About Me

Name: Rob Standridge
Email: rstanvb@hotmail.com Biography
Loading...

Create Your Own Blog Find Other Townhall Blogs

Comments

Blog Roll

 

How can we fix this

On a recent drive thru Memphis, TN, on a sales mission I was reminded of the challenges and problems of many of our black communities. With graffiti everywhere and bars on every window the area was like a lot of areas in Memphis, and honestly if I lived there I would be ashamed.

As me and my two colleagues pulled up to a pharmacy in the area, I noticed a definite hesitation in my two partners in getting out of the car. “Maybe we should just go on to the next stop”, they said as they eyed the peeling paint and the ramshackle porch of this business. Maybe because of my father’s childhood stories of growing up in the Harlem of San Francisco, or my own experiences of growing up in one of the poorer areas of Oklahoma City, I did not think anything about entering this business. In retrospect maybe it was a safety issue and not a racial discomfort that made my colleagues hesitate; I would certainly have to agree with that thought.

I am sure we surprised the slouchy, almost napping staff as we entered this place of business. I would have to say if I walked into my business and saw my staff lounging in the waiting area I would probably be finding a new staff.

As we drive away thru the rest of this area, I can’t help but share my emotions and desires to find a solution to this problem with those in the car with me. I am certain they didn’t want to hear me get on my soap box but I had to get this off my chest.

Looking back at the great Americans in our history, black and white, that gave the ultimate sacrifice to remove the bonds of racial inequality, I am certain they are saddened and possibly maddened to see the current state of some black communities like the one we were currently passing thru. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were here today I would hope he would tell the members of this community that still insist on classifying themselves as victims, that they should wake up, quit lounging on the customers’ sofa, and get to work.

However, the problem goes deeper than just those living within these communities. This culture of victimization has been carefully created over the last several decades by those few in power to help them remain in power. What these communities really need are new leaders that will teach their followers that it is not a badge of honor to say where others before you came from, but rather it should be a badge of honor to say what you have accomplished, what successes you have made.  Of course, this will be difficult because those that control the minds of this victim culture have no desire to lose this following that follows their con job with robotic consistency, and they will do everything possible to keep their culture in the gutter in exchange for their time in power and in the spotlight.

Naturally they will continue to promise that the government will eventually come in and help just as soon as the white supremists get out of the way.  Well, I have news, there are no longer any white supremists; maybe a few black supremists here and there (you know who they are – here is a test: if you take their speech and replace every mention of whites or any other term referring to white Americans either derogatory or otherwise, with black Americans, would you find the speech offensive; if so, you are listening to or reading the words of a black Supremist. I would wager that most of these black Supremists do not believe what they say, but for the most part these are those power hungry culture killers that use this language to convince their followers of their victim status and somehow convince most if not all to stay in those gutters; HELP IS ON ITS WAY), so if you are waiting for the money bags to start falling I certainly wouldn’t hold my breath.

Now, to keep the con game alive and the culture down, these men and women of power will occasionally throw money at something.  The ironic thing is typically this money is grabbed up by enterprising black Americans that don’t necessarily buy into this con but certainly are willing to play the game to build a new park or community center or something.  Those in power’s most powerful weapons, however, are social programs (aka Welfare, or what I would term socialism). And the latest stimulus bill is an excellent example of this (I am not against a stimulus bill; I am just against this stimulus bill). By expanding the welfare state, increasing the illegitimacy rate thru “sex” education (I like to call this government sponsored sex promotion) and other brilliant socialism ploys, those in power will continue to increase their strangle hold on the black culture.

I am certainly not saying that racism does not exist. It certainly does, and I believe always has and always will. But racism never has been nor ever will be a one way street.  Each race would always, if given a choice between a superior or inferior position, choose the superior position for itself (Sorry, Abe, this is a poor paraphrase for what you spoke so eloquently). I don’t think I would even call this racism, but just those in a particular group wanting the best for themselves and others within that group.  Of course, this does not make any sort of racism right, and when it gets in the way of equality it should be stopped in its tracks. What Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted was racial equality, and they can claim success.

