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Name: Pastor Ray
Location: Merrillville, IN
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Democrats Best at Fear Mongering

Posted by Pastor Ray on Friday, September 19, 2008 1:00:00 AM
The Democratic Party in the United States has for the last several years has accused conservatives of “playing to the fears” of Americans in reference to the Republican stand on the terrorism threat. Democrats say this as if we should not be overly concerned with fundamental zealots whose desire to destroy our way of life is well documented. The Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is on record as saying that he would meet with our enemies “without condition”. Recently, Senator Obama has retreated from that stance to say that there would have to be some conditions met before loose cannons like the current President of Iran would get a sit down with Obama.

Perhaps Senator Obama’s change of heart is genuine, but more likely he has been made aware just how dangerous the world in which we live really is. It is not fear mongering to report that we live in a volatile world, with some countries led by unstable leaders and/or governments. To inform people of this is simply being honest. Republicans have been historically bad at drawing this simple distinction in the media.

So who is really better at pandering fear? It is the party that says be afraid of those who tell you that the world is still a dangerous place, that there are still dangerous people in places of great power, who want to commit violent acts in order to destroy your way of life. The Democrats want you to be afraid of Republicans because Republicans are not so trusting as to believe that a despot can change his manner overnight, or because he now wears a suit and tie. As President Ronald Reagan used to say, “Trust but verify”. This has to be the mantra of any responsible government in the United States.

In addition, the Democrats want you to fear your own success or potential for success. They do not want you to apply your skills to improving your own life. They wish to do it for you. They want you to fear the future if you make your own decisions and set your own direction in life. Why is this? Simply because once you tap your potential by taking control of your own destiny, you will never fall for the idea that government can do a better job at managing your life and the future of your family better than you manage. You become, in a sense, dangerous to those who make their living off increasing your taxes, promoting class warfare, and limiting your opportunity for self-determination by convincing you that you are a victim of some masterful, yet evil plan for your destruction.

I suggest that you need not be afraid to control your destiny by the grace and gifts given to you by Almighty God. If you want to succeed, stop fearing your own ability to create success from the opportunities before you. This is still the greatest country on earth in reference to opportunity for success. Do not be afraid to go back to school, not matter how long you have been away from organized learning. Do not fear the opportunity to expand your knowledge of your profession or begin some entrepreneurial enterprise that would fulfill your life’s dream or ambition. You and I don’t need more government telling us how to live and succeed, we just need more courage to do s
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School Choice: Should Parents Determine Their Children's Educational Path?

Posted by Pastor Ray on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:00:00 AM
Not much seems to raise the ire of our current public school system more than the two simple words “school choice”. This is primarily because these words represent a shift in thinking, which public schools do not seem to want. As long as the approach is unchanged, public schools may continue to fail, spend our tax dollars as they please with little or no accountability. Evidence suggests that the status quo of urban education condemns many of our children to a life of poverty or incarceration.

When President Bush suggested the No Child Left Behind Act, which required that public schools produce positive results for the investment made, he was vilified. Met with tremendous resistance from the public education community, this legislation stated, in effect, that all children deserved a chance at a quality education. This legislation was not perfect by any means, but it was important because it brought a new challenge to public education, especially in economically challenged communities.

It is time for us to face two important realities. First, we must accept that quality education is one of the best weapons against entrenched poverty, and then we should agree that parents should have the authority over their own children’s educational path. The first assertion is something upon which most of us agree, liberal or conservative, black, brown or white. Yet it is the latter idea that seems to generate the most angst because it squarely places the responsibility of a child’s future upon the parent. Many who support public education suggest that children will fail because parents, especially those in economically challenged communities, may not be able to navigate successfully the educational system to the benefit of their children.

However, right here in Gary, IN the evidence would suggest different. A thriving charter school community is presenting a serious challenge to the theory that people in urban centers with high poverty and unemployment; are not concerned with their children’s education. In fact, while driving by one of the new charter schools, I saw parents happily pick up their children and children joyfully engaging their parents in conversation. This by no means is scientific data for the support of school choice and I am sure this occurs in public schools as well, but the recent achievement of these charter schools in standardized testing suggests they offer quality educational options.

