Common Knowledge

Maybe It Is Time For a New Direction

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

--Andy Warhol--

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

--Norman Vincent Peale--

“All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.”

--Martin Luther King Jr.--

Okay. I am sorry. I planned on writing about education, but after hearing about another meeting in our community that is supposed to address the “crisis” in our community, I feel compelled to write this article. Before I get into this article I want to be very clear. This article is not intended to criticize anyone in particular or to criticize the meeting that took place last Tuesday on the Southside of Chicago. The purpose of this article is to spark ideas that will hopefully translate into actions that solve issues in our community.

Even after writing that long preamble I am certain that what I am about to write will still offend people. If that happens then I am sorry because that is not my intent. However, I must to write this statement: maybe it is time that we as a community let go of the civil rights movement mentality as we knew it in the sixties and begin to change our focus and tactics. There I said it. I am certain that the old establishment in our community (provided anyone of them reads this article) will have a problem with my statement. I still stand by what I wrote. I will explain the basis of the statement.

The best way for me to explain my statement is to be blunt. I am tired of hearing about meetings to address the “black community in crisis.” I am tired of hearing about meetings to gear up for a voting drive to help a political party in order to help the “black community in crisis.” I am tired of hearing about meetings, protests, and alleged movements that are supposed to address the needs of our community, but nothing changes for the better. Please stop it!

We have had meetings after meetings after meetings and we are still in the same shape as a community. We still have not tapped the well of opportunity to build economic power in this country. We still are not a focused and issues driven political power in this country. Although we exert a huge influence in popular culture in this country, we have yet to focus our power as a community. And I think the reason why we have not made more progress is that we are using old and distorted tactics in a new era. This must stop. If this does not stop then just like the boy that cried wolf at some point the younger generation will stop listening to anything that we say as a community and will eventually be completely defined and lead by others outside our community

The simple truth is that we are living in a different era than forty plus years ago. Our needs as a community remains the same, but the issues we face as a community have changed. The government is not solution to all or even most of our issues in our community. And if we really want to completely root out discrimination then we must be ready to grab the reigns of power in this country and earn a seat at the table of power as equals.

The bottom line is the victories of the civil rights movement opened the door, now it is time that we as a community walked through the door and took our place at the table of power. The government will not give us a seat. Legislation will not provide us with a seat. We must get it ourselves. I am sure many of you who are reading this article may be thinking “that is easier said than done.” And you would be right, but that does change our reality.

The first step we must take is to stop having celebrity meetings. If we are to be organized then we must do so in an intelligent, systematic, and logical fashion. We must start small then expand. We must start with defining the problem then recognizing the issue or issues that have created the problem. After we focus on the key issue or issues then a plan of action is developed. Once the plan of action is developed a large meeting can take place where our forces can be marshalled to address the issues. No TV cameras, radio shows, or even newspaper articles are necessary to carry this out. We only need to be organized.

The next step is to work on a long range plan in order to build political, economic, and cultural power. The first step that we as individuals and as a community must take in order to start building power in all of the three areas is to start defining ourselves. What do I mean by that? I mean that we can no longer let people that are trying to sell something to us define what it means to be African-American. We can no longer let ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN, or MSNBC to tell us who are leaders are. Our leaders must be chosen by the wisdom of their plans and the success of their actions instead of how often they are seen on TV or quoted in the papers.

We must become more disciplined in how we choose our elected officials. Political power for an individual is built by keeping a finger on the pulse of the people’s passions so it can be exploited to get elected. Political power for our community will be built by our community being disciplined enough to vote for public officials or hold them accountable based on issues of importance to our community. In order for our community to maintain an environment of accountability then our community must first be ready to define for itself the issues that can be and must be addressed by the government. This happens when there are open, honest, and intelligent debates that are free of old notions and partisan sound bites. It also happens when the people in our community are clear about their individual and collective self interests.

In addition to understanding our individual and collective self interests we need to build and maintain strong viable networks to build economic and cultural power.

I have nothing against meetings. I have nothing against trying to do something to make a difference. A lot of good things have come from the community getting together to address problems in our community, but maybe it is time that we as a community start to look at different tactics so that we can get better results.

Passion: the Fruit for Greatness

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”

--Denis Diderot--

“Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”

--Georg Wilhelm--

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”

--Oprah Winfrey--

What is your definition of success? In my opinion a person is successful when they are able to pursue their passion everyday while being able to maintain a standard of living that they find acceptable. What does that mean? I guess the best way to explain it is by stating that a person is a success when they get paid to do the thing or things that they love to do. However, in my humble estimation most people, including me right now, do not lead successful lives because they trade in success for the pursuit of material things.

Passion is the seed to the tree of greatness. That is not just a meaningless saying. It is the truth. However, it seems that today there are too many young brothers and sisters that do not have a passion for anything other than being a consumer. I do not believe that most people do not have a passion. No. I think the opposite. I think most people do have a passion, but most people sometime in their life choose, either consciously or unconsciously, to pursuit safe goals like getting a job and acquiring material possessions rather than explore their passions.

Passion is the engine that drives creativity, ingenuity, and determination. Passion inspires. It motivates. It challenges. It pushes people to new levels, new heights, and new horizons. Passion is the first step, the last step, and all the steps in between on the path to greatness. That is why it is nearly impossible to travel the road to greatness or even to success without the companion of passion.

The problem for many young brothers and sisters is that society does very little to encourage people to seek out and explore their passions. Instead of being given an invitation to explore ourselves we are saturated with images of consumerism. Instead of being compelled to greatness, we are enticed into debt, we are molded into consuming whatever is convenient for companies, and we are lobotomized into wanting whatever we are toward to crave. We are presented the options to trade in our passion (regardless of whether we know what it is yet) for stuff. Most of us have been trained to ignore our passion in order to pursue stuff. Maybe it is time we sought a different training program.

There it is. That is my view. Although I present it as a simple choice, it isn’t. It is a very difficult decision. Be a risk taker and pursue your passion or settle for stuff. A person can pursue how to craft a career that expresses their own personal statement to the world or they can settle for a job and stuff. It is all about choice.

I will ask the question again, what is your definition of success?