Do you feel it? That sense of having been here before? Think about it. For the second time in as many years, a jury in Florida has determined the life of a young Black man is worthless. Stand your ground once again prevails as a defenseless young man is cut down with nothing in his hand. Instead of a grown man defying orders to stay in the car, this grown man decided to shoot up a car of Black teenagers, wounding three and killing one. I’m beginning to believe that every young Black male should leave Florida immediately and not return until middle age. I, for one, have advised my 19 year old son to go no further southeast than Georgia.
As I sit here once again stunned by the travesty of justice that continue to be be perpetuated in Florida since the election debacle of 2000, I’m waiting to hear the voices of indignation from the so-called leaders of the Black community. I’m waiting to hear the screams of Black mothers rising like steam into the atmosphere. I’m waiting to hear the roars of fathers defending their sons. I’m waiting. And what I hear is the silent resignation of a people who have been let down by the justice system we proclaim to be the greatest in the world. The silent acceptance that the scales of justice are not only not balanced but blatantly tilted in favor of the individuals whose actions tell us every day that we will never be allowed to achieve the American dream. The silent resignation that says you may have the presidency (and it’s temporary) but we have the judges, juries, defense and prosecution. The silent resignation that daily tells me and mine that I have never been nor will I ever be treated like equal in my lifetime in this country.
At the end of the week, churches will ask that we pray for the families. Clergy will ask us to forgive Dunn and trust that God will punish him. When Dunn us sentenced, Davis' parents will be asked whether they believe justice has been served. The pundits will weigh in with their summary of what happened. The members of Dunn's family along with members of the Dunn jury and Dunn himself will be asked if they think justice was fair. But Jordan Davis will be another footnote in the history books. His death will become the scab of another wound inflicted upon Black people in this country.<br>
<br>It's always been said that justice is blind. I would submit that Lady Justice is far from blind. She sees exactly what she wants to see and who she wants to see when she peaks beneath her blindfold. Unfortunately she remembers to pull down that blindfold when your skin is Black.
SOCIAL ISSUES | POLITICS | RACISM | INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The One and Only Resolution Worth Keeping
It’s early February and one thing is clear. Those resolutions made New Years Day have already bit the dust. You haven’t been to the gym in the past two weeks. Eating healthy went out the door when the cold spell hit. Your television habits haven’t changed and you haven’t opened Moby Dick or Great Expectations or War and Peace or any of those classics you promised you would begin this year.
Face it. You’ve conceded defeat and you’re beating yourself up for it.
Don’t.
The problem isn’t that another year has begun and you’ve already given up any hope of keeping those resolutions. The problem is that you made the wrong resolution.
There is only one resolution each of us should make. It’s simple but it’s powerful. The resolution, you ask? BE SELFISH!
Yes, I said it. Be selfish. We’ve been taught since childhood that selfishness is a sin. Only bad children are selfish. Selfish children become selfish adults. But if you think about it, every great or successful person has been or is selfish.
If you think about selfishness like the airplane rule, you’ll understand what I mean about being selfish. The flight attendant always says in case the air masks are needed, place the mask over your own face and then assist the person with you. Why? You can’t help someone else if you are incapacitated. It’s not selfish to save yourself first. Remember the adage “self preservation is the first law of nature.” That is as true a statement as one can make. There is nothing selfish about that.
Let me reiterate. Being selfish is simple to declare but when lived, you and everyone around you will recognize the power of that resolution. And remember, how you live that resolution is as important as the resolution itself.
For example, being selfish can be used for good. Every person we think of as a good person, a hero if you will, was selfish. Recently Nelson Mandela died and his heroism was heralded around the world. He was seen as one of the most selfless beings on the planet. Yet if you think of him in the context of being selfish, his heroism proves the point. Mandela was selfish in his belief that South Africa should no longer practice apartheid. For his unwavering belief, he was imprisoned for 27 years. Was he a hero? Absolutely! Was he selfish? Absolutely! That selfishness caused his children to be raised without him and his wife to take care of the household without assistance. Yet his selfishness freed a nation and made him the first president of a democratic South Africa.
On the other hand, selfishness can be used to cause great harm. Our government has continued a war so that another country can be deprived of its natural resources. Those resources will be owned by a very select few people who will use them to gauge the rest of us. That selfishness is greed and greed can be as much a by-product of selfishness as heroism. It depends on the person being selfish and how he or she interprets the resolution of being selfish. And that’s why being selfish is such a powerful resolution.
