Where Do We Go From Here

Sorry y'all about falling off this weekend. i had a super, super busy weekend and didn't even have a minute of time to write anything. sorry to those of you devoted fans who i promised that i would make this a daily thing. i will try my best to get caught up this weekend, or at least post something each day.

so yeah. i had a nice weekend to relax and reflect....well, be busy as hell and squeeze in a little time for reflection is more like it. i mostly thought about MLK and the persisting struggle for civil rights in America. i thought about black people. i thought about where we stand as a race. are we united? are we divided? are we standing strong? have we fallen? are we falling? i also thought about other minority groups in America. i thought about the state of justice and equality in this country. i don't necessarily mean legal or social equality, but the equality of different people in the mind. certainly prejudices and hatred still exist and persist, but what will it take for everyone to truly believe that all people are created equal? i came to several conclusions and thought about the plight of minorites (particularly blacks) in our nation.

the african american people are extremely divided. if we arent pursuing the american dream we are taught to idealize in our society, the one of a suburban home with a white picket fence and 3 cars and 2.5 children, then many of us are stuck so far in the perpetuation of poverty and self-deprication that it will take many many years to rectify. much of this derives from the negative images projected upon us by stereotypes and racism. i suppose i am an optimist in the sense that i believe we can be equal one day. though, i am a pessimist in the sense that i believe it will take a very very long time. we have come very far, but we have a long way to go. yet, we get caught up in the notion that material possesions are the measure of success and worth. that accounts for much of theft and other violent crime. what we cannot have, we take. it's a natural instinct. what many feel they must have to have worth they will take from others because there seems no other option. we are naturally set up to fail in a system which perpetuates our repression and idealizes material success.

to quote whitney houston, i believe that children are the future; teach them well and let them lead the way. as my mother works with the Baltimore City Public School System, i hear first had stories about the nature of children stuck in "ghettos" as well as in the mindset that life has no true value or purpose. it all starts at home with motivation. many parents fail to positively motivate their children to succeed and pursue successful lives. also, many inner-city children are depressed by the notion that life doesnt last past ae 30. they are the product of a society which finds them doomed to fail before their lives even really begin. so where's the motivation to waste your time in school, if you arent going to live past 30 anyway? the only images of success many youths are shown are the select few who make either through music entertainment or sports. many place all of their hopes and dreams on making it big as a sports star ot rapper that they fail to see their full potential or talents in other areas.

i know this assessment may seem bleak, but it's a start into diving into my true feelins on these very tough issues to analyze. i am not a social scientist. i am not an expert on race relations in america, but i just wanted to express some of my thoughts. please respond, and we can discuss any of your own feelings on the topic. hopefully, i will follow up with more on this topic.

Tardily yours, kiddies!