UPHOLDING HOPE - A SIMPLE MAN'S PERSPECTIVE
UPHOLDING HOPE - PARTICIPATING AND TAKING ACTION
Let me make one thing abundantly clear. To those detractors out there who would dismiss what I've written here outright, please allow me to clearly state that I am no sycophant. I am not part of some mass Obama hysteria. However, I have been caught up in the Obama mania, and I questioned why. Know the difference between the two my friends. One describes a mental disorder, the other simply describes extreme enthusiasm. You see, I am quite enthusiastic about this new era. I'm enthusiastic about change. I have hope. Still, I am not a mindless automaton. What I am is extremely pleased to see a man in the White House with a calm hand, strong intellect, integrity, character, and vision. I admire President Barack Obama greatly. However, I am very much aware that he is only a man, and he will not SAVE ME. What is he? He is the American President, and our duly elected leader. What is he to me personally? He is the first minority leader of the preeminent superpower, the greatest nation in human history, the United States of America, and he just happens to be black like me. That means something to me. Whether or not you can, or have the mental and emotional acuity to extend yourself to understanding this, is entirely up to you. It means something to me in that it bodes well for the future of our people, and by our people I mean Humanity. Understand, he did not get my vote because of his skin color. I thank the Creator for infinite patience, for I still hear I understand why you voted for Obama, and that's okay. If I was black I might have voted for him too. I voted for President Obama because I sincerely believe he is the right man for these tumultuous times. I freely admit I am extremely excited by the possibilities of his administration. He is ethical. He is critical thinking. He believes in innovation. He is mentally progressive. In our new President, I see much to admire. Still, I have not, nor will I, throw away my personal responsibility to view him and his actions through my lens of critical cognition. I will continue to hold him accountable. With that being said, allow me to proceed with explaining what hope means ... to a common man, with a common intellect, that aspires to being a critical thinker.
Despite what the detractors may say "Obama Mania" as they like to say it is a good thing. I have come to this understanding through the application of simple critical cognition. I questioned what was different about this American Age, this 21st Century American Age. I questioned what was different about this President, beyond the obvious. I questioned what I saw in the people, the hopes, the desires, the readiness. I questioned the detractors, and why I, who can be a fierce contrarian for the sake of taking the opposite side in divining what was right, felt rightly swept up in Obama Mania. I thought about it and the answer became clear.
It gave meaning to hope.
It became solidified on his first day in office, as he moved swiftly to translate hope into action, and continued moving forward on his promise of open government, not big government, or small government, but government of the right size by and for the people. He said it was a privilege to serve, and no one would serve under his watch for personal gain. I was again moved by his words. This became a plank in my platform for critical analysis of what was different. I continued to search. What did I find? I found that never in human history has such a thing as this taken place. I found that throughout history we as Americans, and the people of the world, have waved our flags and readily rallied for war. Oh, we banded together for peaceful competition in the Olympics. Yes, we formed arms across the world to protest apartheid. But the scale of what is taking place now has never before been seen.
The American flags flowed in the breeze, a sea of red, white, and blue that truly extended beyond our own shores. We saw this during 9/11, and even as we came together and rallied, we closed our hands to those who offered us aid. Now, our hands are open, for we once again acknowledge that we are not alone, and we can't make a better world through our will alone. Our flags are waving even stronger than they did during 9/11, but it is not a call to war. It is a call to peace and prosperity. Please take a moment to understand just how pivotal this is. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. The nation, no the world, has indeed rallied around a new leader's call to action, his call for service, his call for change, his sincere desire to reach out his hand to any and everyone who would see this world made whole. And that, my friends, is critical. It is of great significance, and I for one, fully support it.
