AR Clayboy
The Democratic Party has become a community of grievance railing against American institutions of all kinds. Those grievances give power to an anointed few -- mostly politicians and their patrons in government-dependent businesses and labor unions -- but do very little to address issues of personal wealth and prosperity for Black and Latino Americans. As Black and Latino men have grown in economic competence and personal agency, we have come to understand that our own actions, not government solutions, will have the greatest impact upon our own lives, the lives of our families and the health of our communities. As greater numbers of Black and Latino men come to that realization, Democratic policies become less appealing, if not antithetical, to our interests. As a people, we are no longer dependent upon government mandates, quotas and redistribution. When this occurs, the more conservative views of taxation, the breadth of the welfare state, the utter failure of public education and immigration become more closely aligned with our personal interests. You can spin this as male privilege, if you like, but personally empowered people will not be held down by blanket claims of systemic grievance, nor will they waste their lives waiting to be saved by politicians, government programs and media pundits. Black and Latino men turning away from the Democratic Party is, in actuality, an encouraging sign of growth.
