President Obama and his overzealous administration continue to peddle the idea that systemic racism runs rampant in the criminal justice system. It’s the kind of talking point that tickles a lot of ears but isn’t based on facts.

If blacks were being put in jail simply because every cop, lawyer, and judge are racist, incarcerations would be through the roof. However, the exact opposite is true. The number of incarcerated black men is down 23% from its peak in 2001. For black women, the numbers are even greater; down 49% since a peak in 1999. Government reports also show similar declinations among city and county jails. But to really flip Obama’s narrative on its head, where incarceration rates are rising is among whites.

There was an article about this in The Washington Post written by Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. Despite the facts before him, Humphreys argued that the high black incarceration rate remains a destructive social problem:

It can be emotionally and intellectually challenging to break free from long-held assumptions, but there can be benefits as well. The high rate of black incarceration remains a horribly destructive social problem. Yet somehow the juggernaut reversed direction 15 years ago. Analyzing how and why that happened could point the way to further reform, but of course this can happen only if the progress is acknowledged in the first place. Also, the fuel of much social change is optimism that the future can be better than the past. The widespread belief that black incarceration gets worse every year is not only profoundly wrong, it may also be crushing to the spirit of the many reformers who are striving to create a safer, more equitable and freer society.

How about we talk about the elephant in the room: the self-inflicted cultural pathologies that lead to black incarceration in the first place. It’s a laundry list that people just don’t seem to want to deal with. Millions of kids are born into absent-father homes which leads to dysfunctional families. Without a strong disciplinary figure, these communities foster a failure to embrace education as a lifelong endeavor which leads to a high dropout rate. The abandonment by the father is passed to the child who then abandons school, abandons jobs, and in many cases seeks acceptance elsewhere, many times in gangs. These and other questionable lifestyle choices all lead to higher rates of poverty and ultimately criminal involvement.

That’s the reality. An intact family is the strongest foundation for a successful future. We need to stop talking about racism and talk about the facts. The best prison reduction program is an engaged dad in the home, an education, and better lifestyle choices; not artificially reducing prison populations by normalizing criminal behavior or propagandizing the lie about a racist criminal justice system.

It’s time to ask the tough questions: Why do so many black youths gravitate toward negative lifestyle choices instead of more socially acceptable lifestyle choices?

That’s the cultural dysfunction that no one wants to talk about.