white conservative peers such as George Will and William F. Buckley). I do not think this mass-media ignorance of conservative black intellectuals is accidental; the left-leaning "intelligentsia" has much to lose and little to gain by letting on to its viewership that there exist African-Americans of great intellect out there (not to mention great courage, given the likely the backlash from the unwashed in their own community...) who do not subscribe to their same tired pronouncements and sycophantic slogans. Am I the only person who thinks that the African-American left and its willing accomplices in the media have been a huge factor in preventing greater self-sufficiency and wealth in the black community?
One need only witness the near-universal condemnation by so-called black "leaders" of the Clarence Thomas appointment, their vitriol against Condi Rice, and other examples which clearly show that it is not "Colored People" that the so-called civil rights establishment are promoting the "Advancement" of, but rather only those people of color who are philosophically left-leaning. Whereas if you are a black conservative, you will find that "leaders" like Mfume, Sharpton, Jackson, et. al., have shown very little inclination to "advance" your cause.
Fortunately today we have an Internet and a Blogosphere, a new revolutionary outlet where suddenly individuals who were not indoctrinated by American journalism schools can finally let their voices be heard. And they are being heard. I am hopeful that The Conservative Brotherhood and other groups like them are just the tip of a rapidly expanding iceberg.
Hopefully, the black brothers and sisters on the vanguard of this movement will not allow themselves be discouraged. For it is they who will be the primary difference 20 years from now between an America mired in state socialism, in economic decline and with increasing percentages of the population in poverty, or an America fully empowered to break the chains of its bondage by nurturing individual achievement, free enterprise, low taxation, and a truly color-blind population. Dr. King's dream can become a reality--but not by using the same tired and discredited programs.
