Discussion on Barak Obama's church

1. Barak's church's 12-point Black Value system:

1. Commitment to God

2 Commitment to the Black Community

3 Commitment to the Black Family

4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education

5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence

6 Adherence to the Black Work Ethic

7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect

8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of "Middleclassness"

9. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community

10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions

11. Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System

12. Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System.


2. Cheerful Iconoclast says: (I Substituted Black for White) ... other aspects of this creed are quite troublesome. The commitment to the (Black) Community implies that one is less committed to other communities -- Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. The commitment to the "(Black) Family" implies that the families of other racial groups are somehow less worthy. And how exactly does the "(Black) work ethic" differ from the plain old "work ethic"? The bit about pledging allegiance to (Black) leaders who embrace the (Black) Value System seems almost like a fascist "leader principle."

3. To that I say -- Hey, Cheerful, I don't agree with this, despite (sort of) getting your point: ...other aspects of this creed are quite troublesome. The commitment to the Black Community implies that one is less committed to other communities...

Black and Hispanic communities (especially children) desperately need successful Black and Hispanic role models to actively give back, participate and be committed to helping the rest of their specific community.

It's a bit naive (and not helpful today at least) to expect minorities to play by the same rules as the non-minorities.

J. Allen