One Nation Read online

  Young black women aren’t the only people needing to be freed from the elites. A quarter of the young men in the black community are involved with the criminal justice system, which in many cases compromises their job prospects for the future. Worse than that is the fact that many end up being violently killed or taken off the streets by incarceration for long periods of time. In either case, tremendous intellectual talent is being wasted by a society that can ill afford such losses. Rather than imitating the elite and trying to make these young men feel like victims of discrimination or racism, we must look for ways to empower and help them realize their tremendous value to society.

  Both the men and women in these communities need to be educated about basic economics and wealth creation. One of the reasons the Jewish, Korean, Vietnamese, and other communities have been able to thrive in the United States is that they have learned how to turn over the dollar in their own communities two or three times before sending it out into the larger community. By patronizing the constituents of their own neighborhoods, they allow local merchants and businesspeople to thrive, which not only provides jobs for others in the community but also gives them an opportunity to invest and grow their businesses. The more they grow, the more opportunities they are able to provide to those around them. I have a friend who started his own business as a young black man and has subsequently retired as a multimillionaire, and at least two other African American–owned businesses were started by others who got their initial breaks from him. Economic prosperity for one can mushroom into opportunities for many when greed and vice are not involved. Furthermore, this kind of thinking provides economic independence, and economic independence promotes ideological freedom, rather than creating voting blocs that can be taken for granted. If politicians have to compete for support, they will have to show results, which will be a big win for the black community.

  Although understanding economic principles of wealth development is very important to oppressed communities and will go a long way toward liberating them from the influence of the elite class, even more important is education. When Frederick Douglass was a slave, the master’s wife began teaching him to read after recognizing his exceptional intellectual gifts. When the master found out about this he was angry and instructed his wife to desist immediately, because he felt that education would light the fires of desire for freedom. He was absolutely right in this assessment, so Frederick Douglass went on to find other ways of educating himself. As a consequence, he was not only able to obtain his own freedom but played a vital role in the abolition of slavery as well as in the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. He also lived in Europe and wielded significant influence there; many feel that his involvement and notoriety profoundly affected the decision of the British not to support the Confederacy during the Civil War.

  During the fifties and sixties many people of all nationalities sacrificed life, limb, and physical freedom to win basic rights for blacks in America. Those rights included educational pursuits. During slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and beyond, many blacks would have sacrificed almost anything for an opportunity to be educated. Sometimes, particularly when traveling north with their masters, slaves were able to witness how articulate and sometimes prosperous free, educated blacks were. They began to equate education with freedom. Even as a child growing up in Detroit and Boston, almost all of the adults in our neighborhood emphasized the importance of education and how it would allow me to go far beyond anything they had achieved. Today, even though those educational doors are no longer blocked, many of the people who sacrificed to open those doors would be disappointed to see the indifference with which many of the younger generation treat education.

  It is time in America to empower the people through education, sound economic policies, and the return of honest and responsible media reporting. This will be no small undertaking, because the intellectually elite class will not relinquish their stranglehold without a fight. We must be encouraged by the fact that this is the United States of America: a place for, of, and by the people . . . and there is no place for elitism in our country.

  Action Steps

  Identify a member of an elite class and ask the person how he or she would recommend that you assist those stuck in poverty.

  If you are a member of the elite class, ask yourself honestly what you have personally done in the last year to help lift someone from poverty.

  Read and think about 2 Chronicles 7:14.

  If you are offended by the previous suggestion, ask yourself why.

  IGNORANCE AND FORGETFULNESS

  Throw out the mocker, and fighting, quarrels, and insults will disappear. Anyone who loves a pure heart and gracious speech is the king’s friend. The Lord preserves knowledge, but he ruins the plans of the deceitful.

  PROVERBS 22:10-12

  When I was a student at Southwestern High School in inner-city Detroit in the mid-to-late sixties, I was far from popular. By that time my lackluster academic performance during the early years had completely reversed and I was a quintessential nerd. I even carried a slide rule in a holster on my belt and belonged to the Chess Club. I grew quite accustomed to being ridiculed for not being “cool,” but I was generally left alone because of my accomplishments in ROTC and because I was friends with some of the really tough guys, since I helped them with their school assignments.

  When my wife and I attended my twenty-fifth Southwestern High School class reunion in 1994, I was astonished to see that so many of the really cool guys were now deceased, but I was even more amazed at the number of my former classmates who came up to me and said, “We are so proud of you and we tell our children and grandchildren about you all the time, and don’t you remember how we used to encourage you when you were a student at Southwestern?” Of course I was polite, but I certainly didn’t remember many encouraging words and in fact I vividly remember just the opposite.

