Asclepias
Diamond Member
I think you need to go a step further. Poverty alone is not the reason for crime in Black ghettos. Its the lack of hope combined with poverty that creates these conditions where you have gangs. If you as a kid see no point in school because you still see educated Blacks being discriminated against you are not going to value education as much as you should. Its going to make you bitter. The hope for a better life has to be there. These kids need to see examples of success that look like them, talk like them, and share the same cultural values they do while still being able to operate in the mainstream world. I've seen the glaze in kids eyes when talking to a successful Black person that cant relate to them.i guess in my view, the greatest racial issue of our time is directly associted with poverty (i.e. poverty breeds drug dealers, gang bangers, criminal behavior, etc) - so any approach to resolving our remaining racial issues that does not focus squarely on how we break folks free from the chains of poverty will be short sighted at best (i.e. a lot of the racial tensions are directly related to crime which is directly related to poverty - at least in my current view/opinion).I was with you until you invoked ole Abe. There will always be racial issues as long as whites are fearful, racist, and unwilling to accept the truth. The effects of racism can be mitigated by Blacks and other people of color concentrating on their own communities. Whites can only do so much until the truth starts hitting them. Most cant take it and revert back to denial or outright bigoted/racists views as a self defense mechanism..unfortunately, there will most likely always be a certain amount of racism - just like there will always be race hustlers. i don't believe the resolution of our remaining racial issues can nor should be dependent on how many racists/hustlers are around - instead, i believe we must develop a solution and engage all available resources to attack the problem at it's roots (i.e. we have to find a way to reach the children).Stop whites from being racists.i honestly believe that anyone currently living in poverty, regardless of race/color/etc, can in fact work their way out of it within just a generation or two if/when we focus on helping their children realize their potential, and they can do this despite all the barriers they might face, including political corruption and dominance.Just one problem, you have an entire political party hell bent on preventing minorities from achieving any parity, Democrats have spent the last 50 years teaching blacks to be DEPENDENT on them for every thing.
if we can help a child to see their potenial and realize they have to power to rise above their environment if they focus on what's important (i.e. getting a good education), then that child stands a much better chance of not repeating the cycle of dependence which is born of broken hopes and dreams - we've got to help these kids dream big and realize their potential.
even in the worst school district imagineable, the information to educate ones self is more readily available in this day and age than it has ever been before.
in books i have read about abe lincoln, there is a common thread throughout his difficult childhood - a thirst for knowledge. abe walked miles to borrow books to read and was often noticed reading as he walked - so enthralled by what he was reading that he didn't even notice when friends would say hello.
that's the kind of thirst for knowledge that cannot be squelched by any outside person, place or thing - abraham lincoln is a shining example of a rags to riches story in our history that changed the course of mankind.
the question in my mind is how can we distill that kind of undeniable thirst for knowledge in all of our children today?
when i was a kid, i remember a commercial that used to run a lot on saturday's when i was, like most kids in that day and time, watching cartoons, and the catch phrase of that commercial was, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste". somehow that phrase stuck with me over the years and i have sought to learn as much as my mind is capable of comprehending since those formative years.
we've got to reach these kids before the light of hope and wonder goes out - once that happens, they become very hard to reach.
so the main question, from my perspective, on how do we resolve our racial issues in this country today, is how do we reach the children an instill an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and hope within them?
in my view, our media today is a prime example of the old adage, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" (i.e. it's the racists and hustlers who get the media attention which can lead our society to believe that the majorty of our citizenry falls into those well published categories - when in fact, i'm convinced the vast majority of our society would gladly engage together to resolve our remaining racial issues if only we had some good and inspirational leadership).
we need a leader like abraham lincoln who believes in and encourages "the better angels of our nature" to make it happen.
and yes, while there will undoubtedly always be some die-hard racists in our society, i'm a firm believer that we "average" americans have much more in common than we seem to recognize and appreciate, and once we stop all the bickering/blaming and start focusing on the development and implementation of a viable solution, we can make great strides in the eradication of poverty.
it is my belief that once we conquer poverty, race relations will quite naturally improve.
how do we attack poverty? in my view, it's by reaching the kids who through no fault of their own are born into those toxic environments. if we adults will just take the time to mentor our children and show them how to nurture their aptitude and achieve their potenial, firmly believe we can make an enormous difference in the next generation.
for me, it's all about getting our kids focused on getting an education - because knowledge is the key that will unlock the door.
i mentioned old abe because that's the kind of leadership, in my view, that we need (i.e. someone who will go against the grain and appeal to the best in all of us, regardless of race/creed/color, to come together and work toward a common solution to benefit future generations).