Let me make one thing abundantly clear. To those detractors out there who would dismiss what I've written here outright, please allow me to clearly state that I am no sycophant. I am not part of some mass Obama hysteria. However, I have been caught up in the Obama mania, and I questioned why. Know the difference between the two my friends. One describes a mental disorder, the other simply describes extreme enthusiasm. You see, I am quite enthusiastic about this new era. I'm enthusiastic about change. I have hope. Still, I am not a mindless automaton. What I am is extremely pleased to see a man in the White House with a calm hand, strong intellect, integrity, character, and vision. I admire President Barack Obama greatly. However, I am very much aware that he is only a man, and he will not SAVE ME. What is he? He is the American President, and our duly elected leader. What is he to me personally? He is the first minority leader of the preeminent superpower, the greatest nation in human history, the United States of America, and he just happens to be black like me. That means something to me. Whether or not you can, or have the mental and emotional acuity to extend yourself to understanding this, is entirely up to you. It means something to me in that it bodes well for the future of our people, and by our people I mean Humanity. Understand, he did not get my vote because of his skin color. I thank the Creator for infinite patience, for I still hear I understand why you voted for Obama, and that's okay. If I was black I might have voted for him too. I voted for President Obama because I sincerely believe he is the right man for these tumultuous times. I freely admit I am extremely excited by the possibilities of his administration. He is ethical. He is critical thinking. He believes in innovation. He is mentally progressive. In our new President, I see much to admire. Still, I have not, nor will I, throw away my personal responsibility to view him and his actions through my lens of critical cognition. I will continue to hold him accountable. With that being said, allow me to proceed with explaining what hope means ... to a common man, with a common intellect, that aspires to being a critical thinker.
Hope in the downtown centers. Hope in the midst of urban blight. Hope in the suburbs, where people who once felt protected are suddenly finding themselves on the precipice, or out in the cold. Hope in the cities and the countryside. New hope that binds the people to a common cause, hope that spreads from state to state, and blows across our nation like a prevailing wind, covering us in its feel-good feeling of promise from sea to shining sea. However, it does not stop there. It lands on foreign shores and sweeps them up in our euphoria. It blows through village and hamlet, over the world's tallest mountains and into its deepest crevices, it reaches the ears of those deafened by the bomb blasts, and warms their hearts. It gives rise to words that issue forth from the mouths of babes, tomorrow will be better, Obama, and America will show us the way. It once again let's us know that America is here, our arms are open, and we are ready to commit our all to the cause of peace and prosperity. It blows across Russia, which desires to count us as a loss cause, placing us at the heart of global turmoil, and proclaiming us largely a reduced entity, ready to be pushed off the stage and regarded less in the dialogue of world affairs, still there is something .. and they know it. They buy dollars. Putin buys dollars. They hope for ownership in this change. They hope for something in America. Yes, they feel some confidence in America, a coming resurgence. They feel it. And yes ... they wonder. Things are not as they would seem.
The wind blows into China, erupting through digital lines and into the impressionable hearts and minds of the youth, many of whom sympathize with the bold men and woman who gave willingly to peacefully disrupt the old order and bring about change in Tiananmen Square. The old guard immediately moved to censor the wind, to close off the words of President Obama's speech. They wanted no more discord. It doesn't matter. The youth of China see a brighter future. The old guard have made so many changes in order to be a prosperous world power that they are blind to the satisfaction of generations, that many things are coming to pass just as the stalwart peace warriors of change demanded, and that in time, they as the old guard will pass, for the younger generations are beyond brilliant. China is growing into a shining beacon, a hallmark of tomorrow, and what the youth want to hear, they hear, despite the old guards intentions. Hope blows through China, emboldening change that has already begun.
It blows back across the sea, giving hope to many in California, and reminding them that it is really against the American ideal to be divisive and dismissive, that perhaps the last eight years and our mighty faith based crusade against intellectualism, the rights of man, woman, freedom, innovation, positive forward progress, the very ideals on which this country was founded and made great ... perhaps was a mistake. It is time to put the mighty Christian warriors in check, and remind them that there may come a time when they may have to rise up to defend the faith, but today is not that day. Our Christianity is not under attack, no matter what the Christian fascist would have the cult like followers believe. No, it is Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Atheism, that is under attack. This is AGAINST the American ideal, and the Christian ideal.
