I am spiritual, I am moral, I am social but political I am not. And there is a method to my madness. I am not here to claim that I refuse to vote. That part is my right as a moral American. What I am more interested in is how to change for the better on a social level.
I take that back. I suppose that I am political to a certain level. On the level that the vote can change things for the better, I am there. But the part about repping a party or relying on my congressman or congresswoman to make my life easier, I am not waiting. I see it as my place and my birthright to not just be about myself.
I believe that if we fixed our morals, then our politics will follow. The revolution I speak of is not one of war, but one of a change in understanding. Call it a “Moral coup d’etat” if you will. I dream that people will become empowered enough to seek the truth. I dream that people will constantly seek to be better as human beings and not to own more. That we will appreciate what we have more and as a result, give more. That we realize that the unemployment rate is not just a number but that they represent people. That we spend more time asking questions like “who are we” and “why are we here?” and less of “what is Britney Spears up to” and “is Alex Rodriguez with Madonna?”
Thus I laugh when people insinuate that I should be happy that Barack Obama is now the President because I am black. They act like my battle was one of politics all along. I am glad that Obama is president and all but that doesn’t fix our deeper issues. Like the one about all the homeless people, or the one about the poor who can’t have access to a decent education. Obama can’t even pay my bills for that matter. No my friends, I am happy when I talk to people and share my vision and the lightbulbs pop on in their head. When their eyes light up because they realize that their life can have purpose. That’s my life. That’s my fight and that fight may never ever be won.
Posted on February 17, 2009 at 9:04 pm in America, Change, Education, Heart, Life, Love, Opinion, Social Commentary, The Mind | RSS feed
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I am not political
I am spiritual, I am moral, I am social but political I am not. And there is a method to my madness. I am not here to claim that I refuse to vote. That part is my right as a moral American. What I am more interested in is how to change for the better on a social level.
I take that back. I suppose that I am political to a certain level. On the level that the vote can change things for the better, I am there. But the part about repping a party or relying on my congressman or congresswoman to make my life easier, I am not waiting. I see it as my place and my birthright to not just be about myself.
I believe that if we fixed our morals, then our politics will follow. The revolution I speak of is not one of war, but one of a change in understanding. Call it a “Moral coup d’etat” if you will. I dream that people will become empowered enough to seek the truth. I dream that people will constantly seek to be better as human beings and not to own more. That we will appreciate what we have more and as a result, give more. That we realize that the unemployment rate is not just a number but that they represent people. That we spend more time asking questions like “who are we” and “why are we here?” and less of “what is Britney Spears up to” and “is Alex Rodriguez with Madonna?”
Thus I laugh when people insinuate that I should be happy that Barack Obama is now the President because I am black. They act like my battle was one of politics all along. I am glad that Obama is president and all but that doesn’t fix our deeper issues. Like the one about all the homeless people, or the one about the poor who can’t have access to a decent education. Obama can’t even pay my bills for that matter. No my friends, I am happy when I talk to people and share my vision and the lightbulbs pop on in their head. When their eyes light up because they realize that their life can have purpose. That’s my life. That’s my fight and that fight may never ever be won.
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Posted on February 17, 2009 at 9:04 pm in America, Change, Education, Heart, Life, Love, Opinion, Social Commentary, The Mind | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL
4 Comments to “I am not political”
February 18, 2009 at 11:11 am
Your picture is political because you are Black. Get in a car and drive…That’s Driving While Black. Grab a cellphone after 10 PM…That’s a Diallo. Let your pants hang lose a bit…That’s a potential gang member or Rapper. Everything you say and do is political. Let’s face it being Black carries a lot of responsibility. We didn’t even talk about race.
February 18, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Welcome Cecil and thank you for your comment. However, I do have to disagree on something. Politics is a slave to social constructs or society if you will. I am not losing sight of the fact that I have a lot of responsibility as a black man. I am arguing that my responsibility is a social one. Fighting for political power or even gaining political power without having a moral foundation or base will only keep on reproducing bad government and bad decisions. This is true no matter what faction is in power. There is a load of evidence supporting this stance.
Knowledge and indeed education is the key and not anger. If people know more, then they would become more empowered and this is my ultimate message. A person reading all those meanings into what I do is a social reaction not a political one. Politics is only a game being played on a social playing field.
February 23, 2009 at 8:49 am
I agree that the beginning of change in this country, and the world begins with each individual person. If everybody took others into account and did what was right instead of what was profitable things would be different. Our country’s current situation included. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t want to get be successful or look out for their own families, but why are so many people locked in the “US vs THEM” mentality? Why does it seem as if one person’s success and happiness in this society has to come at the expense of another’s? Someone is always hurt or held back in the process. Of course i’m not saying everyone or everywhere, there are so many good people out there that care for other’s and take others into account, i’m just saying that the culture seems to promote the endless need to accumulate wealth, power, and material items for oneself. It seems that the concern and consideration of others is too often knocked off the priority list.
February 24, 2009 at 8:32 pm
You are right my friend, that fight may never be won. The sad truth is that morals do not lie within the reach of every soul. There are also too many people among us with a VERY skewed sense of reality and who lack certain cognitive abilities.
An uphill battle for sure…