Posted on 03/22/2023 7:07:35 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Recently, actor-cum-commentator Ben Stein was condemned in media for touting the "progress" the U.S. has made and saying that black Americans "never had it so good." One website called his remarks a "racist rant" even though he was, in keeping with his personality, just calmly expressing his opinion. The worst thing about this story, though, isn't that Stein may become a cancel-culture casualty.
In fact, the matter reminds me of philosopher G.K. Chesterton's observation that the worst aspect of duels wasn't that someone might die, but that they settled nothing about who was right or wrong. For as is always the case with these matters, Stein is criticized only for making a politically incorrect assertion involving race — and could suffer reputational and career death because of it — when the real issue is this: was he correct or not?
He surely was, too — for the most part.
Only, the pseudo-elites don't want this issue settled and that known, lest their BLM narrative be debunked.
First off, broader perspective is necessary. As even left-wing Think Progress admitted in 2013, the standard of living worldwide was that year the highest it had ever been in history. America is among the world's lifestyle leaders, too, which means that, at least materially, we're generally living a relative life of Riley.
Note here that man's historical default has been grinding poverty. People lived without our luxuries, including those we consider necessities, and sometimes with a lack of many necessities themselves. They had no plumbing, indoor or otherwise; toilets; refrigeration; modern transportation; effective medical care; insurance policies; or safety net of any kind. They might've had to toil sunrise 'til sunset to eke out a subsistence living.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
To the point here, much the same can be said of black Americans. As economist Walter E. Williams informed in 2020, if "one totaled up the earnings and spending of Black Americans and considered us as a separate nation with our own gross domestic product, we would rank well within the top 20 richest nations." Williams also added that "as a group, Black Americans have made the greatest gains ... in a shorter span of time than any other racial group in history."
“Flying KAL into Atlanta I was wondering if the Koreans were thinking they had landed in Africa.
Allowing people to do their best is what got America where it is. Limiting people, to protect the pride of those who aren’t as ambitious or capable, hurts us all in the long run.
Well said.
Letting people be? That will not result in angry, bitter, entitled and resentful people who pay race grievance pimps money to keep them that way.
Happy, well adjusted people probably don’t feel the need to pay folks to make and keep them miserable.
Or to be more precise, try to keep others who look like them miserable as well.
Still puzzled about WHERE we’re being driven, by WHOM are we being driven and, more importantly, to WHERE ARE WE BEING DRIVEN?
If you think only CATTLE are DRIVEN, WATCH & SHARE THIS VITAL FILM!
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-shadow-state-documentary_4877950.html
Too much money to be made keeping black people perpetually pissed off.
Scott Adams (inventor of Dilbert) has been saying this for years. He had to push a lot harder to get himself cancelled.
Everybody with at least half a brain has know this since the time the Bakke case was decided in the Supreme court.
Huh?
Yes! Affirmative Action is just another cleverly worded way to say white people alive today need to keep paying blacks people. As if all the white soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War was not a high enough price. (BTW - I don’t agree that the Civil War was fought over slavery, but that is another topic.)
This is a ruling class enterprise to crush the working class and middle class. Blacks are letting themselves be used as pawns.
‘One website called his remarks a “racist rant”...’
Well, that’s no way to win Ben Stein’s money.
“Thank God my Granddaddy got on that boat.” - Muhammad Ali
The problem is, you can tell people that they have it great here compared to everywhere else, but they can’t help but look at white people (of course the ones on the “right” side of the tracks) with envy. And envy is going to nullify any rationality that they might have had about the situation.
No. I mean that allowing people to do their best allows the best and most talented of us to contribute the most to society that ends up pulling the least of us along to a better position for themselves.
For example, by allowing the best engineers to build Samsung televisions, everybody gets a nice tv, including the least talented and able. However, if you put the equity people in charge of building a tv, nobody would have as nice a television.
I believe that principle goes across the board. If you want the best solutions to society, let everybody function at their best levels and not throw barriers across the best and most talented so that lesser talents don’t feel bad.
Let’s be honest, we are paying “protection money”. There is never a high enough price to pay for that. You’ll never be done paying it. Not until you deal with the people who are extorting you.
2. Ben Stein is 78 and financially comfortable. He probably doesn't care too much about whether he's canceled or not.
I wasn’t disagreeing.
Only there are folks who make a living by making folks miserable rather than let them be to succeed on their own as you describe. They try to make success a group thing where they stand to get paid rather than a person thing because otherwise the successful in a given group wouldn’t feel a need for them.
Crab Bucket Mentality.
Only, the pseudo-elites don’t want this issue settled and that known, lest their BLM narrative be debunked.
Indeed pseudo-elites tell them they are being used by others but they are the others.
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