We must remind our own of our implied creed. Lady Liberty stands tall and resolute in New York Harbor, astride Ellis Island, her brazen words emblazoned on a plaque at her feet, her silent, but loudly implied creed heard round the world, the final refrain from the poem commemorating her existence, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. This is the promise of America. This is the ideal that has made this country great. The disparity, the differences, the rich diversity, the conquest of conflict that separates us, moving beyond acceptance and tolerance to love unyielding and prosperity for everyone, be you black, white, brown, red, yellow, Muslim, Jew, Taoist, Buddhist, Hindi, Agnostic, or Atheist ... not just Christian.
Some would like for us to forget this. Some would like for us to hold fast to the past, These people say things like, I can't trust him. He's an Arab. These people are standing still, as the ground has shifted beneath their feet, to quote our new President. We are new. We are again the world's beacon. The bar is set high, in a time of unprecedented upheaval and change. However, as this new era has dawned upon us with a fierce and bitter cold wind, a new leader has emerged to remind us how to come together, to use the power of our minds to build a bulwark against the wind, to ride the tide until the tumultuous times have passed, and the soft caressing breeze of prosperity blows against us and the cheeks of our children. He brings with him true, positive, charismatic leadership unseen in an age. He brings the bulwark against cold, the arctic wind that tears through our layers and lays ice upon our bones. He brings the promise of the summer breeze, if only we hold up our end of the bargain. He can't and won't do it alone. We must each play a part.
The wind blows into China, erupting through digital lines and into the impressionable hearts and minds of the youth, many of whom sympathize with the bold men and woman who gave willingly to peacefully disrupt the old order and bring about change in Tiananmen Square. The old guard immediately moved to censor the wind, to close off the words of President Obama's speech. They wanted no more discord. It doesn't matter. The youth of China see a brighter future. The old guard have made so many changes in order to be a prosperous world power that they are blind to the satisfaction of generations, that many things are coming to pass just as the stalwart peace warriors of change demanded, and that in time, they as the old guard will pass, for the younger generations are beyond brilliant. China is growing into a shining beacon, a hallmark of tomorrow, and what the youth want to hear, they hear, despite the old guards intentions. Hope blows through China, emboldening change that has already begun.
It blows back across the sea, giving hope to many in California, and reminding them that it is really against the American ideal to be divisive and dismissive, that perhaps the last eight years and our mighty faith based crusade against intellectualism, the rights of man, woman, freedom, innovation, positive forward progress, the very ideals on which this country was founded and made great ... perhaps was a mistake. It is time to put the mighty Christian warriors in check, and remind them that there may come a time when they may have to rise up to defend the faith, but today is not that day. Our Christianity is not under attack, no matter what the Christian fascist would have the cult like followers believe. No, it is Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Atheism, that is under attack. This is AGAINST the American ideal, and the Christian ideal.
We must remind our own of our implied creed. Lady Liberty stands tall and resolute in New York Harbor, astride Ellis Island, her brazen words emblazoned on a plaque at her feet, her silent, but loudly implied creed heard round the world, the final refrain from the poem commemorating her existence, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. This is the promise of America. This is the ideal that has made this country great. The disparity, the differences, the rich diversity, the conquest of conflict that separates us, moving beyond acceptance and tolerance to love unyielding and prosperity for everyone, be you black, white, brown, red, yellow, Muslim, Jew, Taoist, Buddhist, Hindi, Agnostic, or Atheist ... not just Christian.
Some would like for us to forget this. Some would like for us to hold fast to the past, These people say things like, I can't trust him. He's an Arab. These people are standing still, as the ground has shifted beneath their feet, to quote our new President. We are new. We are again the world's beacon. The bar is set high, in a time of unprecedented upheaval and change. However, as this new era has dawned upon us with a fierce and bitter cold wind, a new leader has emerged to remind us how to come together, to use the power of our minds to build a bulwark against the wind, to ride the tide until the tumultuous times have passed, and the soft caressing breeze of prosperity blows against us and the cheeks of our children. He brings with him true, positive, charismatic leadership unseen in an age. He brings the bulwark against cold, the arctic wind that tears through our layers and lays ice upon our bones. He brings the promise of the summer breeze, if only we hold up our end of the bargain. He can't and won't do it alone. We must each play a part.
