"We give honor to The Creator, who created us all from speaking things into existence at the beginning of what we know as time. We next give honor to The Ancestors, upon whose mighty shoulders we stand..."
we've all heard a variation of that opening. before speeches. sermons. community events. prayers. it's indeed African. it's indeed proper. it's indeed totally true.
but what kind of pressure does it create for us, the living.
i'm fascinated by the power in Creation. i've spoken/written/sung of it all before, but each time i have a meditation, there is a unique revelation. God/Creator/G.O.D./Ptah/Jehovah/Allah/Olodumare/Yaweh/Universe (et cetera ad infinitum) conceived the world and universe, and spoke things into existence. at least, that is our meager human interpretation of the divine order of things we perceive as reality. and in a microcosmic way, we do the same thing. we perceive of greatness for ourselves, or we perceive the "ordinary" or "normal." we then proceed to make those things manifest. if we are able to accomplish those things (build a great family, build an industry, write a book, be a star, whatever it may be), then we create a legacy.
legacies are hard to live up to, though.
i often think of the things i work hard to create. i'm motivated by the amazing creations of my Ancestors (familial and communal). i mean, really...when i get tired from writing for hours, all i need to do is imagine Harriett Tubman leading a band of runaways through the darkest of night with dogs chasing them and a sure-fire, edge-of-death beating awaiting them if captured, and suddenly, i'm not tired anymore. i'm grateful. i'm inspired. and i work. the same happens when i think about the labor of my mother and father, how they worked their lives away to provide a space for my dreams to come true.
and now i work to establish my own legacy. but not just for me, but for my own child(ren?). so when i think of The Creator, i know s/he's been good to me. when i think of The Ancestors, i know i stand on their shoulders. which begs the question:
what kind of shoulders will our generations have to stand on when we pass from this life to the next?
if we don't work to establish a solid legacy, if we don't fortify every part of our real and ethereal bodies, then our coming generations will fall, collapsing because of our weakness. adversity builds strength. if we "cruise" through this life, leaving and contributing nothing, then we are essentially weakening the future of man and womankind. whether you believe in Paradise, Heaven, Amentet, Olorun, Nirvana, or The Force, we all believe there is something that awaits us when we discard these shells called human bodies. so the hard times we experience here help us in the next life, and we gain an appreciation of being human that, hopefully, will help us do whatever we can as body-less energy to assist those still in the body.
here me out, then, before i get too esoteric: we owe our next generations the same strength, the same foundation we have all benefited from, either by standing on our personal Ancestors' example, or the example of humanity's collective heroes.
what, then, are you doing, right now, to build and broaden your shoulders? are you cursing because you have an obstacle facing you? or are you giving thanks for the workout, knowing that in the end, you will overcome and be all the stronger for the challenge?
i'd suggest doing the latter, because we owe it to ourselves, and to others. am i saying it's easy? oh no. it's hard. do you sometimes need to vent and share aloud? of course, feel free to do it here, with me. but in the end, i want us all to realize that if we attack our obstacles with an open heart and reassured mind, it will result in a fortified spirit of accomplishment.
and some damned strong, battle tested, eternity-ready shoulders.
let me get the following things straight, so everybody knows. this is where i am at this point in my life, and i reserve the right to evolve, unlike most of the freakin' fanatics on both sides of the political spectrum.
* i was raised by both a strong mother and father. my mother is a Queen Mother, who never took any crap off anyone, yet maintains a demeanor that is peaceful and loving. i am a fan and respecter of strong women.
* i am politically an independent. i don't count myself in either column, Democrat or Republican, because both have been capable of wrecking havoc on the people.
* i've been known to be a good speaker. i'd say i'm decent, always striving to be better. more importantly, i've trained speakers; trained them to speak earnestly and directly. so i can tell when people are full of crap.
