Free Your Mind: Challenge Some Things You Are Told

Today, a Facebook friend posted, "Did you know that only 25% of African-American homes have books in them?" This was hap-hazardly posted immediately after hearing a report read aloud by a leading radio host on a popular nationwide show. Of course, I offered my opinion because I believe this information is neither truthful nor accurate. We (as an American society) have to stop accepting everything we are told as truth without offering further investigation.

 

My premise for denial was based on the fact that these statistics made no comparison "across the board" to other households. In the age of the internet and hand-held computers, I question whether or not most households still stockpile printed encyclopedias, dictionaries, and a vast, printed literary collection. And, in comparison to other households, is 25% a relatively high number or not? To me, spouting half-facts is simply another way to allow half-truths to begin to undermine the mental frame work of a culture and, ultimately, cause seperation, fear, and self-doubt.

My written response to the Facebook post was as follows: What ever happened to thinking for yourself?

 

To put it nicely, I just don't believe that this is a complete statement. Please don't let someone who has never stepped foot in your community tell you what to think of your own reflection. This negative propaganda only further fuels the idea of division based on pre-conceived standards of excellence. 

 

Please realize that he (the radio host) is just reading a piece of paper that was handed to him by the same multimillion dollar companies that act as the dividing rulers in America. These companies keep their profit margins in line by making one class of people purchase coffee every morning and another class of people buy beer every night. If you begin to listen with your eyes and see with your ears, you'll notice that the commercials on his (and any other popular show) tell you how to think, what to buy, and how to limit your own potential.
 

In today's world, does this survey consider that tangible books may no longer be as relevant? Maybe the homes included in their survey have internet access instead of library cards. And, why is it that these staggering statistics only point out a literary travesty in one section of American homes? What about our white, yellow, brown or red counterparts? By comparison, is it feasible to believe that books are being replaced by laptops, nooks, and tablets by EVERY race and social class?

 

Spewing non-truths only breeds division. Think about it, everyone you know has books in their home. Is it a coincidence that you and your friends have been left out of the survey? What about me and my family? What about my 3,000 Facebook friends? No one has knocked on my door to ask me about books and it surely wasn't a question on the last census. So, where did these exaggerated statistics come from?

 

Try this little experiment at home this summer: Catch several flies rather than swat them. Put them in a glass jar with air holes in the lid and leave sweet food in the jar's bottom. Leave the flies alone for an hour then, remove the lid.

 

Guess what?

 

Many of the flies will not escape EVEN AFTER you remove the lid because they have been psychologically TRAINED to believe that you control the height of their elevation and their "reward" lies at the bottom of the glass rather than at the top - where you (the oppressor) thrive.

 

Now, as a direct comparison, here is a similar, social experiment: Place a group of people in a controlled environment (let's call it a "project" or housing development). Now, tell these people that they have achieved all they possibly can. Feed their souls with negative depictions of themselves. Constantly reinforce the "glass ceiling" of possibilities by telling them that they are the highest population in prison, the lowest population in college, the most affected by disease and, through the assistance of programs like welfare, WIC cards and self-diagnosed mental disability checks, create the illusion that they are better off as individuals rather than in a family. Reward them for their public displays of ignorance and shun them for their attempts to excel.

 

If they try to escape your illusion, reward them with trinkets and "bling" placed within reach so as to distract them from obtaining home ownership or actively pursuing collegiate degrees. Constantly remind them of how great the rewards are whenever they choose to remain at the bottom of the jar.  Mock them publicly by imitating their foolishness and branding it as comical satire. In the end, this class of people - regardless of color - will perpetuate crimes against their own advancement, think that being the fool of every joke is acceptable, stop striving to better themselves, and believe whatever you want them to believe as long as you have their "leaders" repeat the same mind-crippling rhetoric on TV, radio, on screen and stage.

 

Now, do you begin to see the results of this survey as no more than negative propaganda? Will you begin to scrutinize facts from fiction on your own? Will you willfully accept pieces of information as truth rather than evaluate them for validity? Will you continue to allow others to dictate the height of your own expectations? Just wondering....

 

But, then again, this is just ONE Man's Opinion... What is yours?