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Uncle Tom: An Oral History of the American Black Conservative 

Release Date: June 19, 2020

Directed by Justin Malone

Written by Ryder Ansell, Larry Elder, and Justin Malone

Available on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime

“If you don’t vote for me, you ain’t Black,” Biden famously said in an interview with radio host Charlamagne Tha God prior to the election.

That represents the view that most liberals and the mainstream media have of Black and Hispanic Americans: The Democratic Party, and only the Democratic Party, represents them.

But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, for most of our country’s history, the Republican Party was the one that was supportive of African Americans. It was the party that brought about abolition, fought against Jim Crow, and established the policies that advanced African Americans economically to a degree that was unthinkable 50 years earlier.

That all changed with Lyndon Johnson and The War on Poverty, and then later with The War on Drugs. Those two Democrat-led initiatives destroyed the Black nuclear family and set in motion a culture of victimhood that is, today, the single biggest threat to the advancement of Black and Hispanic progress in the US.

At least that’s the view of the Black conservatives profiled in this very watchable documentary.

Uncle Tom isn’t a film that attempts to prove this thesis or even debate it. Its purpose is to introduce some of the prominent Black conservatives that are trying to bring Black voters back to the Republican Party, and the Republican Party back to Black voters.

You can watch the trailer here.

And you can watch the entire documentary here.

Worth Reading

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The Everyday Patriot: How to Be a Great American Now 

By Tom Morris

138 pages

Published June 29, 2022

This was one of two books the Mules read in September. It’s short. A quick read. And it’s well intentioned. If you are in the mood for a temporary lift in your political or social outlook, this could do the trick. But if you’re looking for something more substantial, you won’t find it here.

The Everyday Patriot is a call to action. Morris is calling on his fellow Americans to do more than simply vote and have political opinions. He wants them to join him and other “daily patriots” – even those with different views – in making America a better place for all. The way you do that he says, is through one thoughtful action at a time.

Morris believes that a citizen’s political duty goes beyond voting and having political opinions. It includes acts of charity or good will every day. If everybody pitched in and did one thing every day, it would make America a better place to live in.

Noting that we are living in a politically and socially divisive country, he calls upon us to reject negativity and embrace the core principals of the founding fathers: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… plus equality and justice for all.

A chapter is devoted to defining these terms as they were meant in the Declaration of Independence. He also dips into Aristotle quite a bit, who, he argues, inspired the ideas of the founding fathers.

On the one hand, Morris’s call to action is difficult to criticize. He’s saying, “Come on guys. We’re all Americans. Let’s stop the hating and start being nice to one another.” On the other hand, one can imagine how well this would work in the middle of a riot in Times Square, which is about the actual state of things in America today.

Fun and/or Interesting

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Do you know the difference between a trademark, copyright, and patent? Did you know that it is possible to get a trademark for a color? Check out this fascinating article from The Hustle here.

 

Readers Write

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Re my essay about owning a piano in the Oct. 4 issue 

“We have pianos in both our homes, too, for about the same reason as you do…. Two other items come to mind when I think about what used to make a house a home. The Encyclopedia Britannica and a globe. Later came the NYPL Desk Reference, but that was on the eve of the internet.” – SL

My Response: Yes, you are SO right. We had no money, but we had the hardcovered books and the Britannica and the globe. These were prestige items for anyone that wanted to be seen as well educated in the very suburban communities of Long Island, NY.

You couldn’t tell at arm’s length, but our globe was made of cardboard. But because it was so nicely made, in three dimensions and with all the colors one could imagine, it looked expensive, like an expensive heirloom.

Because of its size (I think there were 24 volumes in the set) and the leather binding, the EB was very expensive. I think my dad bought it on some kind of payment plan. I used it exclusively in college. Thanks for the reminder!

Re my brief about self-checkout machines in the Sept. 30 issue 

“Based on your experience, I think you’ll like this. Click here.” – JD

Postscript

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An edifying example of the range of music that derives from what one musician calls “the two-beat groove”…

Watch it here.

 

Tuesday, October 4, 2022, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina


Notes From My Journal

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Why You Should Have a Piano

When I was growing up, a big house with a Cadillac in the driveway was the ultimate status symbol. Inside the house, it was a living room that no one ever sat in, with a grand piano in the corner.

We Fords lived in a small, dilapidated house with a rusted station wagon in the driveway. The only status symbols we had were books – handsome hardbound books piled everywhere, including a stack that served as a leg of the dining room table.

We never had a piano. But I wanted one. Not so much to play as to have. I needed the sort of validation it offered. And so, I was determined to get one… one day.

That day arrived in the mid 1980s. I’d become a junior partner in the publishing company I worked for, and K and I had just moved into the house of our dreams. A house with a nice-sized living room that could accommodate a medium-sized grand piano. (And that same piano sits in our “music room” today.)

