Created Equal: The Painful Past, Confusing Present, and Hopeful future of Race in America, Dr. Ben Carson, Candy Carson, Dr. Alveda King, authors; Terrence King, narrator
This is a very short book that reveals the myths and misnomers about people of color that are being spread by the left, especially the progressives, to advance their political agenda. It very cogently explains how their supposed efforts to help actually harm the people they are pretending to support and protect. People of color are neither dirty nor do they have lower IQ’s, although the left accuses white people of believing that. All white people are not systemically racist, either. Young white children are being forced to deal with guilt for something they did not do. Others are expected to pay for sins they did not commit. It is the left that is most likely to spread those lies that hurt society, but it is with the complicity of the media that neither checks or validates the claims of anything they print that fits their biased narrative.
Dr. Carson provides examples of the ways in which he may have been subjected to racism, and he explains how he handled each of the situations. Rather than being insulted and having a knee-jerk reaction, he understood that the slight may merely have been a logical error because of expectations, be they correct or incorrect, and instead of getting angry, he responded with understanding often developing relationships far into the future with some of these same people who said something foolish, like assuming he was an employee not a brain surgeon.
Because he does not waste words, he covers a great deal in this book, from his early years to his years working with President Trump and the obstruction of the left, that even accused him of improper expenditures which were all proven to be false accusations. He carefully outlines the need for a good education, the open sharing of ideas, socialization, patience and acceptance rather than identity politics, cancel culture, mandates and witch hunts. He rejects the need for safe spaces and encourages us all to communicate. He warns of the fascist behaviors we are witnessing as government and the private sector get together to punish those that don’t follow their demands, like firing the unvaccinated; he likens it to a totalitarian approach. He rejects the approach of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”. He supports free, but fair, elections and is against the practice of manipulating voters. He and his wife have supported scholarships for worthy students who also engage in humanitarian endeavors. They have sponsored reading rooms in Title I schools, attributing his respect for books to his mother who was actually illiterate, married at age 13, but successfully raised not only inspired him but also his brother Curtis. He even addresses Biden’s debacle with the Afghanistan withdrawal. If we don’t learn from history, we never will learn.
He had experiences in school that were unforgivable, teachers who resented his intelligence, bullies who resented his success and others who wanted to harm him with words or deliberately giving him poor grades, but he never allowed their stupidity to influence his future. He proved them wrong. He believes that Cancel Culture is the equivalent of Jim Crow laws since both are trying to do harm. He was accused of acting white, and would respond with “what is acting black”? He does not judge the system but he judges the attitude of people. They do not have to be victims.
As he explains that slavery predates even Jesus Christ, the reader realizes that CRT and the 1619 theory are both incorrect. Blacks owned slaves and even whites were enslaved. He explains white privilege and the wealth gap. He questions reparations. Who should receive them? Why should someone pay for sins they have not committed? If black ancestors owned slaves, should they pay the reparations and not receive them? He believes in the Constitution and its ability to protect us and guarantee our freedom. Much of the book also supports his faith and his deep religious conviction. He often cites from the Bible. He acknowledges that our country has made enormous strides with race relations, but admits we still have room for improvement. He prefers, however, to concentrate on the positive, rather than the negative that the left has exaggerated for political purposes. He admits that racism exists on both sides, white views about blacks and black views about whites. He attributes his open mind to the fact that his family did not spread negative racial ideas. If that had all he had heard, he too would be a racist. He believes racists are created from the environment, not from our DNA, and our early education will have a lasting influence on our behavior and beliefs. We have to be taught to be racist. ( )