”There is no other country like ours in the world – nothing compares to its greatness. But the issue of racism is America’s Achilles’ heel. It has been embedded into our culture for 400 years, since the first Africans were seized from their homes on the other side of the world and brought to colonial America in chains and enslaved.”
Above is part of an, early June, Kay Coles James op-ed addressing racism in America in the aftermath of the George Floyd tragedy.
Ms. James has held leadership positions in various conservative groups such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Pat Robertson’s Regent University, and as the president of the Heritage Foundation since 2017, as well as served in various positions in the Bush43 administration. Based on criticisms over her recent op-ed, she was defended by, among others, the Conservative Women of America (CWA).
This whole brouhaha came to my attention after she was listed, by Tucker Carlson, among, so-called, ”conservatives” who actually seem to have abandoned conservatives and betrayed the trust we have placed in these people to defend conservative principles.
I understand the pressure to condemn the treatment of George Floyd, and I empathize, however, it seems to have become a dog whistle to show one’s fealty to the mob. In other words, is it a requirement for me to condemn the treatment of Floyd before I can be accepted as a caring human being with no racial motivation? I thus find such pandering disingenuous.
That said, what’s really troubling to me are her comments after her genuflection to the whole George Floyd hysteria, such as, ”It (slavery) has been embedded into our culture for 400 years, since the first Africans were seized from their homes on the other side of the world and brought to colonial America in chains and enslaved.”
Who seized those Africans? Why, other Africans who then sold their “African brothers” into slavery. Think of Jacob’s sons selling their brother Joseph into slavery.
And where did those ”seized Africans” end up after their capture? Estimates range that from 3-to-6 percent ended up in America, but I’ll give you 10%. This is not an excuse, rather it’s an explanation of the facts rather than trying to create emotion through subjective argumentation in people who do not know the facts.
In my opinion, Tucker Carlson is correct, Kay Coles James has done a disservice to the conservative movement that she claims to represent. We need thoughtful answers to solve America’s problems, not pandering and half-truths.
Change My Mind!
Kay Coles James’ op-ed
Change My Mind! 