"If you want to see the true face of evil, look at Jesse Jackson and the rest of the black Dem political class. They know what they are doing to their fellow blacks, and they are doing it for their own profit"
Well, I disagree on that one. I think the people who tend to say kind of thing that are completely removed from Democratic circles. Being in Chicago, I rub shoulders with a lot of black politicos and players. A few of them go to my church, which is one of the biggest in the city. Jesse Jackson lives here, so I know a lot of people who work with him, and I have met him a couple times. I'm generally teased for being "the Republican," which is fine -- it's all in good fun, and let's face it: around here, I'm an anomoly.
My sense is that, aside from the general sense of self-interest that's present in all ambitious people, especially politicos, these people think they're doing the right thing. There's real passion in some of these folks. Sure, some of them are total hacks -- I'd put Congressman Bobby Rush (former Black Panther) in that category. But again, there are just as many Republican hacks.
I think we need to get beyond attributing evil motives to people with different beliefs. Instead, we should argue passionately about why we're right and they're wrong. We should argue that freedom means the possibility of failure as well as success; that government coercion, being involuntary, is more oppressive than corporate power; that teaching people to blame others helps no one in the end; that this country's greatness lies not in some imagined guarantee of equal outcomes but in the potential for creative, motivated individuals to carve out a slice of America to call their own. These are values that can resonate with both Democrats and Republicans. We just need to make sure blacks hear our side of the story a little more often.
Some pretty basic Americanism here.
"I think we need to get beyond attributing evil motives to people with different beliefs."
That would be naive.