Uptown Conjecture

I meant to write this blog A LONG TIME AGO but I never got around to it. And since Bush has left office...I don't know.

I often hear on the news how America is "safer", as we have had no attacks since the tragedies of September 11th. Along with that statement is often a claim that Bush doesn't get enough credit for that and his other blunders are too heavily focused on.

Then I would wonder, can we really attribute that to Bush? What did Bush do specifically in policy and diplomatic efforts that made it more difficult to attack the US? I texted 3 politically aware and opinionated friends over winter break asking if they thought that things were "safer" and can it be attributed to Bush or is it just a function of chance?

My first friend said that no one can be sure of that but he thinks that the war on terrorism is an epic failure and listed the attacks in London, Glasgow, Madrid, and Mumbai. I thought that was interesting because here I am (and the media too) considering the war on terrorism as the US versus "them". But terrorism is a worldwide concern and terrorists can attack anywhere. So if some are not safe, none are safe, right?

My second friend said "Well being that [Bush's] administration orchestrated 9/11, I'd have to say its a function of chance." I love that girl. I'm not gonna lie, the conspiracy theory of 9/11 being an "inside job" is quite compelling.

My last friend said that the "Bush administration is actually intimidating, believe it or not." So maybe Bush's hasty decision to bomb Afghanistan after the attacks and hastier decision to commence a war in Iraq made America seem like a force to be reckoned with. Therefore terrorists have thought twice about committing acts of violence against this nation. As much as I respect this last friend's intelligence and opinion, this, I cannot buy.

1) Terrorism is a global concern and just because the US hasn't suffered any attacks doesn't mean the "war on terrorism" is going well. 2) It was an "inside job" and we really didn't need to worry about terrorism any more than we have had to in the past. 3) Bush's administration, however one may disagree with policy and action, has put a hamper on terrorist activities with their strong military response.

I wonder what you think. I must say that I subscribe to number 1. Why even evaluate "our" safety if the rest of the world remains vulnerable?

Valēre

Over winter loafing, one of my favorite activities was going to the movies. I saw 7 Pounds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Valkyrie, all of which broke my heart to pieces in their different ways.

However, Valkyrie struck me in a very different way than the other aforementioned movies because: 1) I love history and it interesting to learn how civilization changes and remains the same, and 2) it is a movie about a momentous historical and sociological moment in time (1944), as the US (and consequently the rest of the world) enters into a moment of similar magnitude, although far more positive in nature.

It was an effulgent film. And, for me, I do not know if it was the acting or costumes or the dialogue that made it great. And maybe it was. Possibly because I am already an avid student of history, an emotional, empathetic, pacifist who still can't believe the Holocaust happened (that such evil exists is nightmarish), and because I cannot easily separate fantasy from reality and am easily convinced that I, too, am in the film, the movie carried me away.

First of all, can you imagine living in a place where the government could round you up and murder you with no questions asked and no one to stop them? And this government is highly efficient and organized, soulless, convincing, charming, and considered as omniscient as God Himself.

I shall not recount the movie here because it is far to exquisite for my lame synopsis, but it made me think quite interesting things about Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, government, politics, and God.

For one, the Operation Valkyrie (Unternehmen Walküre), for which the movie is named was a plan of action approved by Adolf Hitler to restore law and order in Germany in the event of his death. These plans, if followed correctly, would restore Adolf Hitler's government within 6 hours.

Dead or alive, Hitler was going to get all of the Jews he could.

For the duration of the movie, with the nauseating stench or murder and evil slapping me around in my head, I understood why Israel came to be created. Not only were the Jews being systematically exterminated, the world (Allied Forces) did not intervene for quite some time. Adolf Hitler and his regime managed to kill six million Jews before it was all over and further defer the dream of world peace so as to push it farther into the depths of rottinghood.

I will say it, cautiously but honestly: I do not support Israel. I do not think it should have been created but especially not in the manner that it was.

But if you know the history of Israel's creation, it does leave a strange taste in one's mouth. Anyone with a soul appreciates the atrocities of the Holocaust (and the atrocity that was the Holocaust) and the shocking lethargy of the rest of the world to act but, it provokes a question. Of all the atrocities that have occured since men discovered weapons, what makes the Holocaust so much more atrocious so as to create a brand new country?

And why did not anyone think to sit down and meet with Palestinian leaders and have a discourse to reach compromise if they wanted this state so badly?

