It's not surprising that black Americans were once Republicans — the party of Lincoln and the abolition of slavery, after all — but for more than half a century, blacks have voted roughly 90 percent for the Democrats in every election. Moreover, as one black author and lecturer laments, “The Democrats try to guilt us into voting.”
“Heavy emotions”
The man in question, Leron L. Burton, wrote in Newsweek magazine:
How many African Americans have heard it before: “If you don't vote, your ancestors' fight is in vain” or “If you don't vote Democrat, you're letting the racists win”? It's a message that has been echoed in our communities for years. But it's a problematic kind of message. It's empty and emotional. It's a talking point to shame, not to inform.
… When I turned 18, voting was expected, not encouraged. I remember voter outreach was about informing people about how these laws and legislation would affect you. Campaigners and politicians didn't use rappers or actors to reach out to black people. They didn't say, “Your ancestors will be ashamed of you if you don't vote,” but they motivate us with data and facts. Somehow, all that has changed.
I saw this change during George Bush's second term as a presidential candidate. I watched and heard the outreach to African-American men and women change from providing reasons why they should vote Democrat to “Republicans are going to ruin this country. Black people must vote Democrat.” The message I got was that those who don't participate in the electoral process are worse than those who vote Republican.
Burton gives many other examples, and he, too, gives us a lot of information to interpret.
A new phenomenon?
First, based on other information he provided, it appears that Barton came from a family that valued civics education, but it's possible that he projects his own views onto others and idealizes the past.
Our political debate has certainly deteriorated, but when was the last time Democrats “motivated us with data and facts”? Certainly not when Democratic President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said in the 1960s, “I'm going to get those black people to vote Democrat for 200 years.” He was talking about buying votes with big government policies.
That wasn't the case in 1987 when Democratic presidential candidate and activist Jesse Jackson led a march at Stanford University chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Western civilization must go.” He was an emotional demagogue.
It’s worth noting here that Burton just turned 46 (Happy birthday, my friend!), meaning he was a kid in the ’80s and ’90s, and even though I’m older than him and have a kind of photographic memory, I can’t recall these data- and fact-based Democratic appeals.
Not just black people
Moreover, while Burton correctly points out that incitement is getting worse, it's not just the black community that's being targeted. This is a societal problem. This week, commentator Bill O'Reilly noted that a recent appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was notable because it goes against today's conventional wisdom that the left simply rejects conservative guests. They've stopped trying to change people's minds with debate, and instead resort to censorship and manipulating people's minds with trickery and anger.
This is the primary tactic we see from the left today, and it can best be described as bullying. The name-calling becomes increasingly vicious, with derogatory terms like “racist,” “fascist,” “Nazi,” “Hitler,” “white supremacist,” “threat to democracy” and more being hurled constantly, all in the tone of a politically minded, anti-social 13-year-old school bully.
Then there's the issue of “if you don't vote, your ancestors fought for nothing.” In reality, we all had ancestors who “fought” for the right to vote, because almost no one in history was able to vote. But the truth is:
If you voted uninformed, your ancestors fought in vain.
In fact, most voters shouldn't vote at all. As I explained in 2008:
Most of us agree that an educated citizen is a prerequisite for a healthy democratic republic. We also know that not everyone is well educated. Therefore, it is not a good thing for everyone to vote.
… You don't have to be disillusioned with universal suffrage to agree with that. One person, one vote and one person, one vote are two very different things. And yet we still hear that it is a “civic duty” to go to the polls. No, in fact, it is a civic duty to be worthy enough to go to the polls.
This “vote first, ask questions later” idea reaches the very depths of stupidity when it appears in get-out-the-vote campaigns, which can be defined as stupid efforts to get votes disguised as a noble exercise in democracy. But whether the appeal to vote is organized or accidental, I will always say the same thing: if people do not have the initiative to go and vote without being prompted, then they do not have the greater initiative necessary to inform themselves on the issues, and therefore they should not vote.
… This is not a trivial issue. People don't vote for the same reasons they don't fix cars, fly planes, or perform brain surgery.
They're not interested in that sort of thing.
This is important because, “generally speaking, interest is a prerequisite for ability,” I continued.
In reality, we don't take voting seriously. It's like saying “if everyone flies jumbo jets, air travel will somehow be better” or “if everyone has brain surgery, healthcare will somehow be better.” Why? Well… participation is the answer!
Anyone can participate, but only smart, informed voters can be sure they are not helping to destroy their country. So, “First, do no harm.”
