We’ve known for years the seldom-discussed fact that black American families were disintegrating. Too many black fathers seemingly are unable to marry the (white or black) mothers of their children or to stick around to help raise them. They are often unwilling to work, and frequently wind up in prison. Then their abandoned children grow up and follow suit. More single mothers with babies. More fleeing and imprisoned fathers.
Author Charles Murray doesn’t discuss any of that. He apparently learned not to after the Bell Curve. What he does, via voluminous statistics, surveys, a few anecdotes and much good writing, is show that this pursuit of irresponsibility has now spread to an appalling percentage of formerly working class white American men and women. In a growing new lower class, these men are isolated, intentionally unemployed and on welfare. The women are struggling with single parenting. Among them, the traditional American virtues of industriousness, marriage, religious observance, and community involvement have almost vanished.
You can see the declining industriousness on just about any urban street corner where the beggars have long been almost uniformly white and black men seeking cigarettes and beer money their food stamps will not buy. No Asians, very few Latinos. They’re too busy working, taking care of their families, going to church and helping out in youth sports or Cub Scouts. Illegal immigration just might be the prop that keeps our burgeoning welfare state from collapse.
Murray doesn’t mention that either. He tries to be optimistic in the face of an analysis that points to national doom. Our expanding welfare state helps this new lower class grow and raises the ante in unprecedented national debt. Murray hopes for a Great Awakening in which the majority finally figure out that the feckless and corrupt politicians of both parties are taking us all for a ride, but it seems more likely we’ll first have to follow Europe into bankruptcy.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 