And who the hell is Great Britain to assure support of a Jewish state? Should they not have encouraged them to consult their potential neighbors?

I have no question for the United States as it sort of proved to be a lackadaisical in its foreign policy.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict makes me think that government is feckless and its efficacy is a function of chance. While children of both sides die in the streets everyday, governments all around the world, in over 50 years, have yet to make peace between the two sides. Maybe they should let all the Palestinian mothers and the Israeli mothers meet and share the stories of their dead children, who died for reasons they were not born yet to contribute to, not old enough to understand, and died before they could have possibly contributed to steps toward peace.

This "new generation" of minds who may end this conflict is slowly diminishing everyday, with their graves outnumbering their toys.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

...God of our weary years, god of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our god, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.
Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land...

At 12:01pm this afternoon, Barack Hussein Obama became the president of the United States of America. Although the program was running a little late and he had not been officially sworn in yet, the Constitution reads that the new president assumes his title at 12:01pm on Inauguration Day.

The benediction was provided by Reverend Joseph Lowery, the founding memeber of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He began with some beautiful lines from "Life Every Voice and Sing," a song written by James Weldon Johnson and proudly referred to as the Black National Anthem. You betta do that.

It was a brilliant and exciting ceremony as members of Congress, former presidents, their wives, children, and more were introduced. When President Obama was finally introduced, there was an electricity that I'm sure swept through the crowd and shocked us watching at home. Congratulations President Obama and Vice President Biden.

President Obama gave a wonderful speech, as he always does. This speech, however, was especially exceptional because of the manner in which the President reached out to the international community. He demonstrated the kind of global concern I think the Bush administration forgot about.

President Obama informed us that his administration would take a new course in negotiating with the Muslim world. He has not given up on peace in the Middle East. He promised the nations living in abject poverty that the United States would assist in agricultural efforts that will sustain the people and provide clean water for every man, woman, and child.

He told the US and other Western nations that enjoy relative wealth that they can no longer "afford indifference to suffering" around the world or consume the world's resources while irreverent to the global consequence. He condemned leaders who continue to destroy, deceive, take advantage of, silence, and murder their own people. They are on "the wrong side of history".

Some complained that President Barack Obama's speech was a superfluous display of word art and outlined no real policy on how his administration plans to do all that he spoke of. Maybe that is true. But was it the time for policy talk? On this day of great sociological and historical importance, do we really want him to stand up there in front of people who have been outside in the DC winter cold since 4am and talk about policy?

As the first Black president, standing on the platform of a building built by slaves, cleaned and repaired by slaves, all the while counting them as only 3/5 of a person in the Constitution that we depend on to define and maintain our democracy, can we please excuse him for not including policy in his speech? He is trying to unify a country ragged and battered by racial conflict, religious disagreement, bitter history, political fighting, etc. in order to more positively contribute to the improvement of the world. He has four years to deal with policy.

The backdrop (for me) of this historic day was the departure of Former President George Bush. President Obama was very gracious in thanking Former President Bush for his service to our country, but the speech he delivered also did not lightly rebuke the irresponsible actions of America under the Bush administration. The Bush administration was a disastrous and devastating one for many in a personal way, not in a removed, political ideological manner. I was excited to see him go.

As CNN juxtaposed Bush's departure with Obama's arrival, a correspondent commented that this is the purest day of American democracy. And it is. This outstanding peaceful transition of power is something to be admired. No matter how vehemently some may disagree with President Obama's election or any president's election, we enthusiastically and ritualistically change our head of state with little to no trouble. God bless America. And God, make it possible for other countries around the world to enjoy the nourishing meal of peace.

The Revolution has been televised.

Square Business

"God is Trying to Tell You Something"

...Speak Lord / Speak to me...

Tomorrow, the world will watch Barack Obama be sworn into the office of the President of the United States. He is the first Black president in the history of US democracy.

The coverage of Obama, his family, his campaign, his impending inauguration, his everything, is ridiculous. He is such a huge celebrity the world over.

Although I am young, I accurately assume that no inauguration or president has stirred this kind of buzz, media coverage, or excitement.

It isn't arbitrary and I understand the media hype: this is a Black man becoming president of a country with a heinous history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, Ku Klux Klan terrorism, and more. It is amazing.

