Badillo Goes Cosby on Latinos

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

U.S. Taino Elder Herman Badillo has unleashed a scathing rebuke of the parenting practices of Latinos in his new book One Nation, One Standard.

The book will generate a great deal of discussion (and heated rhetoric) on both the left and the right. I suspect that that's just what Badillo intended.

I am for setting an enforceable standards in certain areas of American life, such as in criminal justice arena, voting, mortgage lending, auto licensing, etc. --which, by the way, we don't seem to have in practice. I'm also for high performance standards for public school principals, superintendents, teachers and board members--again, which we don't have. But I'm vehemently opposed to standardization. An industrial age relic, standardization is antithetical to the human spirit and progress. And it's an especially poor fit for a just, diverse and prosperous 21st Century America.

As Bill Cosby did 2 years ago when he scolded African-American parents for their perceived failings, Badillo does the same to Latinos. In both instances, these elders have taken the platforms provided by their career successes, Badillo as a politician and Cosby as an entertainer, to do the previously unthinkable: publicly criticize the counter-productive behaviors of their own people.

Unfortunately, the essence of his message, as happened with Cosby, may be lost as politicians rush to defense of the "victims".

As if on cue, Bronx Democratic Party boss José Rivera blasted Badillo's comments as a "total insult" to Latino parent-advocates who fought for decades to get the city to better educate their kids. "This is unfair. You cannot write a book blaming the victim," said Rivera.

Of particular concern to both Badillo and Cosby is what they view as a lack of commitment of Latinos and African Americans, respectively, to education. Both argue for a return to personal responsibility, education and self-help as the way to prosper in America. And they both are stern critics of the tendency by many to blame racism and others for their personal failures.

Whether one agrees with them or not, these concerned elders deserve respect.

Nevertheless, I believe there's a truth in what these two men are saying. Some folks may resent the messengers for their public outspokenness or because they're both successful, and in the minds of many, privileged, unlike those they criticize. And their criticism may feel especially harsh to the many disarmed by the daily brutality commercial culture trash, rotten schools and government policies that undermine families and parents.

But there is still an essential truth in what these elders say which must be heard and heeded. We parents, rich/poor, educated/uneducated, black/white/brown, baby-boomers/generation Xers etc., are not doing the job of parenting that our children, our communities, our nation and our god requires. Period!

However flawed the messengers, listen for the truth, and let's stop blaming and excuse-finding, and let's get on with the critical duty of responsible parenting.

And yes, we do need to do a much better job of valuing education. Our children deserve no less.

Posted by USTaino at 2:30 PM