Race Is Something That We Have No Control Over; But Somehow It Defines Who We Are. Let's Look Into This A Little More Closely...

Democracy on his mind - News

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"Widely known as one of America's most eloquent philosophers and authors, Cornel West delivers his lecture, "Democracy Matters," tonight at 7 in the Special Events Center."

-Absolutely fantastic...I couldn't have pictured my tuition being spent any better than to bring Cornel West to USF; a man who promotes such evils as racism and socialism and who assaults pregnant school teachers (I know he was young when he did it, but I must admit that it felt good throwing in a low blow). I'm so glad that USF properly allocates the students' funds to bring such wonderful speakers to our campus.

"West, a professor of religion at Princeton University, is often regarded as a gifted and provocative public intellectual. His writing, teaching and lectures explore the African American traditions of the baptist church, transcendentalism, socialism and pragmatism. He gained national recognition for his best-selling work Race Matters, which explores the ongoing struggle for racial equality in America and the progression of democracy."

-Is it still considered morally acceptable if 99% of the population democratically choose to enslave the other 1%? "His writing, teaching and lectures explore the African American traditions of the baptist church, transcendentalism, socialism and pragmatism."...are those just African-American traditions, or do other races (because whatever you choose to follow depends on what color your skin is) engage in those activities as well? Does race have anything to do with value systems or personal views on certain issues? It doesn't, and it amazes me (well not really, look at who we're talking about) that Cornel West would support such a primitive method of "rationalization". What about an interracial (we'll use Caucasion and African-American as examples) child? Does he/she only have one-half of these narrow-minded views already programmed into his/her head? Does he/she act half "white"? If she has a child later in life will the child act one-fourth "black"? It's ridiculous. How do you act "black"? How do you act "white"? Since Cornel West thinks that race defines who someone is before they act, he would have to accept my example as practical. However, if you are a rational individual you will notice that it is flawed; people aren't any more or less valuable because of their skin color. Are we going to have to inter-breed until we are all the same race?

"In the hip-hop world, where not many professors or philosophers dare venture, West is an exception.

He is an avid supporter of positive hip-hop music. "West believes music is a way of communicating... hip-hop is not to be disregarded," said Sam Wright, the faculty adviser of the Black Emphasis Month Committee."

-This doesn't suprise me at all. What is "...positive hip-hop music"? I have never, in my entire life, heard a "hip-hop" song that has not degraded women, preached violence, or encouraged the use or selling of drugs. When I hear a rapper come out with a single called "John Galt's Blues" or something of the like, I might consider that "positive", but until then...

"Although his admirers have declared him an intellectual prophet because of the 16 scholarly books he's published, because Harvard elevated him to the highest scholarly distinction, his dissenters criticize his eccentricity and involvement in pop culture."

-You are not an "intellectual prophet" because of how many books your publish. The content in your books is what matters, not how many publications you have. And since one of his most famous books, Race Matters, is obviously not for the acknowledgment of the individual, his content can't be that good.

"As a long time member of the Democratic Socialists of America, West serves as an honorary chairman. He has worked with many political and social organizations, such as co-chairing the National Parenting Organization's Task Force on Parent Empowerment. West was a panelist in President Clinton's National Conversation on Race and was a member of Al Sharpton's presidential exploratory committee.

West has received several awards for his writing and been given more than 20 honorary degrees. He earned his bachelor's from Harvard University and his master's and doctorate from Princeton University."

-"As a long time member of the Democratic Socialists of America, West serves as an honorary chairman." That makes complete sense. However...SOCIALISM DOES NOT WORK. Ayn Rand once said that "When you consider socialism, do not fool yourself about its nature. Remember that there is no such dichotomy as 'human rights' versus 'property rights.' No human rights can exist without property rights. Since material goods are produced by the mind and effort of individual men, and are needed to sustain their lives, if the producer does not own the result of his effort, he does not own his life. To deny property rights means to turn men into property owned by the state. Whoever claims the 'right' to 'redistribute' the wealth produced by others is claiming the 'right' to treat human beings as chattel." Which makes so much more sense than to give up your life to a collective government. If you (the reader) are still questioning whether or not socialism is as blatant as a failure and as evil as I portray it to be, I advise you to watch this video.