  It is natural to want to identify with success and distance oneself from failure and embarrassment and to avoid difficulty. This is why people undergo memory alterations as time passes and why we selectively forget painful knowledge. In medicine it is particularly important not to do this because people’s lives could needlessly be put at risk by failure to accurately remember lessons of the past. I explicitly remember the case of an achondroplastic child (dwarfism) who I determined was in need of a highly specialized type of surgery to alleviate pressure on the brain stem. I wrote a letter and spoke to the gatekeeper at the insurance company to no avail. Because they wanted to save money, the insurance company determined that their in-network pediatric neurosurgeon could do the job. They were wrong and ended up paying twice, because I had to do corrective surgery. If they had heeded the medical knowledge that had summarized past lessons about this condition and its treatment, including the need for significant experience and a team approach, needless trauma and expense could have been avoided. Instead, they ignored key facts, willfully ignoring information that would have benefited a child’s health and their bottom line.

  Ignorance, whether it takes the form of revisionism or laziness, can hurt our nation too. If we don’t know our true national history, we won’t be able to recognize the way in which America is drifting. If we don’t have enough basic information to manage our lives, we will give up our freedoms to those who promise to take care of us. It is time for us to stand up and educate ourselves and our children before we allow misinformation and ignorance to destroy our democratic republic.

  Historical Revisionism

  People frequently rewrite history to increase self-esteem and to clear their consciences of guilt for historical misdeeds. Historical revision can also go the other way, as historians attempt to discredit figures from the past. Early American history has been rewritten many times in both ways, to suit the beliefs of historians with different educational and philosophical agendas. For this reason, I rarely accept a single account of any historical event. Fortunately one can quickly get a sense of the truth by examining acco
unts from several different trusted sources.

  There seems to be general consensus around the fact that the founders of this nation were men of great vision and intellect. They thoroughly studied the many civilizations that preceded us to try to determine the common pitfalls inherent in establishing a new government. With hard work, a lot of arguing, and finally an ecumenical prayer to God, they were able to put together a sixteen-and-one-third-page document known as the Constitution of the United States of America, one of the most admired governmental documents in history. This document encapsulated their vision of a nation where the freedom of the people to pursue their dreams was of paramount importance. It created a government that existed for the purpose of protecting the people from foreign invaders, protecting their assets and property, and facilitating their pursuit of happiness. The Constitution mandated minimal government interference in the everyday lives of the average citizen and arranged for the federal government to remain small, allowing state governments to be responsible for most of the legislation.

  Our founders were deathly afraid that our government would do the same thing that virtually all other governments had done previously: expand continually, developing a voracious appetite for the resources of the people. They also feared that as the government expanded it would encroach upon the rights of the citizens. Finally, they were petrified that people would be complacent as the government expanded and would gradually relinquish their rights for a false sense of security. These great men wrote the Constitution the way they did to prevent the worst of their fears from coming true, creating a great and noble framework for virtuous government.

  Some historical revisionists have denigrated the efforts of these great men and emphasized the fact that many of them were slaveholders or had some other flaw commonly seen in the culture at that time. The same historians also highlight our cruelty to the Japanese during World War II where we used hideous internment camps and detonated the only nuclear weapon against fellow human beings in history. They shine a bright light on the history of racism that was rampant throughout America, especially before the crusades of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and they repeatedly remind us of the atrocities witnessed during the Vietnam War, which we lost. By emphasizing these things and other wrongdoings, revisionists attempt to paint the United States as an opportunistic, uncaring, and savage nation in dire need of change.

  There is no question that the United States, like every other nation, has made mistakes. However, what should be emphasized is that we are the first pinnacle nation of the world to wield such enormous power without brutally dominating other nations. We have helped rebuild nations ravaged by wars in which we took part and we have refused to confiscate oil, minerals, and other treasures found in nations we have helped or defeated. I believe it is fair to say that we are the most benign superpower the world has ever known. Furthermore, it is important that we maintain our pinnacle status, because if we lose it, we will be replaced by another world power that is unlikely to be nearly as benign.

  In America, we have a proud history of accomplishment and of helping to save the world from tyranny. Our military is second to none and our technological achievements have transformed the world. We have moved from a nearly apartheid state to a multicultural society with enormous potential and strength that can be significantly enhanced by the kind of leadership that emphasizes a vision that unites everyone as opposed to exploiting differences to advance political causes.

  If most of the people in the country believe that America is generally fair and decent, it becomes more difficult for Saul Alinsky types to recruit change agents and for those on the Far Left to undermine our Constitution. Hence the constant bad-mouthing of our nation to impressionable young people, preparing them to be ripe for manipulation at the appropriate time. In the recent past, the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was replicated in many parts of the country, shows how easily physically destructive actions that compromise the rights and property of others can be incited in those who have been educated this way and also have an entitlement mentality.

