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Voting is about character, not color
Tuesday August 19, 2008
By Mychal Massie
Speaking on a panel, prior to former Republican gubernatorial candidate for Pennsylvania Lynn Swann, I shared my thoughts concerning a mindset that painted black conservatives, especially black conservative Republicans, as being less enlightened than our liberal counterparts. I voiced that the positions I/we hold are based on an individual perspective of our inalienable right to align ourselves with whatever party we so choose.
Yes, I believe in smaller government and less government dependency – I believe in a man's right to succeed and a man's right to fail, based on his ability, preparation, determination, or lack thereof. But that isn't what makes me a Republican; it makes me one who believes in self-sufficiency. It makes me a man who views my ability through the prism labeled "limitless opportunity." What makes me a Republican is that said party most closely identifies with the values I adhere to (or at least the party has for the most part).
As a child, I was not raised with the understanding that it was the government's job to provide for me. I was raised with the dictate that education and faith were the two essentials necessary to succeed. I was inculcated with an understanding that the only way I would be able to face myself in the mirror was if I worked hard and looked only to myself and to my God. There was no financial parachute from the family and certainly none from the government.
It is precisely the opposite of what I was raised to believe that drives so many persons (of color specifically) to buy into the Barack Obama mania. They believe that his being black will somehow be of extraordinary benefit to them.
I recently bumped into a childhood friend (who is Hispanic) at a Puerto Rican storefront restaurant in the "hood." He was quick to rail against Republicans for "destroying the economy and not providing jobs." I pointed out that his nephew owned a restaurant in the bedroom community I call home, and that it was opened during the Bush administration. I pointed out that my friend was employed by one of the nation's top universities, and because of that, his children could attend same tuition free. Still, he fixated on how bad he perceived things personally.
I pointed out that we were standing in the middle of a restaurant whose owner had no formal education before moving here from Puerto Rico – yet he had come here and opened an immensely successful restaurant in the middle of one of the worse neighborhoods in the area. Still, my friend refused to acknowledge such reason. His viewpoint was that Obama was black and, as such, that would somehow translate into a plus against the mean ol' Republicans.
For many others who are white, black, Puerto Rican, or other – regardless of their socio-economic strata – voting for Obama is based principally on the color of his skin. A multi-generational business owner with whom I vacation recently told me he was voting for Obama because it was "time for a black man to be president." I responded by saying that it was time for an ax murderer to be president as well – did he know any?
For many blacks, voting for Obama is like watching a boxing match. If one fighter is black and the other white, the black one gets their cheers. For others it's about which candidate promises to keep the most social programs heavily funded. Sadly, many people have no clue what the Democrat Party or the Republican Party stand for. They understand only "take" and "give me." They do not understand liberal, conservative, or libertarian. They only understand "It's the government's job" to keep them happy.
Conservatism, liberalism and libertarianism are not based on the color of a candidate's or voters' skin. They are based upon the fundamental core beliefs of individuals. It is based upon their understanding of the world around them. If a person is programmed from birth that he is entitled to special provisions based on race and/or gender, that person will despise any person or group that dares to tell him: "There'll be no handouts and few free rides."
The messages of "work hard to get ahead" and that "there are no guarantees in life" is anathema to them. Working hard to test well and thus be accepted into a good school based on merit is replaced with work hard (maybe) and take advantage of an entitlement education, commonly referred to as diversity programs.
If the government is looked upon as being there to supply every need, then that is all individuals programmed to think accordingly will want to hear, not unlike my friend. The problem with that mindset is that it stems from a flawed understanding of government and personal responsibility that sentences the individual to the plantation of life-long mediocrity. If voting for a person of color is based on white guilt, does it then assuage said guilt?
Politicians on both sides of the aisle sadly play to such perspectives – the difference being that the liberal side of the aisle, as a whole, believes government should take a proprietary role in every aspect of our lives.
There is nothing wrong with ethnic pride, but voting is about more than that. It is about character – and that includes the character of the voters as much or more than it does the character of the candidates.
Mychal Massie is chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 – a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit, columnist and the former host of the widely popular talk show "Straight Talk." He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, he is also a member of the conservative public policy institute National Center for Public Policy Research.