A Man Worth Listening To
By
STAR PARKER
Founder & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION
In the midst of
year-end craziness - taking care of my organization's year-closing
business and doing Christmas shopping -- I didn't anticipate that
I'd find time to read a new book. But when I saw Dr. Ben Carson's,
"Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with
Acceptable Risk," I couldn't resist.
I spotted the slim
volume while gift shopping in a bookstore. But it wasn't the catchy
title that caused me to pick it up. It was the author. I already
knew Ben Carson's remarkable story. I read his first book "Gifted
Hands" 10 years ago. After I read it, I gave it to my kids and
insisted that they read it.
Carson is director of
pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and a
professor of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, oncology, and
pediatrics. He also sits on the boards of several major corporations
and is a noted philanthropist.
He is also one of a
handful of black pediatric neurosurgeons in the world. He grew up
penniless in the slums of Detroit and Boston, raised by a single
mother who worked as a domestic, often working three jobs at a time.
As a young kid, as
Carson tells the story, he was a failing student and earned the name
"Dummy" from his classmates.
His mother saw what
was happening and out of fear that her two sons would lead the way
into yet another generation in poverty, she took action. She told
her boys that she would pray for the wisdom for what to do.
Her prayers were
answered, but the boys weren't particularly thrilled to hear their
Mom's new-found guidance. They were told that the extent of their
television watching each week would be three shows of their choice.
And, that each would read two books a week and give her a written
report on both.
This was the
beginning of a change that set young Ben's life on a new course.
One thing Ben and his
brother didn't know. When his Mom looked over and checked off their
weekly book reports, she wasn't actually reading them. Ben's Mom's
education stopped at the third grade and she couldn't read.
Carson went on to
become one of the world's most sought-after pediatric neurosurgeons,
known for his boldness and creativity.
He has written a
number of books in which he shares both his story and philosophy. He
is a man of deep faith who believes in both individual
responsibility and individual uniqueness. As he sees it, these
elements are crucial for individual success, but also to maintain
the greatness of our country.
I believe that
Carson's message is particularly powerful and relevant to the
challenges facing Americans today, poor and rich, white and black.
Here are a few
snippets I've extracted from a lengthy interview done with Carson by
the Academy of Achievement, in which he was inducted a number of
years ago:
Growing up poor and
"at risk": "Once I recognized that I had the ability to pretty much
map out my own future based on the choices that I made and the
degree of energy that I put into it, life was wonderful at that
point. I used to hate my life up until that point because I hated
being poor."
Personal
responsibility: "My mother was a person who would never accept an
excuse from my brother or myself. It didn't matter what the
situation was. If you came with an excuse, she would also say, 'Do
you have a brain?' After a while it became clear to us that no
excuse was acceptable, so we became pretty creative."
Family: "The more
solid the family foundation, the more likely you are to be able to
resist peer pressure. Human beings are social creatures. We all want
to belong, we all have that desire. If the family doesn't provide
that, the peers will, or the gang will."
Priorities: "The most
important thing to me is taking your God-given talents and
developing them to the utmost, so that you can be useful to your
fellow man."
God and America:
"(God) has become an essential part of my life and my being. ...
When we created this nation, we believed in God. ... .I believe
that's one of the reasons ... we got to be so great, so quickly."
In his new book,
Carson discusses his approach to dealing with risk, a core issue for
exercising personal responsibility. He has a simple but effective
approach that amounts to examining the best and worst outcomes that
can result from a given course of action.
Carson's story and
message lays bare what makes Americans and America great and makes
clear what we need to focus on to stay this way. It's worth checking
out.
Happy New Year.
---------------------------------
Star Parker is president of the
Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book
White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
Prior to her involvement in social
activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles,
California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college,
received a BS degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian
magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet
served as a springboard for her focus on faith and market-based
alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.
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