Despite what the detractors may say "Obama Mania" as they like to say it is a good thing. I have come to this understanding through the application of simple critical cognition. I questioned what was different about this American Age, this 21st Century American Age. I questioned what was different about this President, beyond the obvious. I questioned what I saw in the people, the hopes, the desires, the readiness. I questioned the detractors, and why I, who can be a fierce contrarian for the sake of taking the opposite side in divining what was right, felt rightly swept up in Obama Mania. I thought about it and the answer became clear.
It gave meaning to hope.
It became solidified on his first day in office, as he moved swiftly to translate hope into action, and continued moving forward on his promise of open government, not big government, or small government, but government of the right size by and for the people. He said it was a privilege to serve, and no one would serve under his watch for personal gain. I was again moved by his words. This became a plank in my platform for critical analysis of what was different. I continued to search. What did I find? I found that never in human history has such a thing as this taken place. I found that throughout history we as Americans, and the people of the world, have waved our flags and readily rallied for war. Oh, we banded together for peaceful competition in the Olympics. Yes, we formed arms across the world to protest apartheid. But the scale of what is taking place now has never before been seen.
The American flags flowed in the breeze, a sea of red, white, and blue that truly extended beyond our own shores. We saw this during 9/11, and even as we came together and rallied, we closed our hands to those who offered us aid. Now, our hands are open, for we once again acknowledge that we are not alone, and we can't make a better world through our will alone. Our flags are waving even stronger than they did during 9/11, but it is not a call to war. It is a call to peace and prosperity. Please take a moment to understand just how pivotal this is. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. The nation, no the world, has indeed rallied around a new leader's call to action, his call for service, his call for change, his sincere desire to reach out his hand to any and everyone who would see this world made whole. And that, my friends, is critical. It is of great significance, and I for one, fully support it.
So, through multiple applications of 3FE, Find, Focus, establish the Fundamentals, and Execute, I have determined that in order to be of service, there are many things I need to be doing. First, I will continue my sincere effort to spread critical thinking skills far and wide. I will focus on the means by which to spread my words, my methodology, and my sincere hope and desire to see people lift themselves up, better themselves, and help others be better. The Fundamental tools of this effort are my mind, my voice, my fingers on my laptop, my video cameras, my Web 2.0 tools, and my natural speaking skills. The plan is to blog, vlog, publish, speak, and work, and work, and work, because in all honesty the work won't end. There will always be someone to mentor, as I already do. There will always be another seminar, in which I will willingly participate. There will always be a class of young students to speak to, which I have started doing, and will increase the pace at which I do so. I will work, Execute this plan to reach minds, and change negative behavior patterns. I will work to enhance what we common classed folk call good 'ole common sense. I will remind my friends that it is through the application of this common sense, critical thinking skills, that we can divine the answers we seek in order to start, and effectively work through, the task of discovering that which will help us achieve personal fulfillment.
This gives me hope to move forward. As I consider it, though I was already on this path, it was the hope presented by this historic moment, by this incredible movement for change, that has pushed me to reach for a higher level. It is hope that demands that I be more productive. It is my personal hope that the efforts I make, the actions I take, will bear fruit, inspire others, and in some small way help build in the aggregate the change that we all so desperately need. It is the inspiration of hope, internalized and burning bright, that transforms me, and makes me the change I seek.
This gives me hope to move forward. As I consider it, though I was already on this path, it was the hope presented by this historic moment, by this incredible movement for change, that has pushed me to reach for a higher level. It is hope that demands that I be more productive. It is my personal hope that the efforts I make, the actions I take, will bear fruit, inspire others, and in some small way help build in the aggregate the change that we all so desperately need. It is the inspiration of hope, internalized and burning bright, that transforms me, and makes me the change I seek.
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