Advantages of living in a fantasy world
Tag Archives: Power
Mike and facts
One never need face the ultimate authority. It is, nonetheless, in charge.
Nerves worn to a frazzle
Black unity
The power of dogma. Continue reading Black unity
I am exhausted from grieving race.
The practice has done me a ton of damage, and no good.
So now I take a different approach. Continue reading I am exhausted from grieving race.
What we need
(1) Love
(2) Relationships
(3) Cross theology
I conceived this post many months ago, at a time when I did not find what I was hearing on Sunday mornings was meeting my needs or the needs I see in the community. Throughout this piece, I apprehend projecting my own needs onto the community. I might can’t help that.
Bill O’Reilly: The truth about white privilege
At the risk of copyright violation, I’m reproducing the whole text; from here.
Published August 26, 2014 | O’Reilly Factor | Bill O’Reilly
By Bill O’Reilly
Last night on The Factor, Megyn Kelly and I debated the concept of white privilege whereby some believe that if you are Caucasian you have inherent advantages in America.
Talking Points does not, does not believe in white privilege. However, there is no question that African-Americans have a much harder time succeeding in our society. Even whites do. But the primary reason is not skin color. It’s education and not only book learning. Here are the facts.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for black Americans is 11.4 percent. It’s just over five percent for whites, 4.5 percent for Asians. So, do we have Asian privilege in America? Because the truth is, that Asian American households earn far more money than anyone else. The median income for Asians, close to $69,000 a year; it’s 57,000 for whites’ $33,000 for black — so the question becomes why? And the answer is found in stable homes and in emphasis on education; 88 percent of Asian Americans graduate from high school compared to 86 for whites and just 69 percent for blacks. That means 31 percent of African-Americans have little chance to succeed in the free marketplace because they are uneducated. They are high school dropouts.
Asian Americans also tend to keep their families intact. Just 13 percent of Asian children live in single parent homes compared to a whopping 55 percent for blacks and 21 percent for whites. So, there you go. That is why Asian Americans, who often have to overcome a language barrier, are succeeding far more than African-Americans and even more than white Americans. Their families are intact and education is paramount.
American children must learn not only academics but also civil behavior, right from wrong, as well as how to speak properly and how to act respectfully in public. If African-American children do not learn those things, they will likely fail as adults. They will be poor. They will be angry, and they often will be looking to blame someone else.
One caveat, the Asian American experience historically has not been nearly as tough as the African-American experience. Slavery is unique and it has harmed black Americans to a degree that is still being felt today, but in order to succeed in our competitive society, every American has to overcome the obstacles they face. And here is where the African-American leadership in America is failing.
Instead of preaching a cultural revolution, the leadership provides excuses for failure. The race hustlers blame white privilege, an unfair society, a terrible country. So the message is, it’s not your fault if you abandon your children, if you become a substance abuser, if you are a criminal. No, it’s not your fault; it’s society’s fault.
That is the big lie that is keeping some African-Americans from reaching their full potential. Until personal responsibility and a cultural change takes place. Millions of African-Americans will struggle. And their anger, some of it justified will seethe. The federal government cannot fix this problem. Only a powerful message of responsibility can turn things around. And that’s “The Memo”.
It comes down to this.
I ask anyone the same question I ask myself every day:
What will you do
today
to improve your lot
today?
On the other hand, many people are incapable of responsibility, for reason that they lack any understanding of cause and effect. I will discuss this more in a subsequent post, How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty, currently scheduled for release November 29.
FOOTNOTE, 2014-10-24: Remark from my diary: “Responsibility presumes ownership of power. But ownership of power is impossible without a grasp of cause and effect.”
(Originally posted 2014-09-13.)
What can I do for myself today?
Notice how I avoid the question.
My hope is built
I may no longer believe a word they say, but I can take great comfort in the hymns I learned in childhood.
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
No merit of my own I claim,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On what is my hope built?
Risk and faith
12:30 Wednesday 2016-10-05
A learning opportunity that may seem trivial.
I’ve been pondering a lot lately why people, myself included, balk at owning their personal power. It has seemed to me that a major factor is fear of disappointment: owning personal power means a duty to take initiatives, to act on arbitrary decisions, and face the risk that what one hoped for may not obtain.
Yesterday morning when I turned my phone on, there were three voice mails, one from my invalid oldest brother and two from prospective employers wanting to set interviews. Given the way things are for me on Tuesdays, I was unable to return any of the calls. I wanted to do so today.