But I’m a bit puzzled by the comments criticizing Dr. Rice and other conservatives for not attending. Since conservatives would have little in common with the agenda of the meeting, and in fact were being roundly attacked, why would they want to participate?

For conservatives to attend would have been a bit like the old joke Slappy White used to tell about being in the olympics as a javelin catcher.

I wasn’t commenting on the makeup of the conference. I was only commenting on Sec. Rice.

Great Blog, Congrats on your site!!

First I want to say that I watched the State of the Black Union on C-Span. Though I’m a white, I care deeply about the African-American perspective, as well as the rest of the worlds perspective. Being married to an African-American woman and raising three bi-racial sons, I want my children to grow up in a world that is equal and just!! All that being said, here’s my take on the whole thing…..

I thought the entire thing was a sham!! All they did was bash conservatives and the conservative agenda while the only solutions they offered were todays black “so-called” leaders and the democratic party. With everything African-Americans have overcome from slavery, to Jim Crow Laws, to the civil rights movement – you’d have thought that Tavis and these so-called leaders would have expressed a little more self pride instead saying that black people need democrats to survive….

The conservative movement has so much more to offer African-Americans.. Given everything African-Americans have overcome the speakers should have spoken about an uplifting theme of self-empowerment, personal pride, and responsiblity. Unfortunately that would have been more appropriate for the Republican Agenda so instead they preached that republicans and conservatives were evil and that black people need democrats to survive.

All I need for my kids is a chance – they can compete with anyone and accomplish anything they set their minds to!! They don’t need nor want a hand out or any special favors because these things don’t make people strong – they make them weak and dependent on others – and that is exactly what the democratic party has offered. Not real chances but handouts, not tax breaks for small businesses, but a culture of dependency.

Yes the Republican wasn’t always what it is today, and there were segregationists in our party too, but today we’ve taken the party back from those people so I don’t understand what Smiley’s beef is!!!

We need a small government and opportunities – and it doesn’t matter what ethnic background you come from to appreciate that!!!

Ok, so were there any black conservatives there? Or did they all have greater responsibilities too.

need we say more Tiffany?

Funny thing is, I’ve listened to Smiley over the years and when he talks about the Black community needing to address HIV/AIDS, crime, education, health, business creation, ITSELF, “conservatives” say not a word.

Slight tangent, but I assure you there’s a connection this discussion and with the State of liberal education.

Hae any of you read the original Tarzan novels? Have you ever wondered about the implicit superior racism in that an ape-boy teaches himself to make sense of the written word from books left behind by his parents and wonders of wonder, ape-boy even learns to speak the Queen’s English all by himself? Interesting subliminal message here that the apes and natives have no interest in such “abstracts”, yet a widdle white lad is imbued with the innate desire to edumacate himself.

I know it’s ridiculous, but this is fundamentally the same tack promoted by the education elite. White kids need to be forcibly integrated with minority kids. What? So some of that innate-ness might rub off?

Sad truth is that separate and scholastically equal schools had better results in their heydey. granted it would have been nice if they were financially equal, but that’s neither here nor there.

Nowadays, rather then teach in a structured fashion, the touchy-feely mindset is to let the students define their educational framework. If Tarzan was real, he’d be the self-paced poster boy for unhooked by phonics.

This is the same unhinged mentality that lets kids be accountable only to themseles and then we wonder about the lack of discipline and civility and again, the corresponding rate in underachievement. This is the byproduct of a generation that said “question authority”. And by that, “reject authority”, and not the critical analysis implied.

Regardless of the current state of affairs, real change can only come about with the young kids. Unfortunately for the older school kids and people already set in their ways, barring a personal decision to change, they are a lost cause as far as making it in the real world. All the money and all the king’s men aren’t going to set things right for the educationally damaged.

This is where the real battle for the hearts and minds of our society lies and the liberal elites have made a royal mess of two generations in their grand experiment. The only way forward is back to the fundamental basics.

As for your comment:
“there can be a semester on real world economics, not just the theoretical stuff in some textbook. Maybe if kids see there can be a real world payoff, they will clearly understand the benefit to them of rigorous education.

The question is why aren’t more blacks interested in a basic post secondary education to equip themselves properly for which ever field they decide to enter”

The answer is that kids can listen to sermons all day long, but unless some authority figure starts cracking the whip and banging heads, the message is just going to leak out of their open-minded heads.

Kid says to himself: “Safe sex, real world economics, knowledge is power, blah-blah, yeah, yeah. I’m gonna be a pimp daddy cause they’re the ones keepin’ it real.”

Ironically, what IS innate is that kids crave external displinary forces. So if PC education lacks the backbone to maintain a culture of discipline for fear of hurt feelings. So while we recoil at the horror of authoritative enforced discipline. Then kids will gravitate to any other sub-culture that won’t hesitate to enforce it by the rule of knife and gun. And if that result is dismal, so be it, but at least the kid knows his rank & place.

Now I’m starting to ramble, but I hope you get the big cause & effect picture

Last I checked, Abstinence would have done WONDERS for the majority (I say majotity not all but at least 90%) of AIDS cases we now see.

Who was fighting tooth and nail when that was proposed? Hey, there is an answer, if you don’t want to believe it or listen to it…

The Faith Based policies being pushed is gov’t funds being thrown at the problem. But not much opposition there, right?

Funny thing is, I’ve listened to Smiley over the years and when he talks about the Black community needing to address HIV/AIDS, crime, education, health, business creation, ITSELF, “conservatives” say not a word.

The “State of the Union” appears and people’s heads start to just a spinnin’!

But. Not. One. Negative. Word. about the “conservative Black contract with America”, as if that ain’t separate?

And an item from that contract, can someone tell me WHY it is that the Sudan is a Black concern and not a humanitarian concern?

Have I mentioned that I first learned about the Sudan from TransAfrica YEARS ago?

I was just saying that be it Louis Farrakhan or David Duke, if they say something that makes me think, I can say he maybe a racist, but that was a good point. Not only that I prefer to know exactly where someone stands so I can better recognize when they have a moment (however brief) of clarity. The Art of War says that you should always learn the ways of your enemy, and I use term enemy figuratively.

Monika:
You are right, things are bad all over. I don’t think there is a magic bullet answer that will work for all people.

Why is the state of the citizens of this union diminished into an Oppression Olympics? Maybe the President’s State of the Union is not as accurate to some as others.

Should their be a State of the white union? No Should Black citizens have a separate agenda? No, it’s just as silly in my opinion. It seems as if We (Black citizens) are are entitled to something more than other Americans.

We should ask this question, In my opinion:

If there is a discrepancy in different communities, What can be done to fix it? By different communities, I am referring to communities in which things are socially, Morally and economically unequal. I don’t think it needs to be Ethnically/Gender specific.

It’s bad all over, what do we do about it?

Monika