To add to the majesty of the event, we are observing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (b. January 15, 1929) this Monday, this day before this historic inauguration. It seems so poetic. This man who spoke on behalf of the ideas of equality and justice, unity and acceptance for us was a part of a movement that tilled the soil of our culture with a seed of progress and open mindedness.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream has not totally been realized. However, there is something to be said for the enormity of this occassion and how Obama's election serves as a barometer for how far we have come. We are almost free at last.

We are free of some of the institutional hindrances. We are free from some of our own cultural poisons. We are free from the glass ceiling. What a sensational time.

I don't have any children yet, but I can't wait to tell them, especially my boys, that God is trying to tell us something.

Full Time Grindin'

"Presidential" by Youngbloodz

...just look up and read all the lyrics to that song...that was Gwen, Tina, and my cut back in the day...

The previously listed song is about acquiring material goods, having beautiful women on one's arm, and just being a generally cool cat.

Before you say anything, I'm not about to criticize hip hop.

The aforementioned themes of the song (that most other songs also share) are common themes of capitalism in a patriarchal oppressive society.

This country is a great example of democracy and capitalism but it is also a great stage on which corruption and greed perform luxurious dialogues.

The current economic collapse is evidence of such a performance.

This morning, the White House approved a $13.4 billion package for the ailing automobile industry.

Everytime I hear these numbers, I develop a fever. How is such a number possible (do not mention the $700 million package so as not to offend me)?

My father explained to me how the housing crisis erupted and became the catalyst for the tragedy that is the ecomony right now. In very rudimentary terms, it boils down to corruption and greed on the side of these institutions and greed on the part of the participating American residents.

Adjustable rates and interest only plans sound like stupid ideas to me and I am only 21, have a year left of college, and am not almost qualified to purchase a home. But what I understand from buying a home and building equity, interest only is counterproductive. Why pay only the interest on a home and build absolutely no equity? You are basically paying the profit directly to the loaner and building no wealth of your own.

Adjustable rates? That means they can manipulate the rates as they see fit. Of course, to get you to sign, it'll be spectacularly low. The next year, the rate is offensively jacked up and suddenly the Joneses cannot afford their mortgage.

People are left in a tight spot now. They have to pinch pennies all around so no money is circulating in the economy. Businesses suffer as people cannot afford the typical overindulgences of American culture. Bigger is better. More is better.

And people aren't buying cars. Every year my father and I would watch for the new lines of cars and discuss aesthetics and functionality, although our family wasn't actually buying a new car. Now, we don't have that conversation. Pocketbooks are so tight that simple discussion of things that cost money seems to incur debt.

Two million jobs have been lost this year, over 500,000 of them in the month of November alone. And according to many, things will not look up for a quite some time.

So the car industry has suffered to a degree I never imagined. This is a deep, deep recession. As they say, sh*t is about to get real.

_______

Back to our capitalism in a patriarchal oppressive society. Capitalism, as we practice it, must change. A free market is good but total freedom and a healthy market cannot coexist and the idea of its possibility is a fallacy.

We all have rules. We all have to live under rules and regulations. Why is wall street or any of those institutions that need a bailout now any different? The thing is, people, left unmonitored, are not honorable, at least not all the time. People are greedy. Humans are innately greedy, self-preserving creatures. That is why learning to share your toys in kindergarten is an important gauge for a child's social development. We have to be taught to give a damn about other people and what they want/need.

So these institutions were left unmonitored. The inflated the values of houses and there was no one to blow a whistle and say, "That house ain't worth no $700,000. Chill." No one can do that because the other banks are busy doing the same thing. The government is the only institution that has the clout to intervene. It has the power of the Constitution and law behind it.

This is where the party lines will be drawn in this entry. Conservatism abhors big government. The market should regulate itself. Liberalism thinks that big government is the only remedy. The market has to be regulated.

I am a liberal. The market has to be regulated. These banks inflated the prices of homes and lowered the qualifications to buy a home. Suddenly, everybody qualified to buy a home (and trust me, everybody did not qualify to buy a house). Now, you have people who owe more on their homes than the home is actually worth.

That is to say, if a house is worth only $200,000, the bank inflated the value to $500,000, the Jones bought the house under some bogus adjustable rate contract, the rates went up, the Jones couldn't afford it anymore, but they owed, $475,000 on a house that is only worth $200,000.

And the American residents. People who signed up for the $500,000 houses knowing they could not afford them under normal circumstances have a share in this blame. This whole culture of more, more, more is a problem but this is the culture we built and continue to subscribe to.

