Black Conservatives and Bro. Joseph C. phillips

[The Cushite]

How many of you knew that "Martin" from the Cosby Show is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha and a black conservative writer
http://www.josephcphillips.com/. Anyway, he was on a panel at The New Black Vanguard Conference II that was basically about black conservatism and it's response to black leadership. The panel came on C-span 2 today and I was amazed at how the moderator (who was black preacher named Rev. Jesse L. Peterson) was able to say some of the most outrageous, self hating garbage about black people (he actually stated that "most black folks are just immoral", and that "You can't be a Christian and vote democrat"). I just can't believe that the Heritage Foundation and the conservative movement in general give this guy credence.

Back to "Martin" er..uh, Bro. Phillips, after listening to him, I don't think that this guy is a political conservative in that he just simply holds traditional values about personal responsibility, faith and family. These are not politically conservative values. He often found himself disagreeing with the other panelists because they were actually political conservatives in that they believed that inequality is justified and is mainly caused by the immoral actions of individuals. I think that his views were along the lines that America has gone away from valuing things like family and faith and the result is we see an overall decline in the quality of life of everyone. The government is charged to "Do its duty" to protect the natural rights of citizens that have to make good (read "moral") choices in order to have better lives. This isn't political conservatism, this is more political libertarianism. Political Conservatism wants to limit government unless it rewards people for having capital, while libertarianism is more about focusing government on protecting the natural rights of people rather than giving people percieved advantages. Neither one sees the realistic possibility of nor necessity to address social inequality in a profound way.

Check out these websites of the people that were on the panel and tell me what you think of conservative thought in light of the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality for all black people.

Heritage Foundation Website: http://www.heritage.org/press/events/ev101105a.cfm

The org. founded by that 'ignant' moderator: http://www.bondinfo.org/

A black conservative blogger: http://www.lashawnbarber.com/

The (in)famous Shelby Steele: http://www.hoover.stanford.edu/bios/steele.html

Blackwatch!!!!!!