Black Rednecks and White Liberals - Part 2

Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell includes several essays on a variety of subjects. I'm handling them individually.


The second essay is entitled, “Are Jews Generic?” Thomas Sowell’s mastery and knowledge of world history marks him as a true Renaissance Man. He dives into the persecution of Jews and concludes that various minorities have been similarly maltreated, when in similar circumstances. Whether they are Parsees in India, Chinese in Southeast Asia or Jews in Germany, they share the remarkably same identity as minority middlemen. 

Little capital, low barriers to entry, and the ability to work in slavish conditions lead minority groups into a rather permanent place in society as minority middlemen. Being willing to endure poverty for the hope of future generations automatically precludes those with shorter time horizons. Blacks and southerners tend to dominate in sports or music, because one can skyrocket to the top. The children of middlemen minorities, however, tend to be overrepresented in the areas of medicine or science. They are culturally adapted to taking the long view. These middleman minorities must be, by definition, different from their customers and the surrounding culture. It is this difference in basic characteristics that allow the minorities to fill a gap that the existing culture was unwilling to fill. These differences often led to persecution when a scapegoat was needed. 

It seems clear that this persecution occurs where the middlemen minorities are most essential. Although the minorities have, at times, contributed to the distrust and dislike, the pattern seems to hold that when the dominant culture sees a minority group acting in a necessary role, jealousies and hostile rhetoric can turn the masses violently against them. The majority culture will often, not just expel, but humiliate and dehumanize the minority group. This indicates shame and feelings of inferiority within the native people. The success of future generations of minority middlemen further mark them for envy and resentment.

So while the plight of the Jews has been fairly generic and applies to many minority groups around the world and throughout history, they are not exactly a generic people. Even within the community of minority middlemen, the Jews have differentiated themselves. They are highly over represented in the upper echelons of intellectualism. Maybe it’s because they have been the most persecuted for the longest time in the most places. They have learned as a people to take the long-view, to keep their resources portable (like intellectual skills) in case a rapid escape became necessary, and to work very hard despite persecutions and setbacks. Unfortunately, however, persecution of minorities is not unique to the Jews. Demagogues will use the minority middlemen in their midst for their own purposes again and again.

Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell

Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell is an incredible collection of essays he has written on various subjects which, in many cases, provide an overwhelming challenge to conventional wisdom. With so much intellectually stimulating information to process, I have to blog one essay at a time.

The first essay bears the name of the book, Black Rednecks and White Liberals. He begins with the quote, “These people are creating a terrible problem in our cities. They can’t or won’t hold a job, they flout the la constantly and neglect their children, they drink too much and their moral standards would shame an alley cat. For some reason or other, they absolutely refuse to accommodate themselves to any kind of decent, civilized life.” The statement refers to whites from the South. 

Sowell traces the “redneck” subculture which predominated the South throughout much of American history to the original immigrants from the Scottish highlands and Ulster County, Ireland. These turbulent, lawless, no-man’s land produced a breed of people whose lives were in constant danger and as such, had no need for the luxury of long-term thinking. Education, standardized language, civil and moral values held little importance in a culture drenched in machismo, chaos, and daily dangers. 

As most blacks were brought into the South, through not fault of their own, obviously, they picked up the culture into which they were transplanted. Pride, hair-trigger tempers,  lack of industry or entrepreneurship, non-accumulation of capital, illiteracy, non-standard speech patterns, melodrama and fiery rhetoric all characterized the Southern redneck world and blacks most naturally emulated what they experienced. 

Yet the black and white world began to diverge as both whites and blacks moved north. The whites came first in larger number, and the redneck culture they brought with them was universally vilified. Soon, whites learned to imitate Northern ways. When blacks moved North in small numbers, they too learned the lessons of cultural assimilation. It was not until the mass migrations of blacks to the white North in the mid-twentieth century that blacks were no longer required to give up their redneck ways. Well-meaning white liberals excused blacks from the requirements of a more civilized society. Black were allowed to continue the redneck culture with a pass and told that the Southern cracker ways were their true culture and heritage. The modern welfare state, urban ghettos, the declining effectiveness of our criminal justice system have all conspired to keep many blacks immersed in the redneck cultural abyss. 

