On slavery and slave masters, and health care reform
By Alisa Craddock
web posted March 15, 2010
A man I worked with years ago said to me once, "Blacks were better off when they were slaves. At least they were taken care of."
Without even knowing what I know now about the lives of slaves in this country, I was appalled. Slaves were whipped, sexually exploited (sometimes in combination with torture to satisfy the dark, perverse desires that could no where else find expression), their children and even their lawfully wedded spouses could be sold to others, they were given the discards of their masters slaughterhouses for food, they were worked from sun up to sundown, day in and day out. They had no choices about anything concerning their own lives or their own persons. They were "property". Their masters' horses were often given much better care and treated with greater kindness and respect than they received.
And yet, according to this pathetic, ignorant man, they were better off than the blacks of the late 70's (the early years of black civil rights in this country when he made that statement).
I cannot imagine a more ignorant comment. But the issue of black dependence on the federal government is one that causes great division, and of misunderstanding, among blacks and whites, and the differences are often expressed in terms of racism. And this is a learned reaction, not a reflective one.
Granted that there is racism on both sides of the political aisle, and it would be foolish to deny it, but the Republican Party has been called the "party of the racists" by blacks from the poorest, least educated, right up to college professors. It is a deeply offensive and false charge. It is not Republican policies which have led to black dependence on the government, but Democrat policies. Those policies, such as AFDC, have encouraged the dissolution of black family life in this country, the consequences of which are the same as for any culture or sub-culture—poverty (the overwhelming majority of families in this country subsisting below the poverty line are single mother families), increased crime (without a father, children are much more likely to get involved in illegal activity, violence, gang activity, drug use and dealing, etc. A study a few years ago of inner city youth found that among children who grew up with a single mother who never married, over 90% got into trouble with the law before reaching adulthood, while only 6% of children who grew up in a stable two-parent family did). Most men in prison (over 70%) grew up without a father. The school dropout rate for black youth is much higher than for white youth, as well, increasing their chances for failure in life and guaranteeing a life of poverty. Result—cultural collapse.
Blacks say that opposition to entitlements is racism, that programs are needed to address the problems of black youth and families, that the cause of the social problems in the black community is racism and white oppression; that whites, by virtue of their "white privilege" are racist by default. Like original sin, our racism is written into our makeup- we just can't help ourselves. The evidence does not substantiate these claims. Blacks, suckled on the toxic paps of the welfare state, and increasingly dependent upon it, see a threat in any effort to reign in the increasing size of the federal government, or, more precisely, to resist the imposition of socialism incrementally on our free republic. That fear of being left high and dry results in a charge of racism. But Americans, who proudly note that no one starves to death in America, nevertheless are not willing to sacrifice their own freedom to run their own lives and enjoy the fruits of their own labors. We all want to save the drowning man, but not by letting him buoy himself on our heads and drag us under until we drown. In the same way, most Americans want to see the lives of the poor improved, but not by sacrificing the blessings of liberty in their own lives. That's not racism. That's self-preservation. Most people do not want to be made helpless and dependent wards of the state. Nobody can testify to the misery of a hopeless, stagnant life more than someone mired in it. Yet their anger is misdirected. The policies that have taught them "learned helplessness" are the policies instituted to "help" them. But they are a honey trap, and really are used to control them.
I make no pretense that I have a clue what it is like to walk in the shoes of a black person in America. But there are myriad programs already in place to help at-risk youth. The problem is not a lack of programs, but a system (designed by socialists) that encourages the destruction of family life by rewarding unwed pregnancy that leads to government dependency, while men are shoved to the fringes. You cannot throw enough money or create enough programs to "fix" this problem. The solution is a simple one, at least from the standpoint of identifying it—marriage and family life have to be restored. Accomplishing it is the difficult part, and it has to be accomplished within the black community. Throwing money at the problem has only made it worse.
