I've been called plenty of things over time..."Uncle Tom," "Oreo," "Sellout," & "Lawn Jockey" for starters. But now, a new epithet has been tossed my way: "Bush-bot." Posted on 09/26/2002 10:23:10 AM PDT by mhking
I've been called plenty of things over time..."Uncle Tom," "Oreo," "Sellout," & "Lawn Jockey" for starters. But now, a new epithet has been tossed my way: "Bush-bot."
Presumably, the name is used to refer to someone who follows lock-step the policies of the Administration and the President in a "cult of personality." While I find that I whole-heartedly support the war on terrorism in general and the war on Iraq in particular, to call me a "Bush-bot" would be furthest from the truth.
In considering an "appropriate response" to those who would accuse me of being guilty of being a part of a "cult" following the President, I've found myself introspectively examining my journey to this point.
I grew up in Gary, Indiana, in what some have considered a disadvantaged community. I didn't see it as such. I have both my mom and dad to thank for that. They're both educators, my father retired, and my mother soon to be. My dad was a high school assistant principal and a junior high principal over the years - coming from the teaching ranks himself. My mom is a social studies teacher at the local performing arts school.
My dad's folks lived across town from us, and also had strong social and cultural ties in the community.
I have referred to Gary as a "Peyton Place" of sorts, where everyone pretty much either was related to or knew everyone else in town. Even now, if I run into someone whom I don't know from Gary, within three names, we end up coming across a common friend.
When I was coming up, if you discussed politics in Gary, it was automatically assumed that you meant Democratic politics. In my mind, black equalled Democrat, period. I bought into the mantra that "liberal" meant good and "conservative" meant bad, without question. Of course, as a youngster, I thought I could change the world that way as well. We all had that "invincible power" at that age.
When I went to college, first at Purdue, then at Howard, I continued to follow "the party line" as set forth by the so-called black leadership, but I began to question parts of the message that were being presented to me. I didn't think much about it though - my mind was on business and trying to make money. Plus I had other things on my mind: the woman who I currently refer to as "She-who-must-be-obeyed."
Rachel and I got married in late September of '85, and settled into living and working in Washington. I had started working in radio as a disk jockey while I was in high school, and had dabbled in news while I was in college, with my most notable stint as an intern at the old WAVA radio in it's rock & roll days.
By the early 90's, our finances had crashed and burned, and the first of our three children had been born, with number two on the way. I started to dabble a bit more in political discourse, in the form of hosting a cable television program in Gary. That led to hosting the morning drive talk show on the local talk station.
As opposed to the traditional notion of black folks yammering and complaining to each other, I took a different tact. I challenged people to think outside of the box (as I used to put it) and to question the assumptions that the black leadership was feeding us with. By summer of '94, I was asked to come run a black talk station in Atlanta. I eagerly took up the challenge.
WIGO was a challenge at that. I settled into the morning drive slot and soon discovered that I truly was a conservative. Pryor Tire had bid in for a contract with the Atlanta Public Schools and won the lowest bid. The school board tossed the bids, since Pryor was not a minority-owned business, and awarded the contract to a black-owned small company in Atlanta. The board hadn't made that specification in advance, which ticked me off to begin with, but the reaction I got on the air the following morning was what cinched the deal for me.
I said that I was disappointed with the board's decision, as well as the reaction of "civil rights leader" Rev. Joseph Lowery of the SCLC. Lowery said that the decision was fair because it helped a black business get ahead.
After being blasted on the air by caller after caller who not only disagreed with me, but insulted me personally, I said that I was embarassed to be black in Atlanta by that decision. In my mind, you cannot change the rules to suit you simply because things don't go your way. The decision was as simple as that. As was my decision. Shortly after that point, I joined Project 21, and moved forward from there.
My core beliefs are just as simple. We all have rights. I don't have any more, nor any less rights just because I'm black. I believe that we must have financial accountability in government. I believe that individuals must also be accountable for their own actions. We must have a strong defense in order to secure our freedoms, and a small government allows us to hold and keep those freedoms. A large, bureaucratic mess does nothing but benefit a small number of people, and those are the ones in power.