Obviously, the success of educating our children involves more than the school. Truly, we must have parental involvement throughout the process. Nevertheless, the expression of the liberty for parents to choose where to educate their children is necessary, especially in communities with entrenched and cyclic poverty. The notion of school choice or vouchers is one that many local political leaders reject as unattainable and destructive to public schools. Based on the Democratic Party’s long standing resistance to school vouchers or school choice, one can conclude their belief is that parents should not decide the educational fate of their own children. Instead, they offer misguided solutions that often trap children in a lifetime of victimization, complete with ready-made excuses for failure.

If we are going to spend tax dollars on educating our young, then it requires us to receive the most return on such an investment. Each parent deserves the fundamental right to invest his or her own tax dollars in a public, charter or private educational institution for the benefit of his or her own child. Forcing economically challenged parents to send their children to failing schools is a sentence to poverty for children and the community.
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Brother Can You Spare Some Change?

Posted by Pastor Ray on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 4:00:00 AM

It is clear that American politics has been for some time now the theater of the ridiculous.  Confronted with the ubiquitous media frenzy surrounding each election cycle, we as voters have the arduous task of trying to decide for whom to vote.  Yet one theme is common in all elections – change.  We love to hear that word.  Notice the excitement and passion that elevates in you when you hear someone seeking your vote for public office promise you change.  We are enamored with the concept of change.  Every challenger says we need change, although all he or she intends to change is the nameplate on the office door.  Sometimes we do not even need or want change, but it is like the security blanket we have grown fond of over the years.

Why is the American body politic so obsessed with change?  My thought is that we are so accustomed to being spoiled by our political leaders that we expect them to really improve our lot in life.  After all, we seem to prefer caterers not problem solvers.  Many of us believe our government is established to “make things better” for us.  Never mind the fact that I did not finish my education, quit every job that I had because the “boss did not like me”, decided to be a recreational drug user, engaged in sexual promiscuity, and feel like I am “owed” something because of the suffering my forefathers endured in an America very different than today; I want my elected officials to improve my life.    Have we become a nation of people dedicated and committed to having someone else be responsible for our improvement?  If that is the case, at least we could give these elected folks a bit more with which they can work their change magic. 

I happen to think that real positive change only comes when you and I decide that we are not satisfied with the decisions we have made and determine to alleviate the consequences by applying a different set of decision-making criteria.  For example, at this point in my life, having lived through the disco revolution, and the rise, fall and subsequent rise again of the Afro; I decided to go back to college.  I needed change, not just change that I could believe in, but also change that by the grace of the Almighty I could make happen.  I did not call my government to see what their contribution to my effort would be, nor did I expect a check saying, “Hey, let us pay”.  I expected to study hard, save my money, change my spending habits to accommodate my goal, and then reap the reward of my endeavors. 

That is not to say that every person will have the same level of success.  It simply means that for real change to occur in America we must all aspire to the same level of effort.  We must stop coddling those who fail to try, and help those who extend themselves beyond their limitations, refusing to release their dreams to the sea of self-pity.  As Jack Nicholson said, “we can’t handle the truth”.  Is life tough? Yes.  Is it sometimes unfair? Yes.  However, it is equally affirmative that this country offers more opportunity to all people than any in the world.  If we cannot succeed at trying, then we will certainly fail at succeeding.  Let us refrain from blaming others for our failures in order to perpetuate their guilt and begin to build solid futures by harvesting our own untapped potential.  Perhaps we all can believe in that change.

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Confessions of a Sellout

Posted by Pastor Ray on Sunday, June 01, 2008 12:00:00 AM
The informal definition of sellout on http://www.dictionary.com/ is “a person who betrays a cause, organization, or the like; traitor”, and “a person who compromises his or her personal values, integrity, talent, or the like, for money or personal advancement.” I was shocked to learn that in certain circles among my own people and culture, because of my written opinion of the controversy surrounding Sen. Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, I am a “sellout”. I must say that though I knew that any opinion that did not promote the victimization of black people, and actually put forth some logical thought as to a possible reason for Dr. Wright’s comments, would not be welcome among those who make their living off the hurt of those they claim to represent.

