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What say you?
Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. or Mz. or He. or She. or Him. or Her….or “It.”
What say YOU?
The last we all knew, you were still a YOU. And we are all Yous. Used at times. Sure. Useful. Yes. That too.
What happened? What “gotcha” that caused you to doubt, causing you to cross over to another side? A dark side?
Too many choices? Too many multiple choices? Not nearly enough true and false-s? Not enough one-page essays?
The Four A’s?
Alright. Always. Accepted. Again.
The Four B’s?
Beautiful. Big. Bold. Bouncy.
The Four C’s?
Cool. Consequences. Carot. Can’t.
The Four D’s?
Discrimination. Displaced. Discipline. Disabled?
We won’t even bring up the “F”’s. Especially the one that begins with an F and ends in “uck”.
Pretty certain the firetrucks are rationing their water rations as we speak, while the gunk and the algae and grime multiply. Better run to the nearest ACE hardware and grab your filters. We are all in for a bumpy ride. New or old tires. New or old parts to get us from here to there.
Whether you agree or disagree with the next few paragraphs is still up to you. The YOU you. While freedom on these lands still exists, and is still remotely within your grasp and reach, the “blame-ey” concept is very worth your discernment. You still have a choice, to do what is right. To decide whether:
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
To, start looking for a good real estate agent?
A good dentist, eye doctor, bone doctor?
It is increasingly becoming more than necessary to know the difference.
Know the difference? Yes.
Know the rules, so you know how to break them? Yes.
And for now, and who knows how much longer—Still. Yours to decide.
Sure beats the alternative. The “blame-ey” game. Hey. We all got secrets. Rather than play the blame game, own ‘em, deal with ‘em. And move along. Easier said than done. I get it.
There is a WHOLE lot to be said for taking ownership of YOU, your life and those who and whom you bring into your family of life.
“In his speech entitled “A Ballot or the Bullet?” Malcolm X, a human rights activist, spoke on April 3, 1964 at the King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit Michigan, Malcolm X then advised African Americans to judiciously exercise their right to vote, but he cautioned that if the government continued to prevent African Americans from attaining full equality, it might be necessary for them to take up arms.” (WK)
Oh. The power of the power of suggestion.
Malcolm X’s speech was ranked 7th in the top 100 American speeches of the 20th century by 137 of the leading scholars of American public address.(WK)
In his speech, Malcolm described how potent a weapon the ballot could be, if it was exercised with care:
Oh. The power of the power of suggestion.
”A ballot is like a bullet. You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.”
Ironic. At that time—in the ‘60’s—Malcolm expressed skepticism that voting would bring about full equality in African Americans.
”The government”, he said, “is responsible for the oppression and degradation of Black people in this country….this government has failed the Negro.”
According to Malcolm, one of the ways in which the government had “failed the Negro” was its unwillingness to enforce the law.”
Hmmmmm.
Oh. The power of the power of suggestion.
Whether you agree or disagree with Malcolm X’s perspective is still your personal decision and responsibility. The YOU. The you.
Malcolm opined that the fight for changing African Americans rights from a civil to a human rights issue changes it from a domestic problem to an international matter headed by the United Nations. To change an African American rights from a civil rights issue to a human rights issue was akin to “Asking Uncle Sam to treat you right.” Human rights he went on to say/call were a person’s “God-given right.”
Again. Whether you agree or disagree with Malcolm’s spoken word is your choice. Think about it as not so much a matter of “This is all my fault”. But a responsibility to one another. As we have heard on the waves—air, water—of all our existence, it should not matter whether or if we are, or one is,
Black or White.
To know one’s history is to know one’s history. On this date in history, just yesterday in 1862, the USA experienced a day in history wherein a fight of freedom was proclaimed. Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. He declared that as of January 1, 1863 all enslaved people in the states currently engaged in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
History tells us that Lincoln didn’t actually free all of the 4 million men, women and children held in slavery in the United States when he signed the formal Emancipation Proclamation the following January. The document only applied to enslaved people in the Confederacy, and not to those in the border states that remained loyal to the Union.
Oh. The power of the power of suggestion.
So. How does this history bring us to The You.? To the Me.”
To the “Me too.”?? Personally. I do not subscribe, ascribe or faintly agree with that movement. Too “blame-ey”.
My skeletons and I prefer to stay in separate closets where I may visit them from time to time, but I refuse to live among them. Anymore.
But as a wise person once shared. It is a process. And that person was right.
So, as you journey through your existence down here on this earth. You can always choose to stand. Or you can choose to sit. Hopefully. It remains to be seen whether or not the game of musical chairs will have “enough” for us all.
In the meantime, it no longer is necessary for any person, body, being, to remain on the sidelines— in the margins—on the outside. All are created equal in God’s eyes. No shame. No blame. No more games.
No eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth. Prosperity is right in front of us all if we can just look past ourselves.
Oh. The power of the power of suggestion.
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