Bill O’Reilly has begun the dialogue, a dialogue that, if truly vetted by all sides, could result in the first real progress in solving the problems of inner cities and creating a path for minorities, especially blacks, out of the generational poverty that many are in today.
In the wake of the bankruptcy of the once great city of Detroit and the continuing slaughter of blacks in Chicago, O’Reilly went on the attack, citing the cowardice and greed of the black leaders for their failure to address real reasons for the plight of their young. His is a theme of personal responsibility, two parent homes that direct children away from the gangs, drugs and other inner city crime, ending the chaos in the schools thus creating an atmosphere for the children to learn, and eschewing the hip hop culture and dress.
CNN Anchor Don Lemon agrees with O’Reilly and added that blacks should respect where they live. Don’t trash your own neighborhood.
Most of those on the left have either failed to weigh in or have condemned O’Reilly and Lemon. Al Sharpton asked O’Reilly, “Since when have you been the expert on African-Americans”? Race baiters like Sharpton and Jesse Jackson prefer to retain the name African-American even though generations have passed since the vast majority, our President excepted, have had any contact with the African Continent.
No one can expect the Sharptons, the Jacksons and members of the Congressional Black Caucus to lend anything of value to this discussion. They have too much to lose from an educated, self sufficient and free thinking black populous, freed from the chains of a government that has, for many years, made sure that they cannot fend for themselves.
Maybe it is up to white Americans, like O’Reilly, to move this discussion forward. After all, much to the astonishment of the race baiters, white Americans do care. White Americans care about their God, their family, their homes, their communities, their friends and neighbors, and they care about their country. They care about the disintegration of our inner cities, where many black Americans are caught in an endless downward spiral. They care about the failure of our education system to develop the expertise needed to compete in this rapidly expanding technological world. Whether they be white, black, brown or yellow, minds and lives are being wasted, and an inordinate number are black.
One thing is certain; despite the spending of billions of dollars, the government has done nothing to stem this decline. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, since the mid 1970s, the number of people, of all races, in poverty has almost doubled, from around 23 million to 46 million in 2010.
The answer does not rest with government, a government whose programs tend to create dependency. The answer may be something that a coalition of concerned blacks and whites thrash out among themselves, something that Bill O’Reilly and Don Lemon have brought out into the open.