While many if not most of blacks are not entrenched in the cracker culture, too many are. It didn’t have to be this way. Fascinating data from 1800’s show the inroads white Northerners were making in the South. Blacks impacted by these cultural missionaries as well as blacks living in the North show a distinctive ability to keep pace with and in many cases surpass neighboring whites in educational measurements. Our destructive army of do-gooders has spent enormous resources keeping poor and marginalized blacks trapped in a ghetto of poverty with feel-good programs and hand-outs. Thuggish behavior and hoodlum lifestyles are glorified by white intellectuals. Even within the black community, some are ostracized for “acting white” when they try to better themselves through education. These destructive forces continue to enslave many in the black community to dependency. “Authenticity” has led to misery and we have our intellectuals betters to thank.

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale

In a classic case of choosing a book by it’s cover, I picked up Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady. The cover and title drew me in. But what I assumed was fiction turned out to be a non-fiction account of the real Mrs. Robinson and what her diary revealed about the Victorian times in which she lived.

As I read, I began to feel that I didn’t like Mrs. Robinson very much. She was desperately unhappy and narcissistic. She considered herself very avant garde and like to push the envelope of society. She loved to be in the company of intellectuals and despised her husband as common. She fancied she contributed to the conversation of the authors and experts around her.

In the process, she fell in love with Dr. Edward Lane. He was pioneering spas and “hydrotherapy” and she was a frequent guest of his and his wife at their retreat. She writes openly in her diary of her infatuation with him. His wife, despite the fact that they were friends, gained no sympathy from her. She pathetically details every word, every glance, every disappointment and hope in her pursuit of the doctor.

Eventually they seem to acknowledge a mutual desire. She records the kisses and walks, the declarations of love. Again, no mention of the effect on his wife or her own husband and children. But she writes vaguely enough that it remains unclear whether or not the affair was consummated.

When her husband finds the diary while going through her drawer looking for something that would relieve the symptoms of an illness from which she was suffering, he discovers her unfaithfulness. He sues for divorce. In a complicated trial highlighting the changing nature of divorce law, the doctor is found not guilty of adultery. The musings of a woman in her diary were not found sufficient enough to convict. She claimed the writings were simply mad ravings and not factual. Therefore, she too is declared not guilty.

Her poor husband was forced to stay married to this narcissistic woman. He, however, is no angel. He, too, had been having a long-term affair. Eventually their marriage ends over other causes.

This sad, strange tale was somewhat interesting, but felt mostly voyeuristic. I have very little interest in this woman or her pseudo-intellectual friends. Her husband is a caricature of an uninvolved, unloving man. She portrays herself as a victim, ungrateful, uncaring, and a liar. The times and politics surrounding her case make for some interest, but in the end, I was glad to be rid of the bunch.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

To say I enjoyed this book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, is to put it mildly. Another victory for "judging a book by its cover." Although this method doesn't always work, it worked this time. The big visual draw is the photo on the cover of a levitating girl. This inside of the book is filled with many more just like it. It's a feast for the eyes!

Onto the story. The author has taken these genuine photographs and weaved them into a fictional story. Every step kept me guessing and engaged. I found the plot interesting, the characters well-developed, and the conceit fascinating.

As a young boy, Jacob hears fantastic tales from his beloved grandfather of the peculiar children he knew as a boy. But Jacob loses faith in the old man as he begins to realize the stories simply cannot be true. However, one night,... Well, I won't give anything away, but I'd say it's a definitely read.

I'm depressed that I'm done with the book... I would love a sequel, but it could not be this good.

I'm including some of the internal photos. Brilliant and creepy!

