Couple Quick Notes: Rush for Education and A Silent Conservative
March 11th, 2009 | By Sonnie Johnson
I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to figure out political manuevers. The one thing I’ve learned this year, nothing in politics is as it seems. A politicians main goal is to tell you what you want to hear, without speaking the things you don’t. It’s that simple.
Rush for Education
This morning I was attempting to read between the lines on a two stories in particular. First, Obama’s new plan to improve education from the cradle to college. Sounds good right. I mean who could argue that most inner city schools need improvement.
But what does he not want us to hear?
He wants government to have a heavy hand in creating a suitable school system. Could it have something to do with the Teacher’s Union that prevents firing of bad teachers? Or is it something less politically motivated, like an actual belief that children need to be educated.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s completely political. I watch Fox News. They have a segment on the liberal bias in public school textbooks. It’s so funny how liberals create our school books and still manage to leave us out. I digress.
Anyways, they point out a lot of commentary past off as actual history. Why does this matter? School Vouchers. Most private schools are religious based. They teach all things are possible through a higher power.
The liberals want you to believe all things are possible through them. They can’t have inner city kids being sent to schools that teach self sufficiency, work-based opportunities, or the actual Socialism agenda. This would hurt the grasp they have on the inner city areas.
So instead they throw money at the problem, like having a computer in a school is going to help the kid that has no desire to learn to read. But that fits their agenda well. See, if they throw all this money at the public school system and it still fails to improve, it will not be the Democrats fault.
It will still be the Republicans fault because the inner city kids still live in the inner city. The problem itself never disappears, only a new strategy on “how to blame” presents itself. And through all these political games, our schools continue to deteriorate, even if they are now completely green.
If you say I’m reading to much into this, Why are the Obama girls in private school?
A Silent Conservative
A hero becomes selfish when he expects praise for his deeds. It’s one of the first lessons you learn as a child. Give because you want to, not because you want something in return.
It’s a proven fact Conservatives give more to charities than Democrats. We believe God helped us succeed and it’s our duty to give back to those around us. What makes a conservative so great is his/her refusal to seek a pat on the back for their deeds.
Former President George W. Bush did more for the people of Africa than any other U.S. President in history. His financial contributions to the AIDS epidemic has helped saved millions of lives. When Kanye West came out and said George Bush doesn’t like black people, Bush didn’t respond by pointing out all the aid he’s sent to the struggling continent.
Bill O’Reily donates all his income, outside of his television show, to charity. He mentions this to let the public know buying a “don’t be a pinhead” bumper sticker is contributing to a worthy cause, both his message and a community. Now, if he listed every charity he contributed to and how much, I’d think he was waiting for his pat on the back.
There is some in fighting amongst Republicans about how to win inner city communities. The Rush Limbaugh’s say don’t target one group, let’s stay on message and we’ll win back the White House. Then you have the new voices in the Republican Party that say, let’s reach out to the community with social based programs, but we’ve got to make sure they are publicized correctly.
I know I’m over simplifying but for the sake of time, just roll with it. There is a girl from the inner city that found dance to be her escape. She is now in the $250,000 range and would love to open a dance school in her old neighborhood. One problem, the new tax hikes are going to prohibit her from opening her studio.
This maybe a little cynical, but I leave in the real world. Which message is more important? A puff piece about a girls dream to open a dance studio or a hard hitting news story about how the tax hikes are going to actually hurt community building?
The puff piece would actually do more harm than good. See, a silent conservative will hear this story and help the woman open her studio. The follow-up story wouldn’t mention the name of the person who donated the money and the silent conservative would be happy. That would be the end.
Make it about policy and you got a whole other ball game. This woman worked hard so she could open a dance studio in her community, not to pay for pig odor research. The government cut after-school activities, financially crippled this woman from starting a studio, and decided the best way to help her community was to build a Waterpark 1,000 miles away.
You go from targeting one group of people of a particular community, to affecting numerous groups of people in a myriad of communities. All with different stories behind the main premise, tax hikes hurt individuals who want to do good in their communities.
A rich Republican that goes to the ghetto to help, then leaves pounding his chest is what the street would call a mark. They are going to take what ever they can get from you and move on. Tell them they loss the local basketball courts to pay for the new court across town and you get a totally different response.
The streets are not stupid and Republicans should stop treating them as such. That’s the Democrats job.
