Bring Blacks Back to the Right Side
Coming Out Of The Closet (It's Not What You Think) [posted on other sites]
I am a black woman. I come from a black family. My family is all democrat, with the exception of my aunt's husband; he's a republican. So, statistically speaking, I should be a democrat, too. And I guess I would have been, except for one thing. When I was 10 years old, this guy from Hollywood, named Ronald Reagan ran for president.
I don't remember all of the ads and I couldn't tell you what happened in the debates. What I do remember is that there was an ad discussing the Soviet Union. If I'm not mistaken, the ad basically said that if we went to war with The U.S.S.R. during that time, we would be out-manned and out-machined. That didn't make me feel particularly safe and, at 10 years old, I put a heavy premium on feeling safe. It also didn't help that on Jimmy Carter's watch, Americans were taken hostage in Iran.
I remember staying up and watching the election returns. I watched with my father. In fact, I always watched the news with my father -- He watched Eyewitness News (local CBS affiliate) and The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite. We always watched the news together. This time, however, my father had no idea that he had created a monster... Okay, not a monster but a republican. Everything he ever taught me -- "Yes sir"; "No sir"; "Yes ma'am"; "No, ma'am"; and, common sense (although that didn't sink in until I hit 35) -- all those things swayed me to Ronald Reagan. Carter's philosophy of diplomacy didn't sit well with me. It didn't make me feel safe.
After Reagan was elected, many members of my family, including my mother, who really didn't influence me as much as my father did, began calling then President-Elect Reagan the antichrist. The world was going to end. The world was going to hell in a hand basket. The sky was falling. I guess it's kinda obvious that I was never able to have a meaningful conversation with my mother about anything; however, my father and I debated the issues regularly and respectfully. When he disagreed with me, he treated me as if he wanted to teach me something, instead of putting me down. I guess that's why I wanted to be like him when I grew up.
So, I came out of the closet to him. I said, "Daddy, I like Ronald Reagan." He told me to watch the news. I didn't feel bad because he knew and he didn't belittle me. I think that he was just happy that I knew what was going on in the world.
Well, needless to say, when President Reagan took office, the hostages came home and he began building our defenses. I felt safe. I not only liked President Reagan, I respected him.
Years later, President Reagan again won my respect when he had the guts to go and bomb Libya, in the middle of the night in 1986. No, I don't mind that there was a little revenge built into that operation. Quadafi backed people who killed an American Soldier. He was one of ours! By bombing Libya, President Reagan stuck up for that Soldier's family. I don't think that Jimmy Carter would have had the courage to do that.
Now, here we are again, with a president more like Jimmy Carter than I would like to admit. And what's worse, a Republican Party that has gone way out of the way of Ronald Reagan and has moved closer to Herbert Hoover. Once again I don't feel safe. I will be 40 in December and by then it will have been nearly 30 years since President Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States. Now, I'm a RINO but not like Specter, Snow, or the others who passed TARP under President Bush.. No, I am a 912er... A Constitutionalist. I'm what my daddy made me and I'm proud.
Once again, I have come out of the closet.
I don't remember all of the ads and I couldn't tell you what happened in the debates. What I do remember is that there was an ad discussing the Soviet Union. If I'm not mistaken, the ad basically said that if we went to war with The U.S.S.R. during that time, we would be out-manned and out-machined. That didn't make me feel particularly safe and, at 10 years old, I put a heavy premium on feeling safe. It also didn't help that on Jimmy Carter's watch, Americans were taken hostage in Iran.
I remember staying up and watching the election returns. I watched with my father. In fact, I always watched the news with my father -- He watched Eyewitness News (local CBS affiliate) and The CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite. We always watched the news together. This time, however, my father had no idea that he had created a monster... Okay, not a monster but a republican. Everything he ever taught me -- "Yes sir"; "No sir"; "Yes ma'am"; "No, ma'am"; and, common sense (although that didn't sink in until I hit 35) -- all those things swayed me to Ronald Reagan. Carter's philosophy of diplomacy didn't sit well with me. It didn't make me feel safe.
After Reagan was elected, many members of my family, including my mother, who really didn't influence me as much as my father did, began calling then President-Elect Reagan the antichrist. The world was going to end. The world was going to hell in a hand basket. The sky was falling. I guess it's kinda obvious that I was never able to have a meaningful conversation with my mother about anything; however, my father and I debated the issues regularly and respectfully. When he disagreed with me, he treated me as if he wanted to teach me something, instead of putting me down. I guess that's why I wanted to be like him when I grew up.
So, I came out of the closet to him. I said, "Daddy, I like Ronald Reagan." He told me to watch the news. I didn't feel bad because he knew and he didn't belittle me. I think that he was just happy that I knew what was going on in the world.
Well, needless to say, when President Reagan took office, the hostages came home and he began building our defenses. I felt safe. I not only liked President Reagan, I respected him.
Years later, President Reagan again won my respect when he had the guts to go and bomb Libya, in the middle of the night in 1986. No, I don't mind that there was a little revenge built into that operation. Quadafi backed people who killed an American Soldier. He was one of ours! By bombing Libya, President Reagan stuck up for that Soldier's family. I don't think that Jimmy Carter would have had the courage to do that.
Now, here we are again, with a president more like Jimmy Carter than I would like to admit. And what's worse, a Republican Party that has gone way out of the way of Ronald Reagan and has moved closer to Herbert Hoover. Once again I don't feel safe. I will be 40 in December and by then it will have been nearly 30 years since President Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States. Now, I'm a RINO but not like Specter, Snow, or the others who passed TARP under President Bush.. No, I am a 912er... A Constitutionalist. I'm what my daddy made me and I'm proud.
Once again, I have come out of the closet.
Comment
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Comment by Eric Sr. on June 15, 2009 at 5:58pm - I was "born a democrat," but when I started paying attention to politics and policies I realized that I was voting against many of the things I believe. Although I opposed many dem policies, I didn't express my vocal opposition among members of my family until prior to Obamanation. Now, I am just a values voter without a party affiliation. As Michael Savage says, "I am to the right of Rush and to the left of God." Thanks for sharing your story.
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Comment by Preston Smith on May 21, 2009 at 1:13am - Funny, your story sounds pretty close to mine. Read my blog "Remembering Jack Kemp" for a better understanding to what I am saying.
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