Recently a brand new Herman Cain has emerged, Dr. Ben Carson, a retired, world renown neuro-surgeon from Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Carson is one of the most respected physicians in the world and his story represents such a triumph of the American spirit that it inspired a TV movie about his life.
I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Carson's accomplishments. But as I have watched him slowly work his way into a possible Republican nomination, my respect for him as a man has begun to fade. Firstly I have a difficult time understanding how an African-American could align himself with anything that remotely resembles a conservative ideology. But I also understand why. Those who were some of the poorest among us who managed to raise themselves up, feel that if they can achieve such lofty heights, anyone can. This is the psychology behind the reasoning of those who've managed to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps".
Dr. Carson was raised by a single mother in the poorest of conditions, and he beat the odds. But his being blessed enough to achieve his goals does not mean that he is the rule. He is in fact the exception, and just because he is the acception, it does not mean that he should forget where he came from. These are just a few of his comments.
“When you rob someone of their incentive to go out there and improve themselves, you are not doing them any favors. When you take someone and pat someone on their head and say there there, you poor little thing… I am going to give you food stamps… let me give you housing subsidy… let me give you free health care… and because you cannot do that and those people over there that are causing half of problem."
And my personal favorite
"Obama Care is the worst thing to happen to this nation since slavery."
As if he never had any help, and anything is comparable to slavery!!
Dr. Carson is not the first successful African-American to succumb to Stockholm Syndrome, and unfortunately he will not be the last. Stockholm Syndrome is a legitimate psychological condition in which a hostage identifies with their captors after being held captive for a lengthy amount of time. So much so that they actually begin to take on the identity and value system of those who have damaged their psyche.
Just this morning I heard a comment that Dr. Carson made to a conservative commentator in reference to women being physically abused. According to Dr. Carson this may not actually be a problem in America at all, despite vast amounts of data that suggest the contrary.
It seems that perhaps the best thing about Ben Carson is that he is headed down the road to implosion just like Herman Cain, but where as Cain thought with the wrong head, and had bad ideas, Carson is thinking with the right head and is still having bad ideas. I hope that the next "token negro" that the Republican Party decides to prop up at least makes compelling arguments that don't sound entirely insane.
PR
