More (2) on Black Leadership

Liz and Danielle have added comments recently to my earlier post that I just read. Dani points out the incredible problems of the ghetto -- and the consequent difficulty of lifting people out. I believe! -- and I've never really had first hand experience, as she has. Yet I still believe nothing is accomplished by telling people that they can't help themselves -- that their condition is hopeless. I think that is Liz's point. No matter how desperate the circumstances, I believe that some can and will do better if properly encouraged. And I believe a caring leader will try to do just that. I certainly agree with Dani that government handouts only breed a sense of entitlement -- and often resentment. Private charity is more likely to be received with a sense of gratitude. (Although I remember buying a lunch for a panhandler on the streets of Washington, D.C., and not getting so much as a "Thank you." I think he'd have preferred cash.)
Of course, what I've said applies as much to everyone who's disadvantaged or poor -- not just members of the black community.