My Political Philosophy
Yesterday I wrote a long post about the chief reason I don’t support Black Lives Matter (the political organization), which might not be the reason you’d think. Today I wanted to talk about the shaping of my political perspective, and why most of my political positions have been shaped by black thinkers.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to laugh. Most of my best friends know that (playful) sarcasm is my love language and that, despite the fact that I enjoy having serious conversations about political theory and public policy, I’m just as apt to talk about why Phil Hartman was my favorite cast member on Saturday Night Live or why Jamie Foxx was my favorite on In Living Color (Damon Wayans is a close second, and certainly the funniest Wayans brother in my opinion).
One thing I find extremely funny is that Republicans often get pigeonholed as old, rich, white men, and that those of us who don’t fit that mold (women, minorities) are seen as traitors to our kind. I choose to find this funny because I think laughter is more constructive than bottled-up anger.
When people talk about the need to “see themselves” in tv, movies, and books, I get that. We all need inspiring stories of people we can relate to. These stories help us shore up who we are and what we believe about the world.
I grew up in a working class neighborhood. Most of the generation before mine on both sides of my family did not attend college and worked blue collar jobs (with the exception of my dad who was a Morehead Scholar at UNC). My mom grew up in poverty, and my generation was the first to attend college on her side. When I started becoming seriously interested in politics, I found that the voices that most resonated with me were those of black conservatives, many of whom came from similar economic backgrounds. I could relate more easily to their experiences than those of a George H.W. Bush or a Mitt Romney. It wasn’t until I read J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy that I found a white voice that spoke to my lived experiences and the way I saw the world.
Unfortunately, black conservatives are often misrepresented and demonized simply because they choose to join or continue in the political party that abolished slavery, fought the KKK, and opposed Jim Crow. Most people don’t even know the simple facts I just listed, which is no surprise when you have a giant P.R. machine full of rich politicians and celebrities working against you. This is a shame because many black conservatives are brilliant economists, historians, and politicians who have much to contribute to the greater world of political theory.
Some black conservatives, such as Star Parker, “woke up” to conservative politics as adults. Others, such as Condoleezza Rice, were born into conservative households. In segregated Alabama, her father, John Wesley Rice Jr., became a registered Republican simply because the Republicans were the only ones who would register him to vote. His daughter said that he never forgot that. Condoleezza Rice grew up on the campus of Stillman College (a historically black college), where her father was dean of students, and where he took pride in interacting with black thinkers from all political perspectives. But no matter how many different perspectives they heard, he and his daughter never chose to change their party affiliation. You can read more about their experiences and the rich cultural heritage of black Birmingham during segregation in Rice’s book, “Extraordinary, Ordinary People.”
If you are interested in more of this perspective, here are a few of the books that have most shaped my thoughts on politics over the years:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick Douglas
Our Character, Our Future by Alan Keyes
What Color is a Conservative? by J.C. Watts Jr.
Uncle Sam’s Plantation by Star Parker
Green Power by A.G. Gaston
One Nation by Ben Carson
Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice
Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell
Conquests and Cultures by Thomas Sowell
Unified by Tim Scott and Trey Goudy
Other non-political books by black authors that I think are excellent reads:
Oneness Embraced by Tony Evans
Having Our Say by Sarah L. Delany, Amy Hill Hearth, and A. Elizabeth Delany
The Blueprint by Kirk Franklin
