Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Capitalism

To create true change we must replace capitalism. Capitalism, is a system that ensures that the masses will be exploited and wealth will be generated for a few. This is a corrupt machine that is only able to survive because of the political propaganda that preaches the message of individualism. By creating a system of cultural beliefs that plants the idea of hard work as the key to success we make political structures and systems meaningless. Success is solely connected to how hard one works and allows for corrupt institutions to remain free of true critique. Also, by inundating us with the lifestyles of the rich and famous we consciously or sub-consciously begin to identify with lifestyles we will never attain. However, the allure to reach that lifestyle becomes an obession no matter how unrealistic. It is critical that we challenge the ways capitalism produces unhealthy cultural values and extols materialism above all else. Also, American capitalism is connected to global imperialism. So our inability to challenge and confront the evils of capitalism ensures that other countries will be exploited because of our indifference. True change is not easy but is very necessary. Let's Get Free!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

No Title

So often we can grow disillusioned with the direction of America. It can seem that we have abandoned the critical dialog necessary to challenge the status quo. Or we have allowed for these conversations to only take place in the privileged intellectual spaces of higher education. Why does it seems that there are so few spaces reserved for those who desire to fight? That critics are relegated to the sidelines, viewed by others as malcontents who do not recognize the luxury of living in America? America is defined as the cream of the crop so all criticism is immediately view through a paradigm of bewilderment. It is difficult for people to understand that with great privilege comes greater responsibility. We as Americans have an obligation to examine the ways in which our privilege is connected to the exploitation of others. We must wake up and resist the urge to turn a blind eye to our complicity in the continued exploitation of others. Change is only possible when the urge to rest in the created comfort of American imperialism is destroyed. Let's Get Free!

Questions?

The questions I must answer for my life are connected to purpose. How will I define success? Will the pressure to conform to capitalistic values destroy my passion to see the system destroyed? These our questions I must answer but I feel at some point we all must answer. We all must answer the internal question of what will motivate the choices of our lives? Who will we become? We will remain true to the inner voices that urge us to embrace radical choices or will we ultimately become more conservative seeking approval above everything else? This question is pivotal to the possibility of change. If we continue to muffle the voices that emanate from within, the voice that cries for change then we will continue to miss the point. Life is not simply a practice in comfort, it is an embrace of that which forces us to break from comfort. The sooner we realize that concocted images of the good life are simply idealistic prisons that divert our attention from the truth. Once we see that the truth is connected to embracing the struggle and altering the course of history with our willingness to be defiant in the face of systematic injustice. Then and only then will begin the process of truly living. Let's Get Free!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Sound of Freedom

Would we recognize the sound of freedom if we heard it? Have the cries of the oppressed fallen on apathetic ears? Have we become consumed with individualistic longings and capitalistic trappings? It seems like the collective revolutionary spirit necessary to change unjust conditions has been co-opted swallowed up by hollow pictures of constructed ideas of success. Success, is something that has been narrowly defined as the acquisition of materials. Our lives becoming nothing more than exercises in conformity. We are losing touch with the passion that made us feel that deplorable conditions could be changed. The question is how do we get back in touch with a passion that connects us to the suffering of others? At some point we must begin to deplore the reality that we live in a world were the term disenfranchised is a label that confines masses of people to lives of heartache and exploitation. How can we not spend every waking moment overturning a system that confines so many to impoverished lives? Things must change! Let's Get Free!

Coalitions

It is imperative that oppressed people begin the process of building true coalitions. We must move away from simplistic nationalistic feelings. The battle is to eliminate the pervasiveness of white supremacy and eradicate the ways it strangles the potential of the masses. We must resist the temptation to internalize the racist ideas perpetuated by Eurocentric values and standards. Oppressed people must break from the divisive idea that there victimization should take center stage and the victimization of others is a threat to their time in the proverbial spotlight of white attention. Unless we begin to see the struggle for liberation as a collective battle were all voices and perspectives are necessary for the dismantling of white supremacy we will continue to suffer from systems of domination that maintain social misery. The time is now to break with ideas that teach us that our oppression is different and that others cannot understand our plight. Freedom is only possible we recognize the interconnectedness of our struggle and recognize the ways in which our unity is the greatest tool in the battle to reach true liberation. Let's Get Free!

No Title

It is imperative we consistently challenge the ways we inject messages that devalue blackness. We can never learn to love ourselves in the midst of a society that seeks to create a culture that covets bourgeoisie values. We are taught to abandon the cultural lens that we see American through for the more sanitized version of dominant society. Critique of America is never possible when voices that dissent are simply categorized as those who have failed. We have been trained to see those who question the status quo as radicals who are out of touch with reality. Therefore, alternatives to this way of life are never taken seriously because we believe anyone who does not pursue the cultural rewards society has to offer are the crazy ones. Change begins when we begin to question the structures and mechanisms in place that keep us complacent. Let's Get Free!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Wake Up!

The question is will we ever wake up? Will the unjust conditions that characterize so much of the world we live in become to much to handle? Or will we continue to pursue titles,privilege and material rewards that provide worth for those who have been utterly convinced that these ideas provide meaning to life? The bourgeoisie ideas of America have invaded every sector of public space to the point that they provide the blueprint for what we should aspire to. It seems we are lost in the midst of materialism and escapism unable to realize that something is wrong when we need constructed escapes from life. Life, is something to be enjoyed not retreated from for lack of purpose. However, until we challenge the ideas that seems to set the parameters on what are lives should look like we will continue to be lost struggling to find meaning in the midst of meaningless situations. The struggle is to recognize that life is about the pursuit of truth and the possibility of touching true freedom and working to make the world a more equitable place for all. I feel that prosperity or material privilege means nothing if certain segments of the world population will never have access to paths that lead to that comfort.

