Politics Is Life
	Our Children's Voices of Democracy . . .   It's not the obviously scary things that are of most danger to most of us, but the things we don't know to be afraid of. Politics is like that. To the naked eye it is simply a benign exercise in civil rights…check that name, pull that lever, and boom! You're a responsible citizen. But, how we get to that point, and what happens after that point, is the part that really counts. Today, if all the polls and the mainstream publications are correct -- as they sometimes are - young black Americans are abandoning the Democratic party like lemming jumping off the proverbial cliff. Scientists insist that the lemming is unique in the animal kingdom, in its propensity for mass suicide. Hmmm… The new direction in Black America's politics gives me pause, only because smart politicians use this well-documented fact to dilute our already marginal power. For our ancestors, it was the 40 acres and a mule; for some of our parents and grandparents, it was a chicken in every pot, or a grocery basket of much needed food. Now, for our bright new voters and political wielders, it's the hot real estate deal on the "right" side of town, or the visible, marketable committee appointment. It scares me that young black Americans are irreverently thumbing their noses at the civil rights strides made since slavery. That, they can't relate to the era of Jim Crow-ism, or the all too near days of separate but Equal -- because they've never lived like that. The civil rights struggle, they point out, was an inevitable time in history, that is now over because it was simply the right thing to do. The long-fought struggle to uplift the masses is viewed as `an interesting time in American history'…done and over with. One great writer said those who choose to forget their pasts, are destined to repeat them. But, never mind the past; our young simply believe it is finally their time. They now have the opportunity to seize the brass ring…and, they'll be damn if they do it by marches, sit-ins, or giving up their lives for a cause. The masses, is indeed a hefty load for our young, and the cause takes so much more insight and soul-searching than merely throwing one's chips into the hat of the highest bidder. It's not that I don't understand our children's plight. The burden we were hoping to pass on to them is much too heavy. Change is so hard, and takes so long. How can they get ahead in this world, if their precious time is spent looking out for the masses? Besides, we were supposed to have taken care of all that 30 years ago. Yet. Who will serve as the voice of the masses, if not our young, smart leaders? Who will speak for the children…our children; the families headed by single, un-educated women, the aged poor, the homeless, the jobless, the victims of growing health and housing costs… the millions of powerless without a voice. Can our smart, savvy politically astute young blacks truly turn away, with a clear conscience, and an "I got mine, let him get his," mentality? Is this what progress has wrought for Black America? A New York Times reporter recently converged on Little Rock, Arkansas and quickly identified young upwardly mobile blacks whose thoughts and responses mirrors this very mindset. They found bright, articulate young people who understand politics, and are too smart to be led down a primrose path. Ironically, they targeted a city and a state in which blacks, for the last 100 years, voted almost uniformly democratic; a city and state that claims America's greatest politician in William Jefferson Clinton -- whom black Arkansans still consider the best representation of true Democratic politics. Yet, these bright southern youths are re-thinking the Democratic party, and its politics. They are methodically, strategically deciding that maybe the quickest way to success and upward mobility, is not to join the Democratic party, or work to make the Democratic party better, or to forge a campaign to redirect the mission of the Democratic party, but to jump ship, and jump on the bandwagon of those who represent what they seek most -- success and financial stability. They relate to Ronald Reagan's old adage of, `Americans pulling oneself up by their own bootstraps.' We learned in political history 101 of black America's honeymoon with the Republican Party during the reconstruction era. The difference is that it was Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party, not David Duke's, or Barry Goldwater's or the recently departed Strom Thurmond's, may his soul rest in peace. Those black Republicans also believed in 'pulling oneself up by your own bootstraps', except that they were fully aware that 90% of the newly freed men and women had no bootstraps. And, this boot-strapless fate in life was not of their own making. To be fair, and if black America can be objective for a minute about our youth's moving toward the political center; there are, indeed, some creditable reasons: They are morbidly afraid of retracing their parents' political faux pas -- settling for the herd mentality of blindly voting Democratic -- no matter who the candidate, and what their shortcomings, They are convinced that if black America seeks to better itself, it is important that we gravitate toward the winning team, and disassociate ourselves, at least not champion, the losing team, They abhor the taint of the black Democrat -- the political sycophant who gets little for his votes, other than mention in politicians' stump speeches, or a church visit on election Sunday. (Bill Clinton is still an anomaly, rather than the rule, when it comes to white southern Democratic politics.) If we are fair and objective, we'll admit that in spite of what we read in our newspapers, or on prime time television; our young blacks are smarter, savvier, and more politically astute than either their parents or grandparents. They are not averse to paying their dues, but are seeking their own paths to attain their dreams. Yet. Life is politics, and politics is more gray than black or white. Change does not come easily, and when it comes it will never be fair, across the board. Because, even when we are the smartest and savviest and politically astute, we are still a small voice in a world that listens to the loudest voice. My prayer is that our youth will use their receipt of past struggles -- their blessings, to make a better world for both the haves, and the have-nots. That they carry the weak with them, as they move forward; that they not ignore their hearts and souls in this new political arena, or forget that our pasts still instruct our futures. In a recent speech before the National Black Journalists, President Bush's National Security Director Condolezza Rice, a staunch Republican who fully embraces the bootstrap idiom; told the group that Democracy is not easy.  "Our own histories should remind us that the union of democratic principle and practice is always a work in progress." She was so right. The beauty of a democracy is the right to choose one's political affiliation; the curse of American democracy is that, as Ms. Rice pointed out, `when the Founding Fathers said "We the People," they did not mean us.' Rice went on to say, `Knowing what we know about the difficulties of our own history, let us always be humble in singing freedom's praises.  But let our voice not waver in speaking out on the side of people seeking freedom.  And let us never indulge the condescending voices who allege that some people are not interested in freedom or aren't ready for freedom's responsibilities...' I certainly couldn't say it any better than she. It matters less which side of the fence our children vote, which banner they carry; but, that they remember Democracy is a responsibility as much as it is a right. As true Americans we are as responsible to the whole, as we are to ourselves. While I applaud our children's independence, their questioning voices and foreign ideologies about the future…my prayer is that they not forget to keep their eyes on the prize: Freedom and Justice for ALL, and be wise enough to decipher who offers more than lip service to these goals. Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams. Kearney Communications 5138 S. Kenwood Ave.#2 Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 493-2007 --ph (773) 493-5747 --fax janisfk@aol.com