Since the time that my comments were printed, I have had opportunity to reason that perhaps shock should not have been my first response to the label of sellout. In fact, a more reasoned and logical response would be sadness. I have become sad by what inevitably continues to be the ruin of honest and perhaps logical debate in the black community, our emotion. All too often, we assume the emotional response without clearly seeing how that response affects our hopes in the end. It is true that emotion is one of the gems of being human, but it can also be an albatross when it interferes with clear thinking. Just ask any person who has followed their heart into a love relationship, while their head pointed out the obvious red flags. My concern is that many of my people have embraced the role of victim because it is an emotionally satisfying position. As a victim, one can always look for someone else to rescue or come to the aid of the cause, while we tend to expect little of the victims in uplifting themselves.

If I am to be a sellout, I should perhaps begin to share that to which I am sold out. As a Black man, I am unconditionally sold out to the uplift of all people, regardless of their skin color. That being said, I do see the lion’s share of my efforts being spent among my own community as I try to convince my brothers and sisters not to live as victims of this society, but as those who take advantage of the tremendous opportunities for advancement not available to our fore parents, and for which they shed their blood. It is to this end I am committed; the injection of reason into the argument of race relations in America. Apparently, this is offensive to those who seem to have no real desire to solve our problems and foster understanding between all people of goodwill. Instead, they find some twisted honor in attacking the character and legitimacy of those who fail to share their beliefs. As evidence, I offer the castigation of Bill Cosby by Professor Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, who lambasted Dr. Cosby for saying there were some problems we need to address in the black community before we start blaming whites for all of our problems. Again, this type of thinking by a professional intellectual as Dr. Dyson amazes me because it assumes the victim mantle proudly, which is his right, but it also refutes as illegitimate any who disagree.

Furthermore, I confess to selling out to the day when we as black people begin to use the power of our vote to advance an agenda that actually benefits us. This is a lesson that seems easy for some groups to embrace for other ethnic groups, but difficult for those of us who use our heart to determine what to do with our vote. This all too often is nothing at all. The election of the next president serves as example to this painful reality. Moved by the emotional appeal of Senator Barack Obama is where I find myself because of the tremendous sense of history and pride for all Black Americans. The opportunity for my children to connect to the President on a new level is not lost on me. Yet when I examine the policies of Senator Obama, the reality is that many of his proposals will not bring the uplift needed for black Americans, especially those in economically challenged areas. For example, Senator Obama is opposed to school choice for parents. This means that parents who are unable or cannot afford to move from communities with failing public schools have the unfortunate and often catastrophic choice of sending their children to chronically underperforming schools. In Gary, this means that there are very few options for parents, yet Senator Obama’s position page on education mentions nothing about opening up choice for parents like those in Gary. In fact, most of his proposals concerning education require additional government spending on education. In addition, to those who believe money is the problem with schools in economically challenged areas, the fact is that in 2005 Gary(Indiana) Community School Corporation spent $2000.00 more than the state average per student in operational costs. (Source: www.schooldatadirect.org)

In addition, I am sold out to using the pulpit for the express purpose of preaching a gospel that does not poke fun or ridicule those who may have different political or social ideas than me. The recent comments by St. Sabina Catholic Church pastor Father Michael Pfleger have cast a dark shadow over the role of religion in discussing social policy. If the best we can do with our preaching is mock candidates that we do not support, then perhaps it would be best to remain silent. The honest discussion of the positions candidates have publically declared is helpful and informative, but insensitive personal attacks belittle the high calling of the ministry. Rather than encourage people to take advantage of opportunity, Father Pfleger bought into the victim mantra and oiled the machine that maintains the pain of a people needing to embrace freedom.

Finally, I will proudly wear the label of sellout if it means that I am committed to introducing and maintaining critical thinking as an element of uplifting people. This not only applies to black people, but all of God’s children. If we are truly to explore issues of race in America, then fellowship of all humankind must be our ultimate goal. This is the goal to which Dr. King was committed and for which he gave his life. Those of us left to uphold this honored legacy must refrain from labels such as “sellout”, “Uncle Tom” and “oreo” in reference to those whose real desire is to see all advance to their full God-given potential.
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