* i published a newspaper for 11 years, and have worked in radio for going on 2 decades. i know all about the process of "spinning" things for the media, and boy, is the political world spinning.
that said, here are some thoughts:
i'm about sick of polls, pundits, and polemics. this election has gotten out of hand. i've listened to both sides. i've tried to hear, not just listen, but man, it's gotten hard, especially as it relates to the direction the election has taken lately, led and trumpeted by the Republicans, particularly the McCain organization--if it can be called that.
we've got to keep things real here, people. i'm sitting here watching (or trying to watch the Republican convention). John McCain is doing his best Barack Obama imitation (look at my bracelet i'm wearing for the dead kid, we're going to stop giving money to countries who don't like us, i respect the other side, blah blah puke puke), and doing his normal horrible, disingenuous read of the teleprompter in an annoyingly sing-songy voice. this stuff has gotten old. quickly.
THE STEPFORD WHITE HOUSE?
has anyone seen that movie, "The Stepford Wives?" if not, don't worry, when you do, it'll look familiar if you've been watching the news lately. whether it is Cindy McCain, Gov. Palin, the Republican "Experts" on CNN and MSNBC (if you watch Fox, you deserve that insanity), all of them have been coached by the same Zombie Speaker Coach:
"Okay...let's go over this again...Eyes bright, directly into camera, pasted smile no matter what...Read. Pause. Smile. Read. Pause. Smile. Oh, and the pause is to wait for the applause. now we don't have an applause light, but eventually people will get the point. don't worry if you forget, we will put 'pause. smile' in the teleprompter, just DON'T READ THOSE WORDS IF YOU SEE THEM IN PARENTHESIS!! if you are in an interview, remember: if they ask about Palin's lack of experience, point to Barack Obama, if they counter with Joe Biden, accuse them of being sexist. but SMILE the entire time, and if they throw something logical out, then just accuse them of being sexist and talk in a long, stream of consciousness rant on John McCain's scars and service until they cut away from you."
does that sum it up pretty well?
We know...We KNOW...WE KNOW ABOUT THE P.O.W. Experience...
a book. a TV movie. a first presidential run. interviews. the black and white footage. i'm not belittling the experience, but i just have to say, from a person representing a party who want us to "get over" slavery, "get over" the 1960s, "get over" poverty, "get over" everything. but we can't "get over" the story that keeps getting more and more added to it with each PR opportunity. we can't hear about the people over here right now who are crying every day about their screwed up present situation because we are being milked to shed tears for something that happened decades ago. we all have friends, uncles, cousins, people in the neighborhood, etc., who just "ain't been right" since Vietnam because they were abused by fellow Americans or they have a plate in their head. they're told to get over it. can we all either make the agreement to invoke the past for present guilt or leave it all alone. one or the other? cool?
"AMERICA FIRST?"
what the hell does THAT mean? i've heard "our country," "we are americans," "our forefathers," juxtaposed to "Senator Obama and his Supporters." meditate on that and tell me what you think.
A HICK-HOP SHAME...
ok. Cowboy Troy. do i have to say it? that Negro stood on stage looking like Stepinfetchit with his hat in his hand, interjecting an unnecessary broken version of the pledge of allegiance while two country singers crooned the National Anthem like two flea-bitten cats in an alley trying to out-do each other with cries of hunger. he looked like a fool. i'll say it again:
he looked like a fool.
no disrespect to the guy (that he already hasn't brought upon himself), because i don't know him, but he looked like a 1950's Uncle Remus character. my only hope is that he can feed more of his family with whatever benefits he got from laying his ancestral manhood on the sacrificial altar of unpopular American politics.
THE CONTRADICTIONS...
i won't even go into it. all i'll say is, how do you accuse Barack of being all about himself, when you play a song about yourself--yourself only--at the end of your speech?
i'm gonna ask this frankly: if Barack had a teen-age, pregnant, unmarried daughter, standing on the stage behind him, what do you think the response would be from the media and everyone else? meditate on that and you'll understand the power of spin.
i didn't hear anything new tonight. no specifics. just barbs. now can logical people see how contradictory that spin is?
in summary, i really feel that we stand on the cusp of a new kind of politics or an old kind of politics that will break us down. the stakes are so high that they are either uplifting or utterly depressing. my prayer is that The Creator and forces of nature will guide this thing toward the hopeful. if not, we'll have to act the way we have the last 8 years.
and THAT is WHACK.