What the (bleep) just happened by Monica Crowley

This may be the last “preaching to the choir” conservative book I read for a while. Monica Crowley is one of those people who apparently come off as more intelligent on T.V. than in her writing. She espouses all the “correct” ideology, but by trying to make the book funny, she kind of knocks the legs out from under her own arguments by sounding unserious. Leave the sarcasm to Ann Coulter! This is a time for seriousness!

The book, What the (Bleep) Just Happened, is divided into 5 parts. 

Part 1 details America’s decline in myriad ways and encourages us to be Americans, darn it! Her “Happy Warrior” must stand up and fight to regain all that is great about this country.

Part 2 tells of the history and ideology of our current president, Barack Obama, calling him a “skinny socialist”. Obviously, we know where she stands! She describes him as an Alinskyite, almost Manchurian, candidate devoted to fundamentally changing America. 

Part 3 describes the sheer size of our government now that the debt has ballooned to $16,000,000,000,000. Not only is Obama spending more every year than we take in, but with the stimulus and Obamacare, we continue to borrow and borrow and borrow. Of course this orgy of spending and regulation killed our economy and we have no hope of recovery any time soon!

Part 4 goes on to tell of our weakened national image and security as a result of Obama’s policies. From his spilling of national secrets to his half-hearted attempts, to simultaneously win and wind down our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to “losing” Egypt, insulting Israel, and leading from behind our foreign policy has been an unmitigated disaster. Thanks to Bush and his tough call on “enhanced interrogation” we killed Osama bin Laden, yet Obama takes the credit. What chutzpah!

Finally, Part 5, “America Unleashed” encourages us to in all the ways we can get our country back to where it should be. Of course, since the book was written before the presidential election of 2012, her first order of business is defeating Obama at the ballot box. 

Now that we see that the majority of Americans like and voted for this new version of America, our job is that much harder. That’s why books like this are not that helpful. No one who disagrees with her will be challenged or will actually change his mind. This book is fine if you are a conservative and want a “rah-rah” book, but it’s not going to make a hill of beans difference in the conversations and conversions that need to take place if we are going to return America to greatness.

No, They Can't by John Stossel

John Stossel wrote, No They Can’t: Why Government Fails -- but Individuals Succeed, to point out the many, many things government has had a hand in and ultimately made worse. It is not simply that the government SHOULDN’T be doing these things, it’s that they CAN’T do these things. Simply put, the government should not be doing what an individual can do for himself. The individual may succeed, but the government can ONLY fail.

He works through issue after issue in each chapter. He highlights the various contrasts between what “intuition” tempts us to believe and what reality has taught him. 

The first and most basic is that while we are tempted to believe that our country and economy needs a plan and the smart planners know best, hard reality teaches that no one knows enough to plan a society. 

The fact is, that our society is complicated and there is not a single person or group of people who can have enough knowledge to adequately plan out the lives of 330 MILLION people. The combined knowledge of the people is staggering, but above that, even the 330 MILLION people don’t have all knowledge. Even they don’t know what the future holds. Yet our president and congress pretend to be experts on housing, autos, energy, education, transportation, commerce, military, healthcare, banking, securities, labor, agriculture, trade, urban development, veterans, justice, treasury, and the environment. 

This is like hiring a guy to fix your car, repair your roof, be your dentist, deliver your child, provide security, landscape your house, teach you French, educate your children, cook for you, choose your clothing, and find you a spouse. No one person could or even should do all that. We would naturally find someone who is good at just one of those things and hire a different person for each chore. But the government believes it can tell you how many miles per gallon a car should get and what light bulb to use. It believes it can plan your diet and your healthcare. It believes it can predict future discoveries and get Wall Street to stop being greedy. What arrogance! What a recipe for disaster. 

The first thing the government tinkers with and therefore destroys is the economy. Only free markets with private individuals can get an economy moving. Governments tip the scales, distort the incentives, and because of its huge size, generally muck it all up. 

Government tries to “level the playing field” and make life fair. The only way to make life more fair is through totalitarianism, that is inherently unfair. Not only that, they only succeed in making everyone more poor and destroying resources. Instead of some being well-off, no one is well-off. 

