Posted on 12/31/2006 4:02:23 PM PST by Lorianne
Debbie Schlussel’s excellent article on the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith poignantly shows a profound difference between the way liberals and conservatives look at the world. This key distinction can effectively be demonstrated in the light of liberals’ version of affirmative action as opposed to the kind of affirmative action that conservative values dictate.
The Story
“The Pursuit of Happyness” is the story of Chris Gardner, a down-and-out-on-his-luck bone scanner salesman who suffers every bad break in the book, ends up homeless raising a son after his wife abandons them, manages to succeed as a stockbroker anyway, and ends up a multi-millionaire through hard work, dedication, personal responsibility on his own without any favors or preferences because of his race or situation. As Schlussel points out, “Those should be the only reasons anyone succeeds in America--not the coincidences of birth with a certain skin tone or set of internal plumbing.”
As Schlussel points out, the film presents a male character and father in a positive light and shows the virtues of merit, not race-based preferences in America.
Two Legends and Two Loons
George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington are legendary, great Americans who overcame great obstacles to become icons of American life. Carver is idolized as one of this nation’s greatest educators and agricultural researchers and Washington, at one time Carver’s boss, is likewise regarded as a great American political leader, educator and author. Oh, by the way, in case you did not know, they both happened to be African-Americans. Their greatness and tremendous contribution to American life had nothing to do with their race and everything to do with their personal character, integrity and drive.
Carver once remarked that “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” He also once stated that “There is no short cut to achievement.” For his part, Washington is said to have once observed that “Character, not circumstances, make the man.” He also once noted that “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Lastly, Booker T. Washington is said to have observed “that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed.”
Of all the quotes attributed to these two great men, my favorite comes from Washington, who once wrote:
''I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.''
I did not know that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were contemporaries of Booker T. Washington, did you?
Taking Out the Middle Man
When it comes to the business of having a dream or goal, taking responsibility and working hard to achieve that goal on merit and finally reaching that goal or dream, liberals want to take out the middle man. Liberals love entitlement; they believe that government should not only show you what you can achieve, it should guarantee that achievement while you hang out and watch a ballgame. They love the teach-a-man-to-fish story, but they twist it into a little tale where government hands the fish to the man in exchange for votes under the pretext of victimization and martyr status. This way, the man never has to learn to fish, never fully appreciates fishing, can get more fish than the next fool, stays indebted to his saviors and likewise stays a convenient victim for life.
True conservatives, meaning those who had not yet sold out to liberal thinking for votes or convenience, think differently. According to true conservative values, The Declaration of Independence promises to provide us with the opportunity to pursue our dreams and achieve them on our own initiative, drive, ambition and merit, not due to some patronized preference that paints members of this or that group as babbling imbeciles who cannot make it without the help of others.
Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver were great men and made this country a greater nation not because they happened to be African-Americans, but because they happened to be men of integrity, honor, dedication and personal responsibility who did not sit around waiting for hand outs and special treatment. Affirmative Action should be about giving people the opportunity to find their dreams on their own merit, not patronizing them with special treatment as if they were incapable of achieving greatness on their own.
True conservatives believe that we can all achieve greatness on our own merit, which The Declaration of Independence promises to protect that opportunity, that chance. Liberals, on the other hand, think many of us are clueless idiots or backward fools who either need help to do anything or are so ignorant that we cannot see patronization when it is right up our nose. As a Hispanic who believes that all people, regardless of race, gender or any other trait can achieve greatness on their own, I find the liberal version of affirmative action insulting, demeaning, degrading and blatantly opportunistic.
Conclusion
“The Pursuit of Happyness” paints a picture that we rarely get from liberal Hollywood. This film reminds us that we all have the potential for greatness within our hearts, our souls and our minds. Great Americans like George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington are evidence that this greatness can shine despite any obstacles and circumstances if we just believe in ourselves and earn what we can achieve.
On the other hand, liberals and race peddlers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton remind us of the liberal version of that pursuit. This version demands happiness as if it were a divine right that we are all entitled to regardless of whether or not we have worked for it or not. Worse still, men like this latter duo only apply that privilege to certain people even as they cry racism and prejudice despite the fact that they demonstrate precisely the kind of bias, hypocrisy and opportunism they pretend to combat.
America is such a great country that it provides us with the opportunity to choose what version of that pursuit we prefer, yet the greatness demonstrated by Americans like George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington should make that choice simple. When it comes to fishing for our potential greatness, both of these men call on us to take out our own fishing poles and get to work. Sure the system still needs fixing. Of course there is still racism and unfairness, but don’t tell Carver and Washington about that, because they lived it, overcame it and stand as evidence that these evils will only defeat us if we turn them into excuses, rationalizations or, worse still, tickets to fame and fortune as some so-called leaders do today.
Excellent movie, btw. Very cute kid.
Agreed, excellent movie. Did you know that the "very cute kid" is Will Smith's real-life son?! (Also agreed, he's a cute kid.)
Yes I did know that -- well I learned that after the fact.
BTTT
... Saw the movie.
Very positive.
Great performance by Will Smith, whom should be nominated for best actor -- come the academy awards.
who spells happiness with a Y?
Somebody in Chinatown. It's explained in the movie.
Bump for after I see the movie
ahhhhhhhhh ok, well that explains it, Thanks! :)
Excellent article! Schlussel is one hell of a writer.
Somebody in Chinatown. It's explained in the movie.
I just assumed it was a scriptwriter that had graduated from our public schools. The things you learn on FR are amazing!
These are the people that Booker T. Washington referred to as problem profiteers
Booker T. Washington, who rose from slavery to become the nation’s first widely recognized black leader, once warned against what he called "problem profiteers" among our nation’s black community. "There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public," observed Washington. "Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.