“We need a business plan that should include being the most efficient. We’re not at war with ourselves, we’re at war with China and Russia. Their governments are subsidizing everything,” says John Hope Bryant, founder of the non-profit Operation HOPE, Inc. “We’re shooting at each other when we should be better together.”
"We need a business plan that should include being the most efficient. We're not at war with ourselves, we're at war with China and Russia. Their governments are subsidizing everything," says @johnhopebryant. "We're shooting at each other when we should be better together." pic.twitter.com/phNjGwOBSx
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 7, 2022
Many think that we should have gridlock in Washington and “…should have a divided government, what we have is a divided people,” states Bryant.
Political free agents
When solving problems is the goal, and not simply picking winners and losers, talking with folks that you may not have a natural affinity to or agreement with almost always makes more sense than not.
Frankly, Bryant just want people to learn to think for themselves, to further realize that they are in the driver’s seat in their respective lives, to expect more from themselves, and to demand more from those who call themselves their leaders and representatives; whether it be in community, national or in the world of politics.
Blacks should all be political free agents from time to time, making both Democrats and Republicans “work” for our vote. We should all remember that FedEx made the U.S. Postal Service a better 2-Day mail service carrier, almost over night.
Now, when Bryant say things like this, people often wonder whether he is a Republican for some reason. Well, the answer is no. But respectfully, he has problems with both my Republican and Democratic friends, so no one should get a pass here. African Americans need results in their community these days, and that is why I am down with what I call the “Get It Done Party.” I just want folks to “get it done.”
I remember when in 2002, Operation HOPE became the only non-profit organization to host two U.S. Presidents in one week; former President Clinton in Harlem (arguably our “first Black President” – smile), who co-taught a Banking on our Future financial literacy course with me, launching our Harlem Partnership together, and thereafter President George W. Bush in South Central Los Angeles, on the 10th anniversary of the revitalization of community following the 1992 Rodney King Riots.
Now, no one in the political establishment said a word about President Clinton and HOPE and me. But when we brought President Bush to South Los Angeles and to First A.M.E. Church, led at that time by my spiritual father Reverend Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, our co-host for the event, you would thought the world had come to an end. I was derided by some at the time for hosting the President, mildly threatened with reprisals, and my “real black man” credentials were no doubt called into question — but we persisted, and we moved forward. And everything worked out just fine. And when I am asked why we hosted the President of the United States, my response is simple and immediate — because he’s the PRESIDENT, that’s why.
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