But having a piano wasn’t enough in my mind. I wanted it to be played. Not by K or by me, necessarily, but by someone.

My siblings and I were required to play musical instruments when we were in grade school. One of the girls played the flute. Another, the clarinet. My brother Andrew played the trumpet, which I thought was cool, almost as cool as the drums. I was hoping to play the drums. But when it came time for Sister Christine to assign me an instrument, the only thing left was a French horn. Not cool. But still…

So, K and I continued this tradition by having our kids take piano lessons when they were young. Two of them gave up on their instruments as soon as they were allowed. One became good enough to be accepted into NYU’s music department and then get a job in LA as a composer and arranger of music. When he and his family are in town for a visit, it’s a pleasure to see him, late at night, creating music on that old piano.

The piano still plays remarkably well. But it has lost some of its prestige since I bought it 40 years ago. Pianos are no longer de rigueur symbols of financial success. On the contrary, it’s rare to see one in a million-dollar home. You’re much more likely to see a 100-inch TV.

At its peak, there were more than 100 piano manufacturers making hundreds of pianos every day in the United States. Today, there are only two: Steinway and Mason & Hamlin.

In a recent issue of The Hustle, Zachary Crockett had an essay titled “How one of America’s last piano manufacturers stays alive.” It’s a fascinating story. Much more about economic and cultural changes in America than you might think. Read it here.

Worth Quoting

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“Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.” – Tom Lehrer

News & Views

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Are You in Favor of Reparations?

Then Prove It. Start Reparating Now.

As for Me… No, I Don’t Think So. I’m Irish!

Libby, my affluent, NYT-reading neighbor, is a huge fan of Ibram X. Kendi, whose bestseller, How to Be Anti-Racist, opened her eyes to systemic racism, just as Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility opened her eyes to white privilege.

Limo Lou says, “What white privilege? I earned everything I got.”

“Your privilege is your white skin,” Libby says. “White men kidnapped Black Africans and brought them here as slaves.”

“I didn’t kidnap nobody,” Limo Lou says.

“It was your ancestors,” Libby counters. “And your ancestors, too,” she says, looking at me.

Libby is wrong. My ancestors were white. But they never enslaved Black people. Or people of any hue, as far as I know. Most came to the US from Ireland, after the Civil War. One, according to family lore, came in the early 19th century as an indentured servant. (The story is that indentured servants were transported in the bowels of the ship, not on top, because, having limited terms of indenture, they were less valuable than slaves.)

Libby feels guilty about her ancestors’ role in slavery. That’s understandable. If I had great grandparents that trafficked in or used slaves, I’d probably feel guilty, too. What I don’t understand is why Libby is spending time trying to convince others that they should vote for reparations, when she could be doing it, with her own money, right away.

As for me, I’m Irish. And the Irish are a very guilty people. But one thing we don’t have to feel guilty about is our ancestors’ role in the African slave trade.

NFT Update 

In the April 25 issue, I quoted Jonathan Perkins, cofounder of the NFT platform SuperRare, as saying this about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as an investment: “There has been a lot of experimentation in the space, and I think we’re running up against the boundaries of speculation.”

Well… here we are. In what could be the fastest financial bubble to inflate and burst in history, the NFT market, which was exploding a year ago, is now imploding. In January, $17.2 billion worth of NFTs were traded. In September, it was down to $466 million. That’s a percentage loss of 97% and a drop in market value of more than $2 trillion.

Fake News of the Week… or Not? 

I was suspicious of the story when I read the headline:

Rising Artist Kahlil Robert Irving Files Complaint Against Chelsea’s High Line Hotel, Alleging Racial Discrimination 

“Is this another Jussie Smollett story?” I wondered. “A bogus complaint by a Black artist hoping to get his name out there by making false charges?”

 

But then I read it… and now I’m not sure. What do you think? Click here.

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Wealth Building Advice for Copywriters (or Anyone Else) 

Here’s a short interview I did recently with Jade Trueblood, the Director of Training at American Writers & Artists Institute. In introducing it, she said that though my advice was geared towards copywriters, it was SO GOOD that she thought it was applicable to anyone. Click here.

Worth Considering

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Politics vs. Science 

Question: Which country has reduced CO2 emissions by the greatest number of total tons in the last 15 years?

Answer: The USA.

Question: Do scientists universally agree that “gender-affirming care” does more good than harm? Is it a “settled science”?

Answer: Of course not. There is no such thing as settled science. There are hypotheses that are widely accepted by scientists until disproven (e.g., the sun revolves around the earth). And there are statements that, though ipso facto absurd, are not questioned because of political pressure.

Click here to watch Ted Cruz getting non-answers to such questions from a senior Biden appointee.

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