Monday, March 30, 2009

Star Parker, back on the plantation

She thought she'd left. She wrote a book about it.
    "I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps.

    A vast sea of perhaps well intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960's, that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty.

    A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?"

    Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems. The kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.

    The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.

    Through God's grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is."
But now she sees rich Americans running to climb the fence to get on the plantation she tried to leave.
    "Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.

    Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh.""
Read the whole article here; and weep for the country.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's unfortunate is some of her commenters seem to think she's talking about race, when she's talking about the government owning us--regardly of class, race or income--that kind of plantation mentality that transcends race.

Three Score and Ten or more said...

As a graduate assistant, I taught in some of the Great Society programs. In retrospect, it still gives me the willies.