The Real Problem With Race Relations

To quote James Brown in the song The Big Payback, I'm MAD!
There has been so much dishonesty in the days since Hurricane Katrina hit by the mainstream press, it has gotten out of control! Last week, Rep. Charlie "Good Time" Rangel (D-NY) compared President Bush to "Bull" Connor, a racist police commissioner in Alabama who in the 1960's hosed down and sent dogs after civil rights protesters.

Rep. Rangel not only got away with such a preposterous allegation, other race hustlers piled on President Bush as well. Rev. Al Sharpton added that "we've gone to fire hoses to levees". Rep Major Owens(D-NY) agreed that Rep. Rangel is "on the right track, this is worse than Bull Connor".
NY City Councilman Charles Barron states that "a KKK without power is not as bad as a George Bush with power." Of course, last week "Screwy Louie" Farrarkhan came through Durham alleging that Bush caused the levee to break deliberately on Blacks.

This type of rhetoric does nothing but push the races further away. The mainstream media has contributed greatly to the increase of the hatefulness of the rhetoric by giving these lunatics a platform without holding them accountable. The press is so eager to see Bush go down, that they are neglecting their basic duties as journalist to check facts. Several articles in the last couple of days, reveal the estimates of deaths, murders, and rapes have been greatly exaggerated. The media did not bother to check facts initially because the scenes from New Orleans fit their mindset perfectly. Look at all of the poor, helpless Blacks and racist Bush is not helping them. I do not believe that white liberals or black race-baiters truly do not want racial problems resolved. These groups perpetuate the worst stereotypes and hateful speech to continue to antagonize racial groups. If you try to have a honest discussion with these people about race, they are not willing to admit to any responsibility of the problems on their end. For example, we hear every day how the events in New Orleans revealed to Americans the world of poverty and racial injustice. These people did not become poor overnight or in the last five years. Why isn't the previous administration taking any blame or hits for their conditions? Wasn't the Clinton years the greatest economic time in our nation's history? Why did it skip over these people? Also, the city of New Orleans has been led by Blacks for the last thirty years. How can racism be the reason for these people conditions when the mayor, city council, police chiefs, school administrators, have been mostly black? Are Ray Nagin, Ernest and Mark Morial, Bull Connors as well? Remember, the black mayor did not follow the city and state evacution plans. The black mayor did not get the buses to get the poor people out! The Democratic white female governor kept water and food from going to the Superdome. The Democratic white female governor failed to bring in the military sooner as the city went out of control. The black police chief failed to protect citizens and business from the looters as police officers themselves participated in the looting or did not show up to work. It is amazing to see all of these Bull Connors and none of them look like a white male Republican!

We have made much progress in race relations in the last fifty years. The progress made in this country is unprecendented. Everyday, people as individuals are making even greater strides as seen in the increase in interracial relationships, the upward mobility of non-whites in various fields. However, there is still work to be done. We need to get to a point where people are judged on their content of character, not their skin color. There are still too many arenas, especially in the labor force, where people's full potential is not realized because of racial prejudice. We should not have lower expectations for any citizen of this country regardless of their race or socioeconomic background.
I don't believe that throwing more federal money at the people of New Orleans will solve anything. However, I am a realist. I believe that there will be too much political pressure to give a blank check to New Orleans. We need to ask the race hustlers and white liberals, before we pour all of this federal money in New Orleans, are you going to hold the government officials and citizens accountable? We need to make sure that this money gets to the citizens, not bureaucrats. Will you rebuild the schools to include school choice, merit pay for teachers, no tenure for teachers, and tough discipline for students? When you rebuild the homes, will you establish time limits to obtain work, rent to own programs, strong police action to cut down the immense crime? As the families return, are you willing to crack down on deadbeat parents, and have programs endorsing abstinence, chastity, and marriage?Unfortunately, most libs and hustlers are not willing to have this debate. They rather call people names and blame whites for all of their problems.

God, Not Government!

Last week, my post began to talk about the ever increasing role of government at all levels in our lives. With the cost of Katrina and the upcoming disaster named Rita, government spending will be at an all-time high. Unfortunately, politicians on both sides are quick to pull out the checkbook to gain support or to perform damage control. Politicians love to increase the role of government because it buys them job security. The government has successfully convinced many of us that the money that they have belongs to them not the taxpayer.

Yet, the talents that we use to earn a living, in my humble opinion belongs to God, not Raleigh or Washington. Once government gets into our lives, many people become dependent on them instead of living for God. What is the need to perform charitable works as Jesus instructs us if the government is supposed to pay for anything. There is no need to believe or trust in a higher power when you know that the government will provide all of your needs. Look at all of the selfish behavior that we witness on a regular basis. During Hurricane Katrina, no one in these people families' bothered to come and get their relatives out of New Orleans. Like I said in my previous posts, don't tell me that someone could not get their family out of there. But why bother to get grandma or cousin Niecy when the government is supposed to do it. Look at the conditions of the neighborhoods which the poor came from in New Orleans! The Great Society did more damage to blacks than any Klansmen ever could. The lack of nuclear families, high crime rates, and miserable schools are the result of the total dependence on government, yet the solution proposed for these people is more government!

