Frederick Douglas...
Posted on 09/19/2009 5:53:24 PM PDT by Wife of D28Man
Freepers, I write to ask your help on behalf of a good man, a courageous man, who is torn by a community that may finally be awakening to Democrat perfidy. He - and I suspect there are many like him - needs to know that he is not alone; that others walk the same road; that there is a wealth of information and support to guide him through the challenges he faces.
Harold is a black man who has risen from the depths of poverty and drug addiction and its associated pathologies. Today he is happily married with a couple of healthy, happy children; he and his wife enjoy all the benefits of the successful middle class. For several years he has been a powerful force in the drug program of our church, leading numerous addicts out of a life of despair into recovery.
Harold is a conservative. He did not vote for Obama, and he is strongly opposed to the President's policies. But his roots are deeply Democrat. He says that it is axiomatic: If you are black and poor, you are a Democrat. His head and his faith are in terrible confict with the political DNA of his birth and primary community.
There is no doubt in my mind that Harold will emerge victorious from this struggle. But I am asking for your help in strengthening him for the turmoil he is facing. Please weigh in with resources (e.g. Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Shelby Steele) and/or personal experiences in dealing with a black community that still does not fully realize the it is bound by Democrat shackles and that holds conservatives in contempt.
God bless you for reaching out to this good man.
Thank you, Windflier. As you broke out of that political conditioning, did you experience any racial identity confusion? We hear about hardworking black students being scorned as “trying to be white” and we witnessed the excoriation of Clarence Thomas by the black community - did you run into any of that kind of prejudice? And do you have a strong sense of community as a conservative now? I guess I’m really asking: Does being a conservative mean giving up some part of your racial heritage?
Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger's creation, exists to wipe out "undesirables," which in their world includes Blacks. To stand by while people are wiped out like that - people made in the image and likeness of God -- um, that's pretty bad.
What you have written applies to all people. We don’t need to live in hopelessness.
BTTT
Must watch.
Frederick Douglas...
Wow! Thank you.
Proof that Satan lives and breathes. If you look back through history, the demonrats were black Americans' worst enemy.
I asked a history teacher at UNC why she thought blacks have such loyalty for the democrats when it was the Republicans who fought the Civil war to end slavery and then fought to recognize civil rights for all while the demonrats fought the Republicans to keep things they way they were.
She said the Republicans figured blacks could take care of themselves once slavery was abolished and didn't do enough to help, but the democrats were the ones who handed out the money and support.
They still do, but what is the cost? The "great society" did a number on the black family. No matter what the demonrats say, look at what they do. They're the kind of evil with a firm grip in a silk glove that never lets go.
No. I got over trying to be a "black man" long before that. I wasn't confused about the difference between myself and my skin, even when I was a kid. The fact is, you are not your body - just as you are not your car.
I'm proud of my family's heritage, but my race and racial heritage don't put food on the table, or give me any part of my humanity. It's only melanin. That's all it is. It's got nothing to do with what's between your ears, or in your heart. Not one thing.
If this were a racially homogeneous culture, then maybe race would count for something. Even then, it wouldn't affect who you really are, or what your actual worth to society is.
This is America. Every race and nationality is represented in the makeup of our population. It's been that way since day one in this country, hence our national motto, E Pluribus Unum.
It's just ridiculous to elevate race to any level of importance in such a country. It's also very destructive of the common good. The more attention is paid to race, the more division there is amongst people who rightfully owe each other their strongest allegiance.
We hear about hardworking black students being scorned as “trying to be white” and we witnessed the excoriation of Clarence Thomas by the black community - did you run into any of that kind of prejudice?
I experienced all that long before I came to my senses, politically. So has any black person who's ever tried to rise to the promise of their own potential. My childhood was filled with incidents of put-downs and being ostracized by other black kids because I dared to commit the crime of being myself.
To more precisely answer your question, yes, I've endured some pretty awful treatment at the hands of former allies because, again, I have chosen to go my own way, make my own observations, and draw my own conclusions. But, at the same time, I've found more friends on "this side of the fence" than I ever knew I would. I'd rather be allied with a group of free-thinking individuals, than with a goose-stepping Borg colony any day of the week.
...do you have a strong sense of community as a conservative now?
I have a very strong sense of community now. I belong to that community that loves America and the Constitution, and which has a strong understanding of, and respect for, the traditions and history that made this country the greatest nation the world has ever known.
Belonging to the patriotic right is far more spiritually elevating than belonging to a group that defines itself by its perceived victim status, and one that purposely individuates itself from the majority of its fellow citizens over something as meaningless as skin color.
That doesn't mean that I don't still feel a belonging of sorts to the black community. I do. I just refuse to belong to the community of racial identity politics, which is actually just a mindset. I don't think that way, so I don't belong to that group which does.
I guess I’m really asking: Does being a conservative mean giving up some part of your racial heritage?
In a word, no. But, I'll be honest with you. I have no idea what tribe my African ancestors came from. Neither do most black people. So, what is my racial heritage, then? It can only be what history my family and blacks in general have in this country. That heritage is considerable, and is as valuable as any other racial or ethnic group who built this country.
But - the more important thing here, is what is the American people's collective heritage? Again, America isn't about this group, or that group. It's about everyone who's here, regardless of their skin color, or where their ancestors came from.
E Pluribus Unum. We are one people from many. From the moment my earliest black ancestor was granted full American citizenship under the laws of this country, his race and that of all his descendants ceased to be of paramount importance. He was an American, and so am I. My primary allegiance is to America, and all other Americans, as should everyone who calls themselves an American. To do otherwise is suicide for a nation, and results in a divided, Balkanized people who are anything but united.