I describe myself as a hawk; a fiscal and constitutional conservative. Socially, I find some moderation, simply because I have no desire to impose my morals on someone else, as I have no desire to have someone else's morals imposed on me and mine. What consenting adults do in privacy is none of my business, provided they are not harming another, nor breaking the law. I've no desire for "Big Brother" to watch my every move while I'm in private.
There are some decisions that a man and wife must make within the bounds of privacy, and I respect that. But at the same time, when in public, appropriate comportment is not only desired, but required. This is the only way a society based upon common freedoms and liberty can truly exist.
I fully support tax reform - and I support the elimination of the present system of affirmative action. I am not as foolish as to say that the playing field is level, but the present system of "fixing" that playing field just plain does not work. Replace it with something that does. I don't have all the answers, but there needs to be examination and development of a system that will answer that social and fiscal problem.
While I support the Bush Administration on the war, I find a deep chasm between myself and the administration on the issue of immigration. We have no business opening up the borders of this country to illegal immigrants. If we do, the "trickle" of people who hop the Rio Grande will turn into a torrent that we won't be able to stop.
I trust the administration to fight the war on terror at home, but we certainly should have more say in terms of how it is being fought. Detaining Grandma while Ahmed is allowed to go through airport security, for example, is not the way to handle it.
Some would call me a "libertarian" - little "L" - and while I find I have much in common with them, I cannot comfortably support the LP itself. I've found that the independant thought that goes into that doesn't do much to support the conservative cause. I wish them well, and hope that one day we can stand together to defeat liberalism.
Does that make me a "Bush-bot?" I don't think so. Perhaps a bit zealous in my beliefs. But not a slave to anyone's "cult of personality." Just a dad, a husband, a son, a man. One who is proud to be conservative and proud to be an American
Some had to "settle" for "just" a Big Ten school...[g]
I describe myself as a hawk; a fiscal and constitutional conservative. Socially, I find some moderation, simply because I have no desire to impose my morals on someone else, as I have no desire to have someone else's morals imposed on me and mine. What consenting adults do in privacy is none of my business, provided they are not harming another, nor breaking the law. I've no desire for "Big Brother" to watch my every move while I'm in private.
There are some decisions that a man and wife must make within the bounds of privacy, and I respect that. But at the same time, when in public, appropriate comportment is not only desired, but required. This is the only way a society based upon common freedoms and liberty can truly exist.
Who cares if this man calls himself a conservative or a libertarian. Who cares about the color of his skin? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
That's right! But let me add something here. Intellectual freedom, or its desire, was the final straw that broke the camel's back for me and the Left. As I matured, I found that (surprise!) my opinions matter just as much as the next person's or groups' do. In other words, freedom of speech does indeed cut both ways.
So it stands to reason that I didn't escape one slavery of the mind to reshackle myself to the mind of another. I find much intellectual freedom that is squelched on the Right, too.
I've really come full-circle. Look it. Saying anything critical about a Leftist icon automatically branded me as "unauthentically black," whatever the hell that means. But now, a point I make amongst other "Right-thinking" people brands me sometimes as "unauthentically conservative."
Beam me up, Scottie!
No matter. My mind is free, and it will remain that way until death captures it.
A BUCKEYE bump right back atcha!
There are a lot of folks who cannot rectify their feelings about issues like that in relation to others that bring them to the fold. They continue to buy into the race-based notions that liberals in general and so-called civil rights leaders in particular raise.
This leaves them believing that conservatives are evil incarnate, and that anyone who supports them are no better than dog squeeze on the bottom of your shoe. As our message continues to push forward and outward into the communities, this perception is changing. Admittedly, it's a slow, painstaking process, but believe me, it is changing.
I'm sure the gentleman that you met has been having a great introspective awakening over time. And I'm pretty sure that he's run into many others who have had some of the same sorts of issues.
Let me offer a suggestion. Perhaps (in the event you run into any other folks like that) referring him to P21 or more locally for you, someone like Larry Elder or Shannon Reeves (get this, he's head of the Oakland branch of the NAACP and secretary of the California GOP!) may help a bit.
Thanks for sharing your experience, and keep fighting the good fight...
Tyrone Willingham rules.
BRAVO .. BRAVO !!!!
I do...they arent one and the same.
Need proof to back that up? Check out the ~~~5~~~ thread this very week. :-)
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