With President Obama and Vice President Biden sitting on his right and a room full of the MSM, Dr Ben Carson delivers one of the most inspiring speeches that I have heard in many years. Certainly more inspiring than anything I have heard delivered by any politician of any persuasion, but most particularly anything delivered by the 44th US President.
In this light perhaps we should actively heed Dr Carson’s advice about getting more educated people into politics like real doctors (not doctors of economics), and many, many less lawyers.
People who care naturally about other the welfare of others, not just in winning the contest. Given the current political circumstance in Australian politics this statement rings even truer than it does in the US.
But back to Dr Carson’s speech. It is brilliant. You notice not that it’s 24 minutes long, because his message is so refreshingly simple, yet profound. As they say in the classics, “Let’s go to the tape…”
As you can see, it is a message of hope, direction, faith but most importantly about belief. A belief in oneself, and others around you; that anything is possible in our world but ultimately, the only person who is responsible for you is you.
Nothing in life is impossible,nothing unachievable , no problem unsolvable but you must set your mind to achieving it. And then you must do something about it. If you do, then nothing will stop you.
History is littered with many inspiring men and women who dragged themselves and their families, and sometimes even whole peoples, out of the darkness and into the light by following this simple creed.
Dr Carson also touches on something that is clearly fundamental to the success of western civilisation. Freedom of Speech. The linchpin that is responsible for the rise of the most powerful civilisation that mankind has ever known. Western civilisation.
Unfortunately this fundamental principle of our world is currently being eroded, cloaked in good intentions, yet sinister in it’s application. Our freedom to speak our minds, to participate in the contest of words and ideas is at the lowest ebb that it’s been at for many, many decades.
A freedom that was won on fierce and deadly battlefields now long forgotten, by men seemingly forgotten in our contemporary histories, seems to be fading into the past like the ghosts of liberty that fought for it.
Political correctness and the obsession with protecting people’s feelings because they hear things that offend them is destroying our capacity to actually discuss solutions to the most critical of issues that face us as a people.
We must resist the temptation to damn, to silence, to hector. We must debate, freely and robustly all of the issues and challenges that we face without fear or favour, for these are no trifling matters that we are confronted with.
Listen to Dr Carson’s story and tell me. What kind of world do you want to live in?
I want to live in the world that he wants to live in.
Dacka's Razor 
What an amazing man – the world could do with having many, many, more just like him.
I love what he has said about political correctness, and particularly education. Australia, just like the US has “dumbed things down” and we do not celebrate academic achievement anywhere near often enough.
In my opinion, the education system is setting our children up for an awfully big fall. The way teachers are conducting their classes is quite simply, not realistic. To provide a supporting example, last year, in Prep, my daughter had a change of teachers part-way through the first term. The new teachers, didn’t continue on with the same methodology as the first teacher (who is the best teacher I have come across to date, in my children’s short education thus far). The new teachers decided that although my daughter had achieved reading her “magic 100 words” (core words in the english language), she wouldn’t be given the certificate, or the graduated ones (which were colour-coded) because they didn’t want the children who were behind, to feel bad. My daughter, would receive her certificates, as there were more to hand out to other students – when they got there. This was upsetting to my daughter, understandably. She had worked hard – of her own volition, to achieve what she did, only to have it completely ignored, because there were other students who hadn’t reached that level yet. She, and indeed us, were not expecting any kind of fanfare for her achievement, except for receiving the certificate she had achieved – that’s it. Because that’s what she’d worked for and desperately wanted.
Why can we not recognise academic ability in schools any more? Why do we have to put everyone in the same box. This is unrealistic – no one achieves things all at the same time – we are all individual. The example I have given is one of combined political correctness gone horribly wrong, and one of our education system being ‘dumbed down’. If we don’t motivate and encourage our children to achieve (and indeed, expect them to do so) are we not failing them miserably as parents?
There are so many other things that could be highlighted in relation to these two points alone, but I’ll leave it there 🙂 I hope that my children can continue to be motivated to achieve, and that the world will reward them for that.
Thanks for giving us a real life example there Mel, it sounds bollocks. This whole idea that someone’s feelings deserve to be protected if they fail to achieve or win is where it all starts IMO.
Just like pass the parcel, with every kid winning a prize every time around! The whole idea is that praise is scarce, just like it is in real adult life, and if you like the feeling then you need to work hard to get it. Now we just give it away so it has no value but then we complain that kids dont know the value of anything! They will never make the connection if everything is just presented to them on a plate.
Every time lately that I hear about people whinging about not being able to get what they want, or why some people should pay more so that others can have what they don’t deserve I think of that Will Smith movie Pursuit of Happyness. That movie should be mandatory viewing in all high schools. If you want something bad enough, then you have to want it enough to want to work for it.
Your little girl sounds like an achiever, keep the flame burning bright in her 🙂 she will thank you for it later.