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Title: A Dream Deferred : The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America by Shelby Steele ISBN: 0-06-093104-3 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A MANIFESTO FOR ELIMINATING THE WELFARE STATE
Comment: Mr. Steele makes an eloquent case that "redemptive liberalism," designed not to actually correct problems but to assuage guilt for past sins, has not solved any of the problems of the black underclass, and in fact, is simply a form of lip service used by liberals and black power mongers. He makes clear, and argues persuasively, that "individual rights," not "group rights" are what made this country great and what the Constitution guaranteed and was designed to protect. (Readers of Ayn Rand's works will recognize the same championing of the individual and individual rights in Mr. Steele's book). I believe the depth of his arguments make a factual, logical, objective, and unemotional debate against his position extremely difficult. If a white author had written this book he or she would have be attacked, dismissed, and verbally lynched by the liberals and black power elite. Mr. Steele defines himself as a "black conservative," which most people would consider an oxymoron. The fact that he is a black man, and therefore could not possibly be considered a racist (as a white person writing exactly the same words would be) probably keeps the liberal media, liberal politicians, and the black power elite from mounting an attack on his work...which in turn simply reinforces his arguments!
I believe so strongly in the conclusions of this book that I am seriously considering sending a copy to every Senator and Congressman in the United States. It's that good and it's that important...for all of us.
Rating: 5
Summary: Powerful and nuanced essays on an important subject
Comment: "Discussions about race" is almost an oxymoron. The positions most people hold are already fixed and there isn't much of the ability to hear the other side that is required to have a true discussion. Too often we simply look for writings and speeches that support our pre-existing notions, praise them as we find them, and think to ourselves, "If only the other side would just see as clearly as I and this author do this problem would not exist!" Or we find an author with whom we disagree and attack him so fiercely because we somehow feel that if we can debase the author we can debase the view with which we disagree.
Shelby Steele has been misused in both those ways. He has chosen a hard road because he writes sincere, thoughtful, and passionate essays that do not merely support or oppose widely held beliefs. Yes, he is attacked as if he were merely a water carrier for the GOP or praised as if all he were about were attacking affirmative action. He is far more subtle than this! Please take the time to read him carefully because there is so much more to gain from his writing, whether or not you end up agreeing with him.
This book consists of one very long and three shorter essays. I hate to summarize the ideas in the essay because they are more thoughtful than any summary I can give and the mere mention of the subjects involved will likely provoke a polarized response to a position already held. What I will say is that if you force yourself to put aside your already firmly held views ad read these wonderful essays with an open mind, you can find insights that can move you to new thinking and attitudes.
The best advice I can give you is to look for how he is challenging your presently held views rather than only noticing how he is challenging those with whom you already disagree. No matter which part of the political spectrum you currently inhabit, you will find a great deal of challenging and edifying writing here that will provide very nutritious food for thought on this important and sadly painful topic.
Rating: 4
Summary: Read this book - a great way to celebrate ML King Day
Comment: "A Dream Deferred" is imperative reading for anyone wrestling with the issue of the justice of racial preferences. While Steele believes that racial preferences defy the best democratic principles of our country, this book reaches more profoundly than that argument. Steele offers a powerful analysis of why racial politics remain so compelling, even as their practical effect is to work against their purported goal of freedom and equality. He argues that today's racial politics are the product of a "redemptive liberalism" born in the 1960's out of white America's newfound shame and desperate need to expiate it. This redemptive liberalism kindled a "grievance elite", with whom they struck the bargain of racial preferences, simultaneously providing redemption (largely symbolic) for white America and power (largely symbolic) for the grievance elite. Unfortunately, the policies arising from this bargain are necessarily iconographic rather than truly effective. Worse than that, the dynamics of the resulting racial politics put the appearance of racial virtue at such a premium that principles are sacrificed (the very principles that could foster an actual solution), and critics are a priori denied any moral authority to criticize. Groups formed to address once-legitimate grievances too easily become institutions whose continued self-interest depends on suppressing their members as individuals, and in perpetuating the grievances they are meant to address. Along the way, Steele suggests some interesting parallels to the rise of Soviet communism and Nazi Germany, and makes some interesting distinctions between FDR-style liberal politics and post-sixties liberal politics. He ultimately broadens his analysis to find that the success of racial identity politics has inspired the spread of a whole market in redemption for any group that can claim to be aggrieved. This enlightening diagnosis rings all too true.
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Title: The Content of Our Character : A New Vision of Race In America by Shelby Steele ISBN: 006097415X Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 September, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Authentically Black: Essays for the Black Silent Majority by John H. McWhorter ISBN: 1592400019 Publisher: Gotham Books Pub. Date: 27 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America by John McWhorter ISBN: 0060935936 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning by Abigail Thernstrom, Stephan Thernstrom ISBN: 0743204468 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Creating Equal : My Fight Against Race Preferences by Ward Connerly ISBN: 189355404X Publisher: Encounter Books Pub. Date: 15 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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