Too much government separates us from each other as humans, and it fools us in believing that there is no need for God in our lives since the government will take care of us. If you did a study on which organizations had the most positive effect on poor people, I am certain that private charitable groups have a much better track record than state or federal programs. Don't get me wrong, government has to play a role in defense, commerce, justice. However, programs that force people out of the marketplace and into dependency are plain wrong. Jesus reminds us that no man can serve two masters, he will love one and hate the other. Too many of us are serving the master of government which causes us to separate from God. The ever increasing cost of government will soon get to a breaking point, will we go fiscally and morally bankrupt or will we begin to take responsibility for our lives and trust God?

The real lesson will be missed

As we gain some distance from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, I am afraid that we will miss the most important lesson which could be gained. The most important lesson is that we as Americans cannot rely on our government to do everything for us. Our federal government is already entirely too big and cubersome. Look at how long it took it to respond to the tragedy. Even though a lot of people don't want to hear it, the folks in Washington cannot and should not know what is best for you in Mississippi, New Orleans, or in Durham North Carolina. The intrusion of government in affairs that people should handle themselves has increased expenditures since the 1960s. The mayor and the governor of Louisiana failed to provide an adequate evacuation of their citizens in part due to the belief that Washington would handle everything.

The poor citizens of New Orleans were left to fend for themselves to find food, water and shelter. Their belief in government doing everything for them cost some of these citizens their lives. Again, I ask where were these people families? You cannot tell me that most of these people did not know of anyone who had access to a car in a country where most families own 2 to 3 cars! The overriding belief that government will take of you caused citizens not to prepare for natural disasters including taking out flood insurance policies. FEMA will pay for it, why should I buy insurance in a known hurricane prone, low-lying area? The ineptness of government has been shown time and time again in this crisis. Many private organizations were able to provide relief within 24 hours after the hurricane strike. These organizations probably helped more people since the crisis than any of the government programs. When will we learn that people closest to the scene or situation usually can do it better, more efficiently and less expensively than the federal government. These groups usually make sure that the people directly affected get the help not some bureaucrats.

The problem with big government is that it separates us as human being. As a Christian, I am expected to do good works with my family and community. However, most people expect the government to provide good works for them. The government doles out checks which keeps people from seeking work or to gain job skills. It has become the father in many low-income areas, thus absolving men from their responsibilities. This also provides a disincentive for women to abstain from sex before marriage. People no longer have to watch out for their aged parents or little children because the government will take care of them. The expansion of government has hurt the connectiveness that we need to maintain a decent society. People now can go off and do their own thing, be immoral, be selfish, be crude and unforgiving. In the aftermath of this disaster, there will be billions of government money given away, including a payout to the victims similar to 9/11 (which was a huge mistake). The calls for a further increase in government power will be heeded, and there will be little accountability for any of the mistakes and future mismanagement of government officials. Yes, we should help those people get back of their feet. However, it should be handled through private donations. There needs to be accountability toward where the money is going, but there won't be and that is the lesson lost here....

Views on Hurricane Katrina

Like many citizens of this country, I have been watching the coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. I was disturbed and dismayed by the images of children and the elderly starving for food and water. I was equally upset by the scenes of looting throughout New Orleans (I am sorry if you are lugging out TVs, Playstations, and DVD's, you are looting not "finding"). The ineptness of the mayor and governor was evident from the first day post-Katrina. The federal response could have been faster as well.

The most shocking aspect was the non-stop, senseless blaming by the mainstream media before people were fed, moved to safety or rescued. In terms of wrestling, the media, left-wing wackos were so eager to get on the top rope and drop kick Bush and FEMA, the coverage almost became unwatchable. It is hard to believe that people with this much hate would use hurricane victims to score political points. However, I was relieved to see in the CNN poll yesterday, that most Americans did not blame Bush for the crisis. It was a natural disaster, people! Could have things been performed better or more timely? You betcha! Yet, the Dems could not put politics aside in order to help these victims.

Race hustlers will use the delayed response from the federal government to keep more Blacks on the plantation. Unfortunately, these events will probably hurt the strides that the GOP has made with Blacks. Can you imagine any Black pastor now openly supporting the President?! He or she would be forced to resign immediately. The poor citizens of the Gulf Coast will be used to get the race hustlers more air time, and more donations to fatten their bank accounts. The other disturbing aspect of the Katrina situation is the lack of accountability on the part of the residents. Despite the image shown in the media, I would wager that most of these blacks are not as poor as the media would like for you to believe. I believe that if you told these people that if they left the city, they would get $1000, most of these people would find a way out. I cannot believe that most of these people did not have access to any transportation. Where were the family members who had access to transportation at? My mother lives in a lower-income area, if she needed to leave, I would be down there in a heartbeat to get her. The problem is that many people in that area are conditioned to believe that they are victims. All of their problems are due to outside forces, not their own poor decisions. These people are taught not to see themselves as part of American society, but as outcasts. So when the "man" tells you to leave, you are supposed to ignore it. These are the people who are keeping you down, besides they might be lying to you. I know this is a harsh assessment, but it is based on reality. I grew out in that type of environment and I am fully aware of the predominant mentality present. Do I suggest that we don't help this people? Absolutely not! I have already donated money and will continue to donate more. I am also slated to volunteer to help with some survivors that have been moved into our area. My other fear is this disaster will be used as a catalyst for drastic increases in federal spending, the stoppage of the Bush tax cuts, and decreased committment to the war on terror, which I will talk about more later...