National Conservatism and Race in America

[Kamaji]

National Conservatism and Race in America

Renewal is only possible if all conservatives insist that America has one civic culture, not many.

Andre Archie
Sep 23, 2022

With the third National Conservatism Conference (NatCon3) recently concluded, now is a chance for conservatives of all stripes to consider the perspective national conservatives take towards race and racial issues. All conservatives rightly lament the ongoing leftward political drift American culture is undergoing. What seems to be missing from most conservative discussions today, however, is a sense of urgency in pursuit of American cultural renewal. National conservatives are filling this void.

I was a part of a panel discussion on race at NatCon3. The panel consisted of a variety of distinguished intellectuals and journalists who are making a difference in their communities and areas of expertise as it relates to race in America today. Despite differences in our personal narratives, we were all in agreement that the ideas of agency and color-blindness need to be embraced in America now more than ever. Over the past three decades, the conceptual frameworks in which race has been discussed—multiculturalism, critical race theory, or wokeism—have steadily challenged just those ideas of individual agency and color-blindness.

To be color-blind is to hold the belief that the mere possession of hereditary qualities, such as race, does not confer or withhold moral merit. The political virtue of color-blindness is that it complements individual agency and responsibility. Civil Rights leaders understood the transformative power of personal agency and responsibility and that color-blind principles complement both. The left, however, equates color-blindness with a type of racism. This is a pernicious development, and portends a dim future for the United States if left unchecked.

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Most African Americans are hardworking, committed to fair play, and deeply rooted in the spirit of 1776 and 1863. As an African American, to see my community portrayed as perpetual foes of traditional American beliefs and practices by elites, black and white, is painful. What makes this racial dynamic so insidious is that it creates bewildered feelings in all Americans. To notice that a significant number of black and white elites seem opposed to traditional American values is frowned upon in polite circles. Such feelings inevitably lead to resentment, guilt, and paralysis. Conservative African Americans who notice are quickly marginalized and treated harshly. All the while, American history continues to get revised, statues get taken down, and children continue to get segregated based on their perceived “privilege.”

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Source:  https://www.theamericanconservative.com/national-conservatism-and-race-in-america/

[DefiantMassRINO]

Conservatism needs to be color blind to be moral.

The Dems have failed to improved the quality of life and opportunity for all members of communities of color during the past 50 years.  The Dems' policies have been harmful to or neglectful towards these communities.

Many new immigrants are culturally conservative and economically conservative.  But, they are actively recruited by Dems as voters.  GOP needs to improve community outreach to those who share common values.

[Fishrrman]

RINO asserts:
"Conservatism needs to be color blind to be moral."

Regardless of what conservatives are (or pretend to be), the paradigm of "a color blind" American society has been shattered.

It no longer exists, and it will never return.
Wherever we go from where we are today, we must accept this reality.

The article itself proffers:
"Renewal is only possible if all conservatives insist that America has one civic culture, not many"

Also impossible.
Who will be the first to claim that blacks can be persuaded by whites to abandon "black culture" and submit to "white culture"?