When I began reading Thomas Sowell’s column a few years ago, I was struck by his erudite, sometimes “too intellectual” style. I thought, “The average person won’t understand what this man is talking about!”
Over the years, after much reading and studying the issues on my own, I’ve learned to appreciate his work.
I wish there were thousands of Thomas Sowells walking around Washington, D.C. What a great city this would be.
I don’t know whether he’s a Christian, but what he writes about homosexuals and their perceived right to be “married” hits the mark:
Love affairs are personal relations. Marriage is a legal relation. To say that government should not get involved in legal relations is to say that government has no business governing.
Homosexuals were on their strongest ground when they said that what happens between “consenting adults” in private is none of the government’s business. But now gay activists are taking the opposite view, that it is government’s business — and that government has an obligation to give its approval.
Then there are the strained analogies with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King challenged the racial laws of their time. So, the argument goes, what is wrong with Massachusetts judges and the mayor of San Francisco challenging laws that they consider unjust today?
First of all, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King were private citizens and they did not put themselves above the law. On the contrary, they submitted to arrest in order to gain the public support needed to change the laws.
As private citizens, neither Mrs. Parks nor Dr. King wielded the power of government. Their situation was very different from that of public officials who use the power delegated to them through the framework of law to betray that framework itself, which they swore to uphold as a condition of receiving their power.
Also check out this interview, “Sowell Reaches Beyond Rhetoric.”
In Race and Culture, which I read a few years ago, Sowell discusses cultural differences among ethnic groups around the world. He contends that productive skills (“cultural capital”) and values within a culture play a major role in determining social status, contrary to what is believed.
For instance, some cultural groups value pooling money together to support each other’s businesses rather than turning to banks. Unlike the liberal view that environment and “racism” determines a group’s success or failure, Thomas asserts that inherited values and skills are essential to a group’s success. Don’t tell that to the NAACP!
The Black White Man Wants Your Vote
Finally, some group is demanding an apology from John Kerry after his “I want to be the second black president” remark:
The head of a civil rights and legal services advocacy group wants Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to apologize for saying he wouldn’t be upset if he could be known as the second black president.
And:
Last week, Kerry told the American Urban Radio Network: “President Clinton was often known as the first black president. I wouldn’t be upset if I could earn the right to be the second.”
Kerry’s spokesman Chad Clanton said: “This was intended as a light-natured remark about President Clinton’s strong legacy with African Americans It is a legacy that John Kerry would like to build upon if elected president. John Kerry has a record of fighting for civil rights and as president he will continue this fight.”
When will some people learn that they’re only pawns on a chessboard?