It would seem to make sense that businesses need government regulation to curb their propensity for excess. Yet only consumers can provide the level of accountability that businesses need. In fact, when a corporation is protected from customers ire, think Post Office, the waste and abuse grow rather than diminish. 

Some believe that workers are treated best when in government protected unions. Yet experience has proven that a union/government partnering is worse for everyone, even the union workers. Businesses that must attract and retain employees in a free-market treat their workers better than those stuck with protected union members. In fact, because of the special protection certain people and classes enjoy, they become less employable. 

Since healthcare costs a lot, many are tempted to involve the government to contain costs. The reality is that when government becomes involved, the cost skyrockets. Innovation is stifled, resources are misallocated, accountability is lost, the public suffers. 

Life is risky. Shouldn’t government try to lower the risks we face? It can’t. In fact, the government policies can add a new level of risk. Those “gun-free” zones... risky. Rescuing people who make bad decisions again and again... risky. Protection from unproven medical devices... risky to those who desperately need the innovation. Making sure no one is offended and therefore implementing speech codes... risky to the 1st Amendment. We can and should evaluate risk for ourselves, and pay the consequences for our decisions. 

Education is too important to leave to individuals. The government surely must have a hand in teaching our children. Education is too important to leave to the government. The individual MUST be in control of the education of his children. Government- run schools combine the worst results of government-run anything. Union teacher, no financial accountability, no consumer feedback, a level “playing field” which only makes everyone equally bad off, no innovation, no risk, no positive outcome. Only concerned parents should be making education decisions for their children. 

While government has screwed up everything else it has tried to manipulate, surely government should regulate drugs... nope. While drugs kill and disable, the WAR on drugs has killed and disabled many more people. This is a classic case of the treatment being worse than the disease. 

Government must protect the environment or greedy corporations will destroy it. Once again, wrong. The best way to protect... anything... is ownership. People protect what they own. No one ends up protecting what no one owns. The free market is the best protector of the environment. Only the free market can distribute scarce resources efficiently. 

The government believes it can balance its budget with the proper mix of taxes and spending targets. Once again, wrong. Taxes can NEVER bring in enough to satisfy the voracious government. Politicians will NEVER cut spending, if it will cost them a vote. Only a radical limit to how much the government can take in and what areas of society they are allowed to tinker in will ever make a dent in our budgetary issues. 

But SURELY the government must be involved in the military affairs. Yes, this is actually one area in which the government must play a role. The idea of each individual hiring his own private military is simply unworkable. BUT, even in this area, the same principles that make government a dismal failure in every other area, make the government particularly inefficient in this area. Because the sums of money involved are huge, the potential for waste and abuse increases astronomically. Even, and especially, here, when it comes to our military, we must be vigilant in holding our government accountable for its overextension. 

In conclusion, Stossel states, “There ought NOT to be a law.” We cannot create a utopia of good and virtuous people living in comfort and ease with any law. In fact the more laws, the further society gets from that ideal. Only individuals, working in their own best interest can create a society worthy of them. The government only gets in the way. 

The New Founders by Joseph F. Connor and Michael S. Duncan

The New Founders by Joseph F. Conrad and Michael S. Duncan wasn’t at all what I expected. From the description, I thought it would be a somewhat factual story about what it would look like if the Founding Fathers came back today. What would they think and say. What would they recommend.

Instead, it was a wholly fictional story about the literal George Washington showing up to a random group of modern day men who embodied the spirit and attitudes of several of the Founders. As they realize they are in the presence of the REAL George Washington, and recognize the fact that they are proxies for his original companions, they take it upon themselves to get him elected president under a pseudonym.

Unfortunately, having just gone through a real presidential election, the campaign they run is successful only because it springs from the minds of the authors. In real life, the ability of the American people to recognize greatness and desire to revert back to our founding principles is highly overrated, to say the least. 

The book was an odd science-fiction type book, stretched to incredulity. I didn’t really like it and it irritated me because I love the Founders and really wanted to like this book.