This is a particularly difficult blog for me to write, but there is something that needs to be said, and I’m not one to shy away from a difficult subject. What needs to be said is that in my view, Black America is flirting dangerously with socialism in the name of “social justice,” partly because a well-liked and charismatic black man, none other than President Obama, is promoting a currently mild brand of it along with his administration and an all too willing Congress with a Democrat majority in both houses (which will thankfully end next week, yet his executive powers will live on). Now am I an Obama hater? Not at all. But I do dislike his policies of wealth redistribution and federal government dependence, and believe that the vast majority of blacks are overlooking the destructiveness of his big government policies solely because he is black (policies not so different from George Bush, only more socialistic). And none other than the NAACP, a once proud organization, has picked up on this wave of socialistic tendencies, aiding and abetting the plans of the Obama administration and the soon to be lost Democrat majority.
I will be catching a lot of flak for this post, but the facts are unmistakable when we look at the reaction of black America over the past two years in terms of Obama’s popularity, the events that blacks have attended, and the abhorrent actions as well as race-baiting of the NAACP. Obama still holds a 91% approval rating among blacks as of October in a Gallup poll, while he holds a 45% approval rating among the public at large. So why such a huge discrepancy between blacks and the general population? It’s hard to say, but clearly there is the factor of pride in having the first black president, yet I don’t think that alone would account for a 91% approval rating. Could this be because of the history of slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow laws that are a deep stain on American history? I would argue no because even though there is still discrimination in America, blacks have every opportunity to succeed in America (as evidenced by Obama himself, along with his highly educated and successful wife, Michelle Obama). Have blacks, who are heavy church goers, bought into liberation theology? It isn’t mainstream, but is present as evidenced by Obama’s membership in Jeremiah Wright’s church.
Though I can’t pinpoint why such a huge percentage of blacks support Obama’s policies (or if they just support him despite his policies), what is clear is that his policies are heavily socialist leaning. And it is no coincidence that the black liberation theology with which he has been associated has its roots in Marxist victimology, where blacks are encouraged to embrace a victim mentality despite the civil rights gains over the past fifty years. Even as a student at Occidental College (an uber-liberal college in Los Angeles, CA) , Obama exhibited Marxist views and the desire for a socialist government. If you don’t believe me, then look here to see the story of John Drew, a conservative I recently met in Orange County. He was a former Marxist before rejecting it as rubbish in 1984, who became acquainted with Obama in 1980 when Obama was a sophomore at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Drew had just graduated from Occidental and was attending graduate school at Cornell University. His then girlfriend attended classes with Obama.
Could it be that blacks have embraced socialism as a perceived solution to what ails black America? The attendance of so many blacks at the recent OneNation Rally, which featured the NAACP as well as socialist and communist groups prominently, may hold a clue. This could be the case, but I don’t believe it is wholly intentional, as much as it is a mindset that has been ingrained over the course of the past seventy years of history that only government can provide solutions to the black community, beginning with the policies of FDR. FDR, who sought to right a struggling economy, created employment opportunities through New Deal programs that benefited many black Americans, though this was entirely a side affect and not a direct endorsement of civil rights policy. With this, many blacks began to swing towards the Democrat Party despite the fact that the partly was decidedly white, southern, and segregationist. Truman continued these policies, but was a President who actually promoted civil rights. Truman actually garnered 77% of the black vote in 1948. In 1964, the transition was complete, with President Lyndon Johnson receiving 94% of the black vote. And it has been that way since thanks to his Great Society program. The result is 72% of African-American babies born into a home with no father, as compared to about 5% in 1960. So much for a “Great Society” through government handouts, which has not ended poverty but has led to government promotion of irresponsible behavior and a continued cycle of generational poverty.
My analysis is that blacks have not fully embraced socialism because like much of America, they really don’t know what it is. Further, I think they look at socialist “light” countries in Europe and see it’s not so bad because it’s nothing like the Soviet Union and everyone has a minimum standard of living that the government assures them. The problem is that like most liberals, blacks apparently believe that ethic can be imported into the American system and that it will actually work here, with them being beneficiaries of such redistribution of wealth based on continued perceptions of inequality. The problem is that we see these redistributive systems only work so long before those who are the recipients demand more and more until with fewer and fewer people who can provide what recipients increasingly see as things they are entitled to simply by virtue of birth. With the loss of capital that is being redistributed and resulting lower levels of innovation, since less new things are being created, economic growth is hindered. In essence, the struggle that is needed to lift oneself out of poverty is traded in for the certainty of an entitlement. This is a downward spiral of opportunity, but somehow people have been made to believe they can have a prosperous society while government robs the very people needed to provide economic opportunity to those who most need it. With respect to the black community, such dependence on government must be cast aside in favor of a focus on equal opportunity, if that is what is lacking. Government cannot solve our problems, but if we focus on education, rebuilding our communities, and virtue within those communities, we can see real change and real empowerment.
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