Money is to buy things, to impress people, to think well of ourselves, to work harder, to get money to buy more things.

Act Your Age or Your Shoe SIze

"50/50 Love" by Teddy Pendergrass

...said it's so good lovin' somebody when somebody loves you back...

In four weeks and 1 day, George W. Bush's administration comes to and end and will pass the torch to Barack Obama and his camp.

It just occurred to me that he will be leaving office and Barack is responsible for somehow ending the war in Iraq. I feel as though he has to stay in some kind of detention (he, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and whoever other idiot allowed this to happen) and help in ending this responsibly and with honest intelligence. He should be held accountable somehow. It aggravates me that he shall return life as a citizen in Dallas, Texas as soldiers and civilians continue to lose their lives and limbs.

He started this mess of a "war" by lying to everyone who wasn't in on this profit machine of an invasion of Iraq. He created this "surge" scheme so as to claim one victory in Iraq and the conservatives harp on that one claim all day, despite the juxtaposition of pain and treachery, demolition and carnage, that this surge is set against. But that isn't what this entry is supposed to be about.

But there are times, honestly, of late that I have felt bad for the man. At a recent speech following the election of Obama, he became a little choked up and I felt bad for him. In light of some of the world's leaders refusing to shake his hand, the constant jocular theme of discussion about Bush on almost every program, and now this incident in which an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at him, I feel a little bad for him.

I admitted that to my mother, who, along with my father, hates Bush and conservative ideology in general, and she said that she does too. He is, after all, a human being and he is aware of his unpopularity within the country and the world and that is a devastating thing to a person.

I used to say, following several blunders in the Bush administration, that I couldn't decide whether George Bush was completely evil or utterly retarded. I have decided that he is neither.

Bush is a conservative. That in and of itself presented a problem for the way he handled the issues of our day. Secondly, he is a very privileged White male which makes it very hard for him to identify with the average American citizen or resident. Thirdly, the man is highly unqualified for the rigors of the job as president. He was a small part of a big machine that meant to accomplish specific things on behalf of rich, White, male Washington (and Texas).

However, when I think about things like the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, the thousands of tragedies that are casualties of war, the casualties of the housing and job markets, I don't feel sorry for the buffoon anymore.

The people of New Orleans sat in contaminated water decorated with corpses for days before preliminary help was sent. And three years after the disaster, New Orleans has yet to return to better days. People, American citizens, were begging for help from the most powerful and most wealthy government on the face of the earth. That was embarrassing. There were other countries volunteering help and services and they were turned down by the government, who never really came into help. Bush just looked at New Orleans like it was a movie that he had nothing to do with.

And the war. I won't even say anything about the war so as not to be persecuted. My opinions might be a little to radical and I am not a citizen yet.

So George, I say that you are not evil. I say that you are not retarded. I say that you were a bad president. I say you might be the worst president in American history. I say you were not qualified for the job and you should have never been elected.

What your legacy is, we won't know for sure for several years. The secrets don't come out for at least 20 years so we'll have to wait for the history books of 2028.

**The fact that he got 2 shoes thrown at him is hilarious though. I could not stop laughing when I saw that. But I wouldn't want someone to throw anything at Obama. That isn't fair but I just respect Obama more thus far. And I tried to find a neutral picture about Bush's legacy by typing in "Bush's legacy," but I couldn't. I only found ones similar to the third one in this post which I think is very telling.**

Get Off My Line

"Tell Me Somethin' Good" by Chaka Khan

...tell me somethin' good / tell me that you love me yea / tell me somethin' good / tell me that you like it yea...

Barack Obama has been highly praised, thus far, from both sides of the political line about the team he has assembled for his administration.

From cabinet members, advisors, and ambassadors, Obama's choices reflect an administration that is poised to work and take on the task of returning America to more triumphant days.

I have heard some arguing that his cabinet looks rather "Clintonesque" but I fail to see how that is a problem. Additionally, Obama has crossed party lines to invite Republicans into his cabinet and has even retained a current member of Bush's Administration, Robert Gates.

I feel that this demonstrates a new kind of Washington, just as Obama has promised from the inception of his campaign. He is not rewarding business chums with positions in his administration. He is not excluding those who are kind of politically antithetical to him. He is not allowing the tumult of campaign days to bar qualified people's participation in his administration. Obama is really ready to go to work and will work with anyone who is like-minded.

