By Leland Pulley
I know many good African Americans by personal experience. For example, in my suburban neighborhood, one house next door to me and the next house after it are both black families. We are acquaintances and respect each other. Across the street and down one house is another black family. Two houses down from that family is a Muslim family. One of my favorite neighbors is a black lady who has more physical energy than her black husband. My wife and I talk with her regularly, and she is kind enough to help us with our lawn work at times. These are all good neighbors. I also have black members in my local church. Some of these are personal friends. These blacks are success stories in our society today. More blacks deserve the opportunity to achieve the American dream as well as anyone else.
Before going further in this article, let’s review some black history.
- Going back to the 1600s in the United States of America, the southeastern states started using African slaves in their agriculture. This was predominantly on large plantations. Two Important products were cotton and tobacco. Most of those plantation owners were Democrats. After the civil war,1861 to 1865, the slaves were free. However, that southeastern part of the United States remained in democratic control until almost the 1980s. During this time, it was the Democrats who instigated segregation in schools and public places. It was the Democrats who started the Ku Klux Klan which was used as a weapon to intimidate blacks and keep them under control. This strategy involved keeping blacks from owning guns, keeping them less educated, restricting their voting rights, and having harsh criminal penalties for any breaking of the law.
- Eventually, many blacks left the southeastern area of the United States. They went north seeking different types of jobs and better living conditions. Many ended up in big cities and in poor housing areas of those cities. Unfortunately, the overall economic, educational, and housing situation for most blacks was still behind other groups.
- Beginning in the 1950s there were efforts to offer Blacks more civil rights. In the 1960s legislation was passed to offer full civil rights to the African Americans. One significant leader in this movement was Doctor Martin Luther King.
- In the last several decades, the black family has been weakened through welfare laws and some discrimination. Welfare payments increase for each new child added to the family. Over time the net effect of this reasonable became obvious. Black families with a father in the home were well over 80%. In recent years this has dropped to about 20%. This creates economic problems for families, as well as social problems. It is young black males without good male role models who suffer the most. They have been cheated out of a fair and good start in life. Government benefits for blacks have been supported or sponsored by Democrats more than Republicans. The overall effect is more dependency on the government and less true independence. It is like living on a Democratic plantation all over again.
Despite all this history most blacks have continued to vote Democrat in the elections. So, my question is this. Why keep depending on the Democratic Party? Ask yourselves, how has this party helped you? The social results for blacks clearly show the lack of progress you deserve. You have had less education, lower incomes, more crime in your neighborhoods, and less political influence in your country. Why are you satisfied with this?
Today, it seems democratic politicians like mayors, governors, members of Congress, and presidents do not care about you. They take you for granted. They offer more government programs to entice you and others into the governmental web of influence and control. Generous welfare programs, affirmative action, and hiring quotas are some examples. In short, if people depend too much on the government, the government will have more control over them. This is the trap utilized far more by Democrats than Republicans. If democratic leaders really did care about you, they would do more to help you with the real life you are facing. Instead, all these democratic politicians want is for you to vote Democrat in every local, state, and federal election. I do not mean a minority of blacks, the Democrats want well over 90% of blacks to vote for their party.
If I were you, I would start to consider political alternatives that truly help black individuals and families to make more progress and have all the benefits enjoyed by other groups in society. Do not get me wrong, I have seen on conservative television stations many intelligent black men and women expressing views that make sense. I support what these Blacks are saying. But these individuals are a small percentage of the black population. We need a larger group of Black Americans to get out of the Democratic Party and vote for individuals and political parties who truly want to see you be more successful and happier.
Today the news media is partially corrupt. I remember the 1970s onward with news media outlets like ABC, NBC, and CBS. Now we have more news outlets, and these are very prejudiced in what they say and what stories they cover. Liberal news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS push the Democrat narrative of big government and less individual freedom. Newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post do the same thing. More conservative or Republican news outlets like Fox News, Newsmax, and smaller networks like the Blaze give you a completely different outlook because they highlight different stories and make more sense in what they say. I have seen and heard very good comments by conservative black members of Congress via conservative news outlets. Do not limit your news sources to liberal democratic television stations and newspapers.
The real answer for blacks is more opportunities for education, jobs, housing, healthcare, and public safety. Who can and will give you this?
Today most of you are better off than your ancestors. However, more improvements or progress are possible for you and other groups in society. We all need to think seriously about the upcoming presidential election in 2024, and all future elections. Which politicians will do the most for you, as well as for all Americans? Remember, we all benefit from less governmental intrusion in our lives, lower taxes, equal rights, good schools, safe streets, a strong job market, affordable housing, and fair administration of justice in our courts.
Key Words – African slaves, plantations, cotton and tobacco, Democrats, segregation, Ku Klux Klan, civil rights. Martin Luther King, democratic politicians, do not care about you, vote Democrat, liberal news outlets, presidential election in 2024
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