Personal Accountability

In an editorial in the Los Angeles Times, Juan Williams, a black man, takes the so-called 'black leaders' to task for attacking him instead of dealing directly with the problems of the black community. (see my link entitled Williams on Accountability). Williams believes that these so-called leaders are accountable for serious problems among blacks, and wrote a book on the subect.

Bill Cosby was criticized by 'black leaders' for voicing similar opinions. Both Williams and Cosby maintain that blacks can break the chain of poverty by making good choices, e.g. graduate high school, get a job and keep it, marry before you have children, and stay in the family to parent the children properly.

The 'black leaders,' according to Williams, blame the situation on racism. They call for more government programs to solve the problems. They play on the white man's guilt to extort big handouts from him. That, of course, is the easy and profitable way out. It says, in effect, "I don't want to solve my own problems. The government should solve them for me." This is not to say that racism was not, or is not, a problem. But there are government regulations that prohibit discrimination. According to Williams, 75% of black Americans are taking advantage of those laws and, by making the right choices, are becoming successful.

Black people are capable of helping themselves. They can stop their own self-defeating behavior. They can embrace success and hard work instead of failure and frustration. As I said in a previous post, good choices have good consequences.

The real black leaders today are not Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Maxine Waters. The real leaders are Juan Williams and Bill Cosby. Their prescription is a difficult one: take a good look in the mirror and change your behavior. If you see a victim who blames others for his problems, don't just complain and wait for the next government program; start making the right choices. Sure, it's hard work, but that's how successful people get that way. According to Mr. Williams, a Pew Research Center poll indicates that many blacks agree.