American Dream

I believe there are times when the allure of the American dream becomes a perceived answer to internal pain. In the communities of the oppressed, those who suffer underneath the boot of systematic oppression, oppression that stifles potential and limits life chances are convinced that bourgeois aspirations will eliminate those conditions. We are taught to believe that simple hard work will eradicate the systematic barriers of racism,sexism and class exploitation. Our collective gaze turns inward, were we begin to believe that the problem is us, that oppression is simply a figment of our imagination. These feelings give birth to an internalized hatred that allows for systematic oppression to remain free to infiltrate the private and public spaces of our lives. The liberal ideas that America espouses remain the social drug that numbs us to the reality that the system is the problem and unless we recognize that we will continue to suffer. The American system is structurally set up to maintain divisions and keeps us fighting each other. The presence of solidarity is the only thing to combat the social forces that entangle us all. The choice is ours we can wake up and resist opppresion or continue to drink the lie that a nice house and fancy job will alleviate the internal pain that occurs from living in an unjust society.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Fear and Love

Fear- Anxiety caused by approaching danger.

In the bible it says that the Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Truthfully, I have always had a problem with the idea that I can love that which I am taught to fear. I wonder can I truly serve God if my idea of God is so deeply connected with fear? Fear is not liberating it essentially enslaves those who become its prisoner. It seems that the ideas that help shape our understanding of God in this society serve as a barrier to our liberation. More importantly, it seems that the presence of fear does not allow for us to truly explore the concept of God because we are groomed to see the Lord as merely a entity who is concerned about what choices we make. I think at some point we must redefine our concept of God and truly seek to understand God apart from the societal restrictions that religion has placed on our belief systems.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Process

The process of creating change is connected to creating a critical conciousness in the minds of the masses. We must begin to question the systems of authority that clearly do not have the best interest of the masses in mind. The government is out of touch and merely reflects the interest of the elite. At some point we are required to resist, to began the process of not simply acquiesing to the movements of a corrupt political structure. It is imperative that critical dialog become the foundation for true action. We must collectively unite in order to resist daily manifiestions of systematic injustice. This must begin with the birth of a new conciousness that is not informed by televison or bourgeious corporate values. We must engage with the teachings of historical figures who sought to dismantle the system.We must be courgageous and forge a new pathway to a closer picture of collective freedom and potential prosperity for all.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I wonder

I wonder what my life would be like if I did not know racism? If I was not convinced that my blackness would determine my destiny? These are questions that I asked because at times I wonder if we are damaging our youth? If our insistence that they know their history is instilling them with pride or placing glass ceilings on their aspirations? This is not saying that we should not know our history,it is simply questioning the way we teach our history. Do we chain our children to an ideology that convinces them they are the perpetual victims in the story of America? More importantly,if they are convinced they are victims how do we empower them to surpass all of life's obstacles? These are critical questions we must ask ourselves.

Fear

It seems that fear is a limiting factor in the lives of most. We are conditioned in many ways to lives our lives in a state of fear. Never truly trusting ourselves, silencing the inner voice from within that challenges us to break free from comfort. Fear is essentially limiting because it teaches us to not take chances and to not trust ourselves. Instead we are convinced thought social messages that we do not have the answers and must seek them in the constructed dreams that America has created. We must take control over our lives and not let fear control us and our actions. We must challenge the systems of domination that seek to construct our lives around consumerism. Fear cannot be the foundation that feeds our dreams and life aspirations. No we must conquer the ways that fear has infiltrated our lives and limited our dreams. Freedom begins when the vicious venom of fear is not controlling our aspirations.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

True Liberation

The struggle for true liberation will not occur unless all forms of oppression are challenged.As a black man I have ignored the ways that the racism of America is inextricably linked with the sexism of America.They are systems of domination that seek to define and confine human potential and aspirations.I recognize now that I have been quick to challenge the racist foundations of America but have ignored the destructive impact that sexism has had on my sisters in the struggle. To adopt the position of a freedom fighter one must be willing to challenge all systematic ideas that seek to destroy and limit the life chance of others. We cannot allow for the evils of American patriarchy to be left of the hook for the ways that it shapes and defines so much of American life. True change is impossible unless we wake up and recognize that modes of identity that depend on the domination or subjugation of others are destructive to the possibility of creating true liberation for all.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Rewards of Victimhood

The allure of resting on the platform of victimhood is extremely dangerous for those who desire true liberation. Victimhood is a defenseless position that disempowers oppressed communities. It creates an environment where the oppressed begin to believe that they have no power in the shaping of their destiny. Or worst, that the change they can create pales in comparison to the rewards that dominant society can offer them. It is imperative that the oppressed recognize victimhood is a harmful ideology that perpetuates weakness and diminishes efforts to be self-determining.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Fear

In the lives of the oppressed fear is a constant companion. Fear creates order and allows for the continuation of oppression. Those who suffer under the boot of white racism are convinced of their inferiority and ultimately seek approval from the one's who created their misery. Daily, I see the ways that fear has become internalized in the hearts of black people. It is a internalized feeling of powerlessness that leads to self-destruction. The inability to change social conditions forces us to embrace the dependent position that defines the lives of so many.So revolution becomes impossible because there is an inherent desire to create change within the rules of society. So the rules that relegate black people to positions of powerlessness are the same rules blacks adhere to in regards to achieving their freedom. There can be no true revolution if the oppressed are still enamored with the fleeting approval of white society.