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Urban America does not need a political party. For decades, we were told that if we only had the right political savior, our problems would be solved. But no one is coming.
What Urban America needs are principles: the timeless, universal values of faith, family, agency, ownership, discipline, safety and accountability.
We don’t need any more of this Republican vs. Democrat talk. We’ve done it to death, and we cannot afford to succumb to false promises any longer — not when our communities have only worsened. A man once told me that progress can only happen the moment we stop lying to ourselves. It is far easier to believe in false promises than to look at the cold reality of where most of urban America, including my South Side Chicago neighborhood, stands — at the bottom of the American totem pole.
In my Walk Across America, which is now taking me through the Cotton Belt in the Deep South, I have seen many urban communities. In far too many of these areas, I’ve met people whose dreams have been dimmed by a cycle of government dependency that saps dignity and stifles growth. These people have been cut off from the greatness of America.
We don’t need any more of this Republican vs. Democrat talk. What Urban America needs are principles: the timeless, universal values of faith, family, agency, ownership, discipline, safety and accountability.
That is why I’ve come to believe that what Urban America needs most are American principles. Those principles do not belong to any political party. They are universal and timeless. They are why people from all over the world want to come here.
The greatest sin is that we who live in Urban America have allowed ourselves to be separated from these principles. We have sold ourselves short by embracing inferior ideologies. How can anything grounded solely in race lift us up? But the principles of individualism — from accountability to responsibility — can do wonders for developing one’s talents and capabilities.
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Many Urban American neighborhoods rank at the bottom in statistics when it comes to education, violence and two-parent families. We don’t even go to church that often, which is very telling in itself. The only way out is development grounded in American principles.
Our Johnny, at his core, is no different than suburban Johnny. Our Johnny may not have all the resources that suburban Johnny has, but so what? We’ve used that as an excuse for too long. We focus on the differences between the two Johnnys, but they are all external. What we don’t focus on are the commonalities. Both Johnnys share the miracle of the human body: two feet, two hands, two eyes, two ears and the wonder of the brain. That is why we must embrace the belief that Urban Johnny can embrace the same American principles that suburban Johnny uses and rise to the top. We have no other choice but to try.
What I’m talking about here, ultimately, is a mind reset. We’ve been told for decades that America is a horrible and racist country, where police lurk behind every corner waiting to shoot us dead. That’s a lie. People in Urban America kill each other at far greater rates than any outsider, and yet no one points to that fact. I wonder why.
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That is why this mind reset is so needed. I met an immigrant on my walk. He was selling fruit from a stand on the side of the street. I asked him where he was from. Ireland. I asked him what he thought of America. “The greatest country in the world,” he said without hesitation. He went on to tell me that at night he works as a waiter and makes $300 in tips. But what he said next stayed with me:
“No one tells me what to do. I get up in the morning. I have a family to support — three kids and a dog. I have to get up. If I don’t go to work, we get nothing. It’s all on us. So I work and work. Someday, I will have my own business.”
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He’s hoping to become a citizen, along with his family, soon.
There’s no magic here. The man gets up and works 16-hour days at two jobs. It’s all up to him. It’s that simple. But that’s the beauty of America and her principles. America gives us absolute freedom as long as we follow the law. That is the mindset that Urban America must embrace if she is to undergo a revival. And if she does, she will no longer be at the bottom. Guaranteed.
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