Barack Obama has also managed to demonstrate some more marked differences from the Bush Administration. The position of Ambassador to the United Nations has been filled by Susan Rice. The position has also been elevated to a cabinet member. A cabinet member has a direct line to president, allowing for quicker communication.

Bush had downgraded the position and removed it from the cabinet roster following Clinton (who also had the position as a cabinet member). This makes me wonder how seriously Bush and his administration ever took the United Nations and how much they ever planned on cooperating with United Nations. It does not seem coincidental that the administration downgraded the position and then ignored the UN when they decided to invade Iraq. Even Congress was not on board for this war.

Basically, in my opinion, this is the stuff of conspiracy theories. It seems as though the war in Iraq was inevitable and was going to happen regardless of circumstance, protest, or disagreement. Conveniently, the administration that is a responsible for a tragic and irresponsible war that the UN and Congress were against, also downgraded the position of Ambassador to the United Nations.

I guess you weren't trying to hear anybody on your direct line telling you not to do exactly what you, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and them came to Washington to do: destroy America and get rich, huh?

Brown Cabinets

Barack Obama is beginning to build his team for his cabinet and has named a few department heads already. This is the list of the cabinet in order of succession to the presidency. Those that we do not know of yet will definitely be listed later.

Departments and Secretaries
Department of State: Secretary of State: Senator Hillary Clinton (of New York)

Department of Treasury: Secretary of the Treasury: Timothy Geithner

Department of Defense: Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates (incumbent)

Department of Justice: Attorney General: Eric Holder (current Deputy Attorney General)

Department of Interior: Secretary of the Interior: Senator Ken Salazar

Department of Agriculture: Secretary of Agriculture:

Department of Commerce: Secretary of Commerce: Governor William Richardson (of New Mexico)

Department of Labor: Secretary of Labor: Representative Hilda Solis (of California)

Department of Health and Human Services: Secretary of Health and Human Services: Senator Thomas Daschle (former senator of South Dakota)

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan

Department of Transportation: Secretary of Transportation: Representative Ray LaHood (of Illinois)

Department of Energy: Secretary of Energy: Dr. Steven Chu

Department of Education: Secretary of Education: Arne Duncan

Department of Veteran Affairs: Secretary of Veteran Affairs: General Eric K. Shinseki

Department of Homeland Security: Secretary of Homeland Security: Governor Janet Napolitano

Chief of Staff: Representative Rahm Emmanuel

Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice

National Security Advisor: General James Jones

Head of Small Business Association: Karen Mills

U.S. Trade Representative: Ron Kirk

Head of Council of Environmental Quality: Nancy Sutley

Belong

"I Tried" by Anthony Hamilton

...tried for so long / for you to hold on / but you won't belong to anyone, anything, any love, at all...

Some people have been saying that the future has arrived and we are already late (John!). I believe I agree. The future has arrived, the alarm clock has gone off and we are still sleeping.

Unfortunately for us, we did not have a mother or a father to come into the room and awaken us so as not to be late for the future.

So we have slept through several lectures in the future.

But children, we have been adopted. We are out of the darkness of the orphanage and into the light of a good, solid home.

Barack noticed that the children were still asleep and Michelle has come into the room to wake us. Us, little Black girls and boys are we.

Barack and Michelle mean a great deal for Black people. Let me be clear though, racism and prejudice are alive and are severe impediments in all of our lives, White and Black alike.

But it still means something very significant and very positive. We little Black children have not had prominent, easily accessible, and highly publicized examples of Black intellectuals, professionals, humanitarians, and the ilk.

We have looked to entertains in sports, music, movies, etc. for mentors, heroes, and role models almost exclusively. Nothing is wrong with any person of the aforementioned careers. Quand même, there is something dangerous and devastating about those individuals being the only ones Black children consult about how to live their lives because they are just entertainers.

Many have come forward and complained about the burden of "mentorship" or "role modelhood," especially when they are behaving in an embarrassing or criminal manner. They have come outright, time and time again, and told us wee children not to look to them for guidance for they too are late for the future.

For that reason, the children have been unintentionally misled. Our "heroes" do not want to be heroes, but since we have nothing else to follow, we have followed them, erroneously believing that the crowd behind them would motivate them to change, do better, and show us something brilliant.