So instead of dwelling on the bad connotations of selfishness, let's focus on the good.
Being selfish means
• waking up every day saying thank you to the Creator, giving yourself a big hug and declaring you are more than enough.
• loving yourself the way you want someone else to love you.
• ridding yourself of any person who does not recognize how wonderful you are and you won’t feel guilty about it.
• loving your body so much you will no longer treat it like a garbage can. You will eat what makes you body feel good.
• enjoying your body so much that you like to make it move by doing movements you enjoy be it dancing or swimming or walking.
• resting your body and your mind every day for eight hours sleep.
• taking time to read, nap, meditate or do nothing and not feel guilty about it.
• saying no to anything that goes against your better judgment regardless of who is doing the asking.
• being true to you without apology.
• being the best you can be without comparison.
• you share your joy.
Sounds like a lot, I know. It is but then again, it isn’t. The first two parts of the resolution will make the other parts that much easier to follow.
You made it to another year. Don’t wallow in the resolution abyss of resolutions already shot to hell. Be thankful you made it through another year. Be grateful for what you have in life. And be selfish.
Face it. You’ve conceded defeat and you’re beating yourself up for it.
Don’t.
The problem isn’t that another year has begun and you’ve already given up any hope of keeping those resolutions. The problem is that you made the wrong resolution.
There is only one resolution each of us should make. It’s simple but it’s powerful. The resolution, you ask? BE SELFISH!
Yes, I said it. Be selfish. We’ve been taught since childhood that selfishness is a sin. Only bad children are selfish. Selfish children become selfish adults. But if you think about it, every great or successful person has been or is selfish.
If you think about selfishness like the airplane rule, you’ll understand what I mean about being selfish. The flight attendant always says in case the air masks are needed, place the mask over your own face and then assist the person with you. Why? You can’t help someone else if you are incapacitated. It’s not selfish to save yourself first. Remember the adage “self preservation is the first law of nature.” That is as true a statement as one can make. There is nothing selfish about that.
Let me reiterate. Being selfish is simple to declare but when lived, you and everyone around you will recognize the power of that resolution. And remember, how you live that resolution is as important as the resolution itself.
For example, being selfish can be used for good. Every person we think of as a good person, a hero if you will, was selfish. Recently Nelson Mandela died and his heroism was heralded around the world. He was seen as one of the most selfless beings on the planet. Yet if you think of him in the context of being selfish, his heroism proves the point. Mandela was selfish in his belief that South Africa should no longer practice apartheid. For his unwavering belief, he was imprisoned for 27 years. Was he a hero? Absolutely! Was he selfish? Absolutely! That selfishness caused his children to be raised without him and his wife to take care of the household without assistance. Yet his selfishness freed a nation and made him the first president of a democratic South Africa.
On the other hand, selfishness can be used to cause great harm. Our government has continued a war so that another country can be deprived of its natural resources. Those resources will be owned by a very select few people who will use them to gauge the rest of us. That selfishness is greed and greed can be as much a by-product of selfishness as heroism. It depends on the person being selfish and how he or she interprets the resolution of being selfish. And that’s why being selfish is such a powerful resolution.
So instead of dwelling on the bad connotations of selfishness, let's focus on the good.
Being selfish means
• waking up every day saying thank you to the Creator, giving yourself a big hug and declaring you are more than enough.
• loving yourself the way you want someone else to love you.
• ridding yourself of any person who does not recognize how wonderful you are and you won’t feel guilty about it.
• loving your body so much you will no longer treat it like a garbage can. You will eat what makes you body feel good.
• enjoying your body so much that you like to make it move by doing movements you enjoy be it dancing or swimming or walking.
• resting your body and your mind every day for eight hours sleep.
• taking time to read, nap, meditate or do nothing and not feel guilty about it.
• saying no to anything that goes against your better judgment regardless of who is doing the asking.
• being true to you without apology.
• being the best you can be without comparison.
• you share your joy.
Sounds like a lot, I know. It is but then again, it isn’t. The first two parts of the resolution will make the other parts that much easier to follow.
You made it to another year. Don’t wallow in the resolution abyss of resolutions already shot to hell. Be thankful you made it through another year. Be grateful for what you have in life. And be selfish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)