  Forgetting Our Christian Heritage

  Some historical revisionists have also attempted to diminish the role of God and religion in our nation’s past. A careful examination of the records, however, makes it quite clear that religion was a very important factor in the development of our nation. In 1831 when Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to try to unravel the secrets to the success of a fledgling nation that was already competing with the powers of Europe on virtually every level, he discovered that we had a fantastic public educational system that rendered anyone who had finished the second grade completely literate. He was more astonished to discover that the Bible was an important tool used to teach moral principles in our public schools. No particular religious denomination was revered, but rather commonly accepted biblical truths became the backbone of our social structure. Our founders did not believe that our society could thrive without this kind of moral social structure. In fact, it was our second president, John Adams, who said of our thoroughly researched and developed governing document, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

  Adams’s quote makes it clear that the founders did not want to extract God from our lives, but rather intended for his principles to be a central feature of our society. What they wanted to avoid was a theocracy-like state where the church dominated public policy or where the government dictated religious practice. That was the whole point of the separation clause of the First Amendment. The secular progressives have zoomed past the intent of the law and tried to replace it with their anti-God propaganda reinforced by bullying tactics. If Americans fail to educate themselves in American history, the revisionists will win this fight.

  And right now it looks like they are winning. The secular progressive movement in America has been successful in removing all vestiges of faith in God from the public square. The very fact that people hesitate to say “Merry Christmas” to strangers lets you know just how successful they have been. Why are they so determined to remove God from our lives? They recognize that if we have no higher authority to answer to than man, we become gods unto ourselves and get to determine our own behavior. In their world, “If it feels good, do it.” They can justify anything based on their ideology because in their opinion, there is no higher authority other than themselves to overrule them. They have a visceral reaction to the mention of God’s word, because it tears at the fabric of their justification system.

  Forgetting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Advice

  The left wing secular progressives love to invoke the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but only in their historical revision would his views be compatible with theirs. The last thing he would have wanted to see was the culture of dependency that has developed among the very people he fought so hard to free. A strong opponent of godless ideology, Dr. King also rejected the idea that human beings are not responsible for their actions, arguing, “One of the most common tendencies of human nature is that of placing responsibility on some external agency for sins we have committed or mistakes we have made.”

  Later in the same speech, Dr. King spoke of several Americans who rose from less than optimal circumstances of heredity and environment to become successful and greatly admired individuals. Helen Keller, who was born blind and deaf, was able to overcome these hereditary traits to become one of the most admired people in the world! Franklin D. Roosevelt had infantile paralysis, but rose to become president of the United States. Marian Anderson was born in poverty in Philadelphia, but developed her voice to the point where she became one of the world’s greatest contraltos. Italian composer Toscanini was said to have commented that a voice like hers comes only once in a century! King continued in the speech by citing Jesus Christ as the best example of one who overcame nonoptimal circumstances. His parents were not of high social standing or people of wealth . . . not aristocrats or belonging to any prestigious gro
ups.

  Dr. King concluded: “Not environment, not heredity, but personal response is the final determining factor in our lives. And herein lies our area of responsibility.”

  According to Dr. King, your life is what you make it. Education and career development is the responsibility of the individual, not their parents, teachers, or anyone else, though many would claim that heredity and environment can absolve people of responsibility. Although these two entities can affect one’s life, the most important factor is our response to challenges that arise. If you prepare yourself academically and experientially through various work situations, you can become whatever you dream. That’s the American Dream. I believe the current leadership in America’s black community could learn a great deal about effective leadership by studying some of the writings and the real history of Dr. King.

  Ignorance: The Reason History Repeats Itself

  Historical revisionists don’t need to put in any effort if no one cares about history in the first place. Many people find history boring and think that pop culture is much more relevant to citizens today. There certainly is nothing wrong with being up to date on the current social issues that affect our lives, but in order to have the proper perspective on current events, we need to know what happened in the past. For example, it is much easier to understand today’s unrest in the Middle East when you know about the establishment of a sovereign Israeli territory in 1948 and the intense turmoil and controversy surrounding the placement of that nation in an unwelcoming environment.

  And it is much easier to understand why a 7 to 8 percent unemployment rate today is much worse than a rate like that many years ago, because economists were not nearly as facile as they are currently with manipulating numbers. A good student of history would understand that the labor force participation rate is a more accurate indicator of the level of employment nationwide. That number has been steadily declining since 2009. This indicates that many people are simply giving up on working and as a result are not being counted when calculating the unemployment rate that is widely reported. However, the labor force participation rate captures these individuals and is one of the most accurate reflections of the state of employment. These are just two of many examples of the kinds of things informed citizens should know in order to properly interpret what they read in newspapers or hear on the news networks. Many pundits are all too happy to take advantage of the lack of such knowledge in order to manipulate an unsuspecting populace.