Oh but we have a live alarm clock in Michelle and Barack. Little Black girls can walk with poise, confidence, aspire to be intelligent, be excited to learn, use their minds over their bodies, and believe again. Little Black boys can pursue books instead of balls, be intelligent with swagger, love a Black woman, be a good father, and change the world.

This scantily clad lady above smiles and closes her eyes, cocks her head to the side and dances to what others hear as silence. You know why? Because she has been awakened too. She knows she can put on some clothes, grab a book, read that book, create beautiful synapses, and change the world too.

Aint No Line Too Damn Long!

So I have to admit that prior to this, I have been disgusted by the pompous extravagance Diddy has made his persona...but this sh*t here, this sh*t here is the truth.

We forget, overlook, take for granted, and are downright ignorant to the luxury of the right to vote. We call it a right. In this glorious country we have a consensus on the fundamental amenities granted to citizens.

This is not so everywhere in the world! Democracy is a dream deferred than mug in other places!

And Black people!! People died so we could vote! Marched! Hosed down! Attacked by dogs! You cannot be dismissive. You cannot be indecisive. You cannot even be cynical (and Lord knows I love me some cynicism!).

Vote.

Freedom After Speech

Star Spangled Banner

...whose broad stripes and bright stars / through the perilous night...

I have never understood political apathy. On Facebook and Myspace and all those other online social networks, there are usually places that ask for one's political affiliation.

People often put up "apathetic". I understand if you don't want to classify yourself as liberal or conversative; democratic or republican, but I cannot understand apathy.

I understand if you don't totally trust the government, if you subscribe to conspiracy theories, or if you are generally afraid of the big machine. I am too.

I even understand if you just don't know much about the system, how it works, who is in it, etc.

But I cannot understand apathy. Apathy is a lack of feeling or emotion and to have such apathy about American politics is sad.

Not that people aren't entitled to their opinions, but I feel as though Americans feel a little too entitled. The American democratic system is the stuff of dreams.

In America, there is a transition of power without violence or resistance. That is the hallmark of American democracy. No matter which party wins, we can all be sure that our national safety is not vulnerable to internal distress. At the end of the grueling process that is an election, Americans can go about their lives just as they did before. We are all able to travel to work and school safely, go to the grocery store, buy gas, go out to eat, go clubbing, have barbecues and everything else without interruption or threat of death.

There are places in the world in which such a transition is impossible. Transition of power, sometimes to another person of the same party, is equivalent to a declaration of war. Each elections is not just the innaguration of a new leader, but also the innaguration of bloody opposition. And this is in places that subscribe to democracy, rogue as their system may be.

There are more places where people exist under a tyrannical government, with no formal political opposition (because tyranny by definition does not allow that). And the people suffer. The government can be as unfair and cruel as it pleases and there is no one to speak on behalf of the people. Either they leave or they die, because in such a government and such a social climate, life is not reliable option.

So, hate the American government if you want. Do not trust the American government if you can't. Oppose the government. Because in America, that is your right. You have the right to dissent in democracy without fear of government censorship via murder. For that reason, if you can, you must vote, you must pay attention, you must have an opinion.

If enough people stop caring about our government...stop talking, stop questioning, stop listening, stop looking...you give the goverment permission to run amuck. People are not that good. Without supervision, we do not uphold the kinds of characters and behaviors we know are right and the government ain't no damn different. Pay attention. Questioning, criticizing, watching, and listening to the government is supporting the government and maintaining our democracy.

Posers

The man in this photo is supposedly a kind of mouthpiece for God. The Nation of Islam, and maybe a few more, revere him and his words.

It is not different from any other religious movement or institution. The preachers or pastors, imams, rabbis and such are important figure heads and advisors.

But in my personal opinion, this man is a little disturbing. He in some way perturbs me. Possibly because, for the longest time, I have been taught that he aided in the assassination of the wonderful Malcolm X. To silence such a voice is on some level, irredeemable.

Or maybe it is the picture that perturbs me. (It is actually far more than this picture that perturbs me, but what this picture demonstrates at large is a foundation for my unsettling feelings). This man here, a mouthpiece for God sits beside a woman who has made her claim to fame by sleeping with innumerable rich and famous men and subsequently publishing a book about her escapades.

This very degradation of herself is something the Nation of Islam vehemently speaks against women doing.

I am not judging. I would have done the same thing in those circumstances. I am not judging Farrakan either, but this pictures leaves me to wonder what conversation, what suggestions, what flirtations may have occurred.

Truth be told, I do not like the man.