Meeting Ben Carson 

We met in the speaker’s lounge. A good-looking man, about my age. Strong handshake. Gentle smile. Good first impression.

At that time, I knew two things about him. He was a famous neurosurgeon… and he was running for president. Since he was the keynote speaker at Freedom Fest, 2020, I figured he had conservative or libertarian views.

His speech was presidential in the old style. Solid. Serious. Sensible. His demeanor was polished. His performance was practiced. His speech was mostly memorized, but he extemporized several times, including making a little joke about something I had said to him in the lounge, something he apparently disagreed with. But when he said it, he smiled at me. I was flattered. “This guy’s good,” I thought.

Why Do Liberals Hate Ben Carson?

It was only after the symposium that I did some research on him. His life story is impressive and inspiring.

Ben Carson was born into poverty and a broken home, grew up in the streets of Detroit, and spent his formative years at a time when “systemic” racism was a reality in much of the USA.

But thanks to the tough love of his mother, he graduated third in his high school class, got a BS from Yale, and went to the University of Michigan Medical School, where he graduated with honors.

His professional career is a tale of overcoming obstacles, accomplishing ambitious goals, and achieving recognition. Some of his accomplishments:

* At 33, he became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

* In 2000, he received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged.

* In 2001, he was elected by the Library of Congress as one of the 89 who earned the designation Library of Congress Living Legend.

* In 2005, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropy.

* In 2008, he was named by US News & World Report as one of “America’s Greatest Leaders.”

* In 2010, he was elected into the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

* He has 38 honorary doctorate degrees and dozens of national merit citations.

You would think that a Black man that did so much with so little would be a hero to the liberal establishment. And for many years he was – sort of. Then he made the mistake of publicly criticizing President Obama. That got him chastised. But when he decided to run for president on a moderately conservative platform, the gloves came off. From then on, he’s been characterized, along with other accomplished Black conservatives as a “black face of White racism.”

He’s been called a “liar” for minor discrepancies between some of his speeches and his autobiography. He’s been called sexist and transphobic. He’s even been criticized for the revolutionary surgery that made him famous (separating twins joined at the head) because the patients survived with some brain damage.

No, Ben Carson gets no kudos from the NYT, The Washington Post, CNBC, and the others. And my White liberal friends tell me he’s a “sellout to his people.” As if they represent his people. I keep wondering how much more civil society would be if – against all odds – he had become our 45th president.