Ben Carson took to the streets of Harlem recently just to talk to people in his own quiet and unassuming way.
He spoke about the tragedy of lost youth and broken homes and how important it is to take a close look at the causes of problems in order to find solutions. Government dependency is not a solution, but a palliative measure that perpetuates the problems. We should all be able to see by now that broken families are the main source of this misery. Real freedom and happiness only comes about through the sense of connection people get from strong personal relationships. And those kinds of relationships depend upon the institution of family that passes on a sense of stability and purpose to children. Without strong families, there can be no strong communities, and people end up at sea, alienated and separated, which makes them ripe for manipulation by social experimenters.
Many shunned Carson as an “Uncle Tom,” which is exactly what we’re told to do by the dictators of political correctness. Such propagandists never really explain the causes of poverty, preferring to claim it exists only as a result of racism, which is a very convenient way of breeding resentment, and, ironically, more poverty. For them, family breakdown has nothing to do with anything. (In fact, President Lyndon Johnson famously noted that his policies would “have them n—-rs voting Democratic for the next two hundred years.”)
However, Dr. Carson was able to connect with those who were able to listen. When we speak one-on-one and face-to-face with others, we bypass the noise of media technology. It was this flesh-and-blood connection that caused others in Harlem to tell Carson “We love you.” One said: “I’m a lifelong Democrat. I love you.” In fact, a lot of folks in this polarized society will always assume the “other side” is the enemy, until someone they identify with puts a human face on the Truth they’ve always known in their hearts.
Most of the battle is just about showing up. Dr. Carson showed up with goodwill and outreach that has the power to slice through the tangle of misperceptions and resentment people develop when they are polarized and isolated from other identity groups of human beings.
I’m glad Dr. Carson continues to offer prescriptions, including yesterday’s op-ed in USA Today.
Years ago, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Jack Kemp reached out and made some inroads with the philosophy that “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” But his policies went by the wayside except for a few other enterprising folks like Bob Woodson who heads the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise.
Ultimately, it’s up to each one of us as individuals to resurrect such efforts and to cut through the cultural mess we are in. This is a battle that is going to have to be fought one on one, in our personal lives — through conversations in the “hidden sphere.”
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