Just as our founding fathers could claim freedom from the tyranny of England after the revolutionary war, black Americans can now claim freedom from racial inequality. Certainly the road to racial equality was not easy and I know our founders would be greatly disappointed in the time it took for this to happen. But that is in the past. Those that gave the ultimate sacrifice would say the time is finally here, so get off your butts, clean up your communities and get to work. They would say to take back your communities from a state of victimization to a state of pride. Follow the wisdom of the few black leaders that are allowed to be heard thru the slurping sounds of the Kool-Aid drinkers, and begin to take responsibility for your own. Insist upon family values, insist that fathers be responsible for their children, place neighborhood patrols to remove the stain of crime that keep customers and businesses out of your neighborhoods, help each other rebuild your homes and businesses; in other words, get up from lounging on your customers’ couch, sweep the floors, wash the windows, paint the walls, put a smile on your face and get to work.
 
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Let us Honor our Greatest President

As we approach the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, I ask each of us to honor the memory of our greatest president. Regardless of your political affiliation when you look back at the time in which Lincoln lived you cannot deny that he was absolutely the right man, at the right time and in the right place.

It is true that many brave and great Americans have followed Lincoln to continue the fight he started, but the important thing to remember is the fight was started. I don't think it could be successfully argued that, without the emergence of Lincoln as the leader of the time, we could have begun to remove the worst stain on our nation's history when we did.

Lincoln was an absolute master of the English language most notably in its spoken form. Always mindful of his audience Lincoln crafted speeches that would not alienate, but at the same time would inspire people to actions they would normally never consider. Unlike politicians before and after Lincoln, he wrote every single word he spoke. He knew exactly what he said when he said it. There was not another soul of this time period that could have moved a country to free slaves, a country in which practically every voter believed they were superior to the black man in every way.

Not to belittle our current leaders, because there are exceptional Americans in our government today, but when was the last time one of them stood up and inspired us to something we did not wish ourselves. Politicians typically say exactly what their constituency expects them to say, which is what we would expect. Lincoln was singularly unique in this regard, for while seeming to say exactly what his audience expected, at the same time he inspired them to an action they would have never reached on their own.

Yes, we must think that slavery would have eventually been eliminated but at the time Lincoln took office political leaders were in the process of making slavery even more difficult to eradicate in the areas it existed. Without Lincoln, simply eradicating slavery would have become increasingly more difficult and might have only been removed through dissolution of the union as we knew it. Nothing could have been truer when Lincoln stated, "a house divided against itself cannot stand", but I would take it one step further and state that a country that was definitely divided against itself could not have continued to stand without the moral compass and leadership of Abraham Lincoln. As Lincoln stated in his second inaugural address, God "gives to both North and South this terrible war " in order to remove the “offense” of slavery from an otherwise great, God fearing nation.

Looking down now I know Lincoln's heart is overflowing with pride as he witnesses the breaking of the final bonds of racial inequality. I can almost see the tears rolling down his craggy face as he thinks of what this nation was put through to break the bonds of chattel slavery.

But on the other hand I can see his disappointment as he hears the term socialism thrown around so easily. I can hear Lincoln as he warns us that, as the weapons of whips and chains enslaved an entire race of people, so those in power would use compassion to enslave an entire nation. Unlike the slavery of our past, socialism happens slowly over many generations. Socialism and communism are like a cancer starting with the weakest and poorest among us and slowly spreading throughout the society. Lincoln would say that over the last two or three generations we have already lost many potential great Americans to the preying of those in power on the weakest elements of human nature.

Throughout time socialism has been used to gain power and control over entire nations. While some have the best of hearts and intentions there are others that, not only see the writing on the wall, but actively engage in writing it in a way most favorable to themselves. Historically socialism has been successful because those living in the moment say that it does not affect them, and in their selfishness, whether intended or not, do not consider that their children might not so readily resist the weaknesses of the human spirit. When thru compassion we try to eliminate the possibility of failure we will at the same time remove the possibility of success. When the safety net is raised to such a level that more and more Americans become satisfied with just relaxing at the level of the net, we begin to lose the American Dream.

As Lincoln realized that racial equality would not occur in his lifetime, even if he had lived a full life, we must begin to understand that it is more important how what we do today affects future generations than ourselves. If Lincoln were our leader today I believe he would begin to reverse our social and political decline, not in the interest of himself and those today, but to protect the American Dream for those to follow.
Please join my Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=698873233&k=56CY44SYSV4M5A GIXBWYQR
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive
« Previous1Next »