BTTT
He must know of course that the democrat party wants black Americans to be poor and dependent upon government. They just want their dependency and their votes. Democrats promise a lot, but why are they still promising to fix the same things for the last 50 years? It’s because they have not fixed anything, they’ve made things worse.
Besides all the good points in previous posts, like the fact that MLK was a republican, Sheets Byrd was in the KKK, the democrat party voted against civil rights...etc...does he know that the democrat run abortion mill Planned Parenthood was created to reduce the number of Black Americans through abortion? That’s just plain evil.
Democrats just use Black Americans. It’s shameful the way they addict the poor to welfare and other programs and make one generation after another more disfunctional. The democrats have taken the Black American Family, once strong with a father and mother, and torn it to pieces, leaving generations of lost souls, and children without fathers.
Conservatives welcome all to the fold. We rejoice when the side of freedom and liberty has gained another member. We do see the content of character and not the color of skin. We all bleed red, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Perhaps a few scriptures might be of help. I carried a few of these on a small square of paper in my pocket for a long time. Knowing that God is there, unchanging from everlasting to everlasting, and He there for me always was a great comfort and motivator.
Galations 5:13 “By love, serve one another.”
Romans 5:3 “We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.”
Psalm 139:23,24 “Search me O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Proverbs 23:7 “For as a man thinketh in his own heart, so is he.”
Phillipians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Luke 1:37 “With God, nothing shall be impossible.”
Phillipians 3:13 “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Galatians 5:1 “Standfast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
1 Samuel 16:7 “For The Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but The Lord looketh on the heart.”
2 Chronicles 15:7 “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
and as we are all doing on this topic tonight...
Galations 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
You might want to ask “TheMayor” on FR to add you to his ping list called “Daily Bread”. Daily Bread discusses a scripture everyday. TheMayor is on “Amy’s Place” on FR everyday. Just go to the front page of FR, on the right side is a list and “Amy’s Place” is there. Go there and scroll until you find “Daily Bread” by TheMayor and ask to be added to his ping list. I find it the easiest way to be in The Word everyday.
On the lighter side, a few bumper stickers I wrote down:
Live your life for Jesus and spend eternity in the non-smoking section.
My boss is a Jewish carpenter.
Real men love Jesus.
Peace
No he wasn’t. That’s been debunked here umpteen times.
I see from your FR homepage that you are from Pennsylvania. (Me, too.) I suggest that you contact Garry Cobb (former Philadelphia Eagle and now radio personality at radio 610 WIP) for information about Project 21. Check it out.
FRegards, and good luck,
LH
Thank you for your comments and suggestions. My guess is that you have been an enormous help, not only to Harold but to other closet conservatives - of whatever race.
“IF YOU ARE BLACK AND POOR YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT” There is a certain irony in this statement that somehow does not register with “poor blacks”. Is there a direct relationship between “poor” and “democrat”? Democrats mantra seems to be
the poor the poor but their action is not to correct but rather to politicize the plight of the poor. Poor is poor, black or white. LBJ. a good Democrat, declared war on poverty back in the 60s but poverty persists. It persisted through Kennedy, Johnson, Eisenhouer, Nixon, Ford, Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama. And we are still working hard for the poor but the poor remain poor, isn’t that passing strange? Politicians get rich, Executives get rich, the crooks get rich, some are in the aforementioned class, the middle class are reasonably comfortable but the poor remain poor. Does everyone live off of the backs of the poor, and if they do, where do the poor get the wealth? In the year 2004 welfare expenditure was $3.75 trillion, that’s one year, the accumulated national debt is 11.8 trillion. It seems we spend a lot of money without positive results. The poor remain in the camp of the Democrats...Strange indeed.
“IF YOU ARE BLACK AND POOR YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT” There is a certain irony in this statement that somehow does not register with “poor blacks”. Is there a direct relationship between “poor” and “democrat”? Democrats mantra seems to be
the poor the poor but their action is not to correct but rather to politicize the plight of the poor. Poor is poor, black or white. LBJ. a good Democrat, declared war on poverty back in the 60s but poverty persists. It persisted through Kennedy, Johnson, Eisenhouer, Nixon, Ford, Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama. And we are still working hard for the poor but the poor remain poor, isn’t that passing strange? Politicians get rich, Executives get rich, the crooks get rich, some are in the aforementioned class, the middle class are reasonably comfortable but the poor remain poor. Does everyone live off of the backs of the poor, and if they do, where do the poor get the wealth? In the year 2004 welfare expenditure was $3.75 trillion, that’s one year, the accumulated national debt is 11.8 trillion. It seems we spend a lot of money without positive results. The poor remain in the camp of the Democrats...Strange indeed.
“IF YOU ARE BLACK AND POOR YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT” There is a certain irony in this statement that somehow does not register with “poor blacks”. Is there a direct relationship between “poor” and “democrat”? Democrats mantra seems to be
the poor the poor but their action is not to correct but rather to politicize the plight of the poor. Poor is poor, black or white. LBJ. a good Democrat, declared war on poverty back in the 60s but poverty persists. It persisted through Kennedy, Johnson, Eisenhouer, Nixon, Ford, Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama. And we are still working hard for the poor but the poor remain poor, isn’t that passing strange? Politicians get rich, Executives get rich, the crooks get rich, some are in the aforementioned class, the middle class are reasonably comfortable but the poor remain poor. Does everyone live off of the backs of the poor, and if they do, where do the poor get the wealth? In the year 2004 welfare expenditure was $3.75 trillion, that’s one year, the accumulated national debt is 11.8 trillion. It seems we spend a lot of money without positive results. The poor remain in the camp of the Democrats...Strange indeed.
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