A Look at BET's "10 Most Important Issues in the Black Community"

Watching an analysis on BET about the state of Black American communities made me once more think about how important this election is. The show called "Ten Most Important Issues in the Black Community" was shown on BET (Black Entertainment Television) with narrations and analysis from several activists including Russell Simmons, Jina Johnson, Jeff Johnson, and hip hop artist Nas among others. Watching this show made me want to once again revisit some of what the show mentioned, and what it would mean for all communities not just the Black community, as they look at the candidates stance on these issues.

The issues affecting the Black communities as stated in this BET special are:

Issue # 10 Prison: Incarceration is a big problem in American society, but it is even greater in the black community where one out of every four black men is incarcerated. Once in jail on felony charges, these men lose their freedom to vote. And as large number of them keeps getting put away, the black community loses that part of their voice. The worse thing is that a lot of these men are excessively punished for crimes that may not have warranted such harsh punishment. This is true in black and Latino communities; more prisons than schools are built in a lot of these neighborhoods.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Barack Obama wants early intervention which would prevent young people from engaging in criminal behavior. He also wants to explore alternatives to incarceration for non-violent crimes. John McCain encourages more prisons to be built. He wants total separation of these people from the rest of society. The problem is that prisons are fast replacing schools, and that is not a good image for a nation that prides herself as a model for the rest of the world. Why not control the situation that leads people to commit hideous crimes in the first place; good schools, strong families, etc....

Issue #9 Gun Control: In the poor neighborhood of black and other communities, gun is a problem. In the CNN July special of "Black in America," one of the ladies featured in the story mentioned how easy it was to find guns in her neighborhood while conversely, it would be hard to get to a store to buy fresh produce such as tomatoes. Guns are out of control in inner city neighborhoods, getting in the hands of the wrong people.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama calls for gun control; not to deny people their second amendment, but to take certain measures such as coding them to make sure that the right people have control of the gun. McCain wants no interference with the second amendment. He is with the NRA so go figure. Since he wants more prisons, the guns are probably in line with his views.

Issue # 8 Iraq: Most people in the black community and in most other communities feel that the purpose of the US war on terror has shifted. It was believed in the beginning that the war was in response to the September 11 attack on America. However, America quickly shifted courses and went after Sadam Hussein when it was Osama Bin Ladin that claimed responsibility for the massive catastrophe that befell citizens of many nations on the twin towers.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama objected to the war from the beginning, and he wants the troops out of Iraq ASAP. And guess who is listening to Obama now with time table on Iraq? You got it, "W" is thinking about a time now that election is near, but he had initially thought of it as impossible to set schedule for troop withdrawal.
McCain supported the war from the get go, and still wants the troops to be there, even if it takes 100 years as long as US claims victory. Um... I thought we already claimed victory in...Like... 2004 or so?

Issue#7 Roe v Wade: This issue is not only important in the black community, where teen pregnancy is high but also in other communities. Roe v. Wade is a fight against women and their right to make decisions affecting their body.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama cautiously supports a woman's right to choose, but also says that the goal should be to reduce the number of abortions via elimination or control of the conditions that put women in a position to require an abortion. In other words, PREVENTION through good healthcare, protections, education, counseling. McCain wants absolutely no rights for women. He opposes the woman's right to choose and will work to overturn Roe v. Wade, stripping women of the power to make life and death decisions on pregnancy.

Issue #6 Global Warming: Some skeptics are still not seeing what hurricane Gustav and Katrina before him have done to some nations along the pacific, or the melting of the ice caps and drowning of polar bears...and on and on. They have not felt how hot the weather has become, nor the thinning of the ozone layer. They want to wait until we are too polluted to act before they do something. Black communities were massively affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and as I write this hurricane Gustav is unfortunately wreaking havoc to that same area three years after Katrina devastated the region.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama has always been for changes in human practices that contribute to the heating of the planet. McCain is getting on board as well, it seems.

Issue #5 The Energy Crisis: Poor communities and middle class as well feel the pain of the energy crisis. Gasoline price is up, so food and all the basic necessities have their fair share of increase in price. It is hard to make ends meet when you have to spend more to get less, and people's income is not adjusting according standards of living.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama wants alternative form of energy such as wind, solar, and biofuel to get America off of oil dependency. These alternative types are renewable or reusable, which means we won't run out of them. They would keep US from having to depend on the Saudis to drill oil and thus control gas prices.
McCain wants to drill on American offshore areas. The problem is that there are limited oil deposits in the US, and they will not ultimately solve the problem of dependency. On campaign ads, he says he favors wind and solar, but on bills he favors nuclear power and more drilling.

Issue #4 The Mortgage Crisis: A lot of people bought homes they could not afford due to predatory lenders who were eager to make quick bucks. This is true across the board, for a lot of middle class Americans. People have lost their homes to foreclosures, or are about to lose them. Those who have theirs see the value depreciate significantly; so that they are in an upside-down situation where the amount they owe on the house is tens of thousands more than what the house is now worth.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Barack Obama wants to reform the lending industry by crating stricter legislations to hold lenders accountable, and to teach buyers responsibility as well. McCain wants to help the big cooperation out of their trouble, and believes that will trickle down to the rest.

Issue #3 Healthcare: It is a shame that 47 million Americans are without healthcare, yet America boasts as the envy of the world. It is a shame that 9 million of these people are children, the future of our nation. Canada and Europe all have universal healthcare, why can't we have that? This issue is true in the black and all communities of low income households. Blacks tend to have higher cases of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, thus access to medical care is of utmost Importance.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama wants to make sure that all people have access to affordable healthcare. And if you already have a plan, his plan will lower your premium.
Under McCain's plan, the market will figure it out; he will give a tax break to people and allow the market to sort it out.

Issue #2 Education: Education is vital in all communities regardless of race, gender, and on and on. But in the back community, it is even more important to have access to quality education to make up for the overly represented number of black men in jail. Knowledge is power, and that knowledge comes by education. It is unfortunate that in this country a lot of the inner city schools are under funded; there is unequal distribution of resources and yet students are expected to compete on the same level.

Where the candidates stand on this?
Obama's take on education is to start intervention early via head start and preschool programs. He also wants accountability across the board; all stakeholders including teachers and parents must be accountable for their role in educating the youths. He cites teacher' pay increase is also needed and to reward those teacher doing excellent job.
McCain believes that parents should be given the choice to use vouchers to enroll their children where they please.

Issue #1 The Economy: The economy is everybody's problem. The candidates have different ideas for how to get the economy back. Obama wants to give tax break to 95% of middle class people; McCain wants to give tax cut to the top 3% of the population.

All in all, these ten issues are not the issues of only black or white America, but of all Americans. It is important to read up on where the candidates stand on these issues to make informed decision come this fall. Let your voice be heard; demand a government that works for all Americans not few Americans!