But if you wanted to establish a socialist society (with everyone dependent on the government) out of a free one (where people work and invent and strive for a rewarding life, and for remuneration, and direct the course of their own lives), destruction of the nuclear family is the most effective means, as can be seen within the black community, and increasingly in the Hispanic and white communities as well. Encourage sexual promiscuity by rewarding it with free federal assistance. Establish sex education in the schools to encourage youth to become sexually active, and denigrate marriage and child-rearing as demeaning to women, and invent an overpopulation problem to encourage abortion and sterilization. Encourage homosexuality as a legitimate and viable alternative lifestyle choice, and destroy the purpose, sanctity and privilege of marriage and family. Also destroy Christian faith by kicking it out of schools and forbid every public expression of it, denigrating and belittling it at every opportunity so that youth, conditioned to believe that Christian faith is a fairy tale, will choose sensuality over self-restraint, vice over virtue, and socialism over charity.
What has all this got to do with the health care reform bill? Well, the health care reform bill is the government's attempt to take over our lives—to enslave us. We will lose our independence and our health care choices. It may not all happen at once, but that is the ultimate goal, and this will be a huge leap toward the desired end. Once the government has control of the health care system, they will have control of us. For those who had nothing before, or those who have nursed their entire lives at the breast of the Fed, this would be quite desirable--just one more entitlement. But for those of us who have lived free lives, this bodes darkly. When the government picks up the tab, they dictate how every dime is spent. This is observable in education, where government dollars mean the government dictates the curriculum, and even the university mission itself; it is seen in businesses which have taken "stimulus money", where the government dictates salaries and even who gets hired and fired; it is even in the way the auto dealers computers became "Government Property" the instant they logged in to be reimbursed for the "Cash for Clunkers" program.
It will be the same with health care. Health care rationing is not a probability. It is a certainty. The government is determined to enforce it's peculiar idea of equality in health care services, and when the government tries to make things equal, the least common denominator becomes the standard for everyone (unless you're a senator or congressman, or some other wealthy elite). The quality of health care will plummet for everyone not in the select group of those exempt by virtue of status or wealth. It is inevitable. So is forced, or coerced, abortion, forced euthanasia, and denial of treatment based on "return on investment"—whether or not you will be able to be productive enough to contribute back into the system. In addition to these grim prospects, there is the issue of Christian hospitals (mostly Catholic) that will be forced to either perform procedures (such as abortion, sex reassignment, voluntary sterilizations, artificial inseminations, and so forth) that go against their religious and conscience rights, or risk incurring the wrath of the government. Many doctors and hospitals are sure to simply refuse—some doctors may end up in jail for it—others will cease to practice medicine, others, sadly, will cave to the government's demand rather than abandon a livelihood they spent 8 or more years preparing for. In the end, we will have a soulless medical system that is designed by the state to further its agenda of total control, for the maintenance of workers while they still have a productive life, and when it is determined that the life no longer promises an adequate return on investment, to terminate life-extending medical procedures. It has been practiced quietly in some places in this country already for some time. As a federalized initiative, it will become a nightmare for the elderly and disabled.
An equally dark prospect is that of punitive health care denial. Just as the IRS is sometimes used to harass political enemies of certain powerful people, one should not presume that such will not be the case when you're life is threatened by serious illness, and you've been a thorn in the side of some Leftist political ideologue. The idea isn't a new one. Health care rationing in the Soviet Union was, and in today's Cuba is, (see pages 11 and 12) often tied to political considerations rather than medical ones.
Also—not to beat a dead horse—population control is a major global objective, and though we here in the United States may feel protected by our Constitution from such measures, the Constitution is under assault and is collapsing like the Twin Towers even as we watch A new, global plan is being put into play, into which the United States is being dragged in chains, like Kunta Kinte, to the slave ship, and a life of servitude and slavery.
The American people instinctively know that a line is being crossed. They sense their peril. They also sense that the cost of federalized health care-- to them, to their posterity, to the prestige and strength of the United States itself-- as well as their personal liberty, is more than they can permit. They sense they are about to be made slaves of the state.
But, hey, at least they'll be taken care of… 
Alisa Craddock is a columnist and activist in the culture war, a convert to Catholicism, and describes herself as a Christian Libertarian. She may be contacted at alisa.craddock@hushmail.com.