A Nation Blinded By Hate

I was looking on Facebook and saw a photograph of President Obama from 2008 as it was posted by ForAmerica.  The caption beneath it read, "Looks like the President has a new dance move! What should he call it?"  If you would like to read the responses, the link is provided here.

Needless to say, I was both shocked and appalled.  The responses were so negative and racially charged that I found myself compelled to respond.  Rather than excite the same ignorance on my site, I simply want to share my response. 

After reading about 100 of the 5,308 negative comments, I wrote the following:

I read these comments and laughed at just how idiotic people are. It amazes me

The Business of The Church

I'm just a good ol' country boy at heart and I come from a place in time when Sunday was actually a day of worship.  I had different sets of clothes that were designated for school, play, and church.  And, unless you were trying to get in trouble, you never got one set of clothing confused with another.

The churches of my childhood all looked the same.  When you walked in, there was a clear view of the pastor and the altar.  There were ushers in place and a second podium placed on the floor from which any secondary, non-ordained people could speak.  There was a respect and reverence given to every portion of the sanctuary and - if you were fortunate - there would be a bake sale or a hot meal being sold after church.  But, even then, you couldn't just eat any place you wanted to while in the church - only in designated areas.

Today, things are so very different...

The Very Audacity Of Hope

I am a literal person; sometimes, a little too literal.  I believe in fully understanding the entire scope of a definition of a word so that I might begin to see the whole meaning of a statement.  To define myself, I would say, "I'm a wordsmith."

It is because of my ongoing love affair with words that I often win in debates and lose in matters of the heart.  Even my horoscope defines my astrological sign as being a "forward thinking humanitarian who is in touch with reality, but seemingly detached from any true love."  Ah, but that is another subject to explore.  For now, let's continue with my love of words. My fascination with word placement and word choice allows me to easily draw a tangent in any conversation; deviating from one point to another and weaving a tapestry of thought beneath actions and reactions.   

You see, in order to win a debate, you must be able to mentally dissect the words that your opponent uses to prove their arguments and then use those very same words to disprove their foundation of thought.  You must be capable of finding fault in the smallest stream of logic within the argument and use it as a basis to undermine their entire basis of reasoning.  You must be able to determine not only that there is a crack in the pavement, but you must be able to also understand where it originated and envision the gradual demise of an entire boardwalk.  Basically, you must be able to destroy your opponent's arguments from within.

Deviant Behavior Begins At Home

I was forwarded a link as a joke yesterday and, sadly enough, I found nothing funny about it.

In the first video link below, a parent is outraged after he reads his daughter's "sexting" messages and he decides to react in a manner that, for the moment, will cause his daughter to rethink her actions.  Sexting, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the sending of inappropriate texts which are sexual in nature.  That could include description of sexual acts, revealing photographs, or highly suggestive language.

I actually applaud the father for having the sense to ban or limit the daughter's access to socializing.  In today's society, we often leave reprimand to the school system, other people and even television.  This father is taking an active role in curtailing his daughter's activity and will, hopefully, reinforce this measure with continued monitoring and limited access to certain friends.

My question to parents is this: "Who teaches sexual responsibility to your children?"

Once A Negus (Member of Royalty)

Please take a moment and listen to the rantings of this young man (in the video link below).

I found this video online and was skeptical about adding it to my blog site, but some of the points he makes are valid ones.  This video is not unique.  There are countless others which echo this young man's sentiment.  I must warn you; however, that there is flagrant use of the "n word", so, if you are easily offended, simply skip the video and read my commentary.  I would greatly appreciate your comments.

Sadly, I can only agree with portions of his social rant.  I understand his separation of the term from the identification of a culture, but the term "nigger" is often used to identify behavioral traits which exists as no more than tom foolery in every culture.  I can neither embrace or erase the term as it is somehow become ingrained in the African American culture, but not in my own day to day dialogue.

When the slanderous term was introduced to our culture in the 1700s, it was used as a way of demeaning someone and making them feel as if they were no longer a part of a social class.  Negroes were strong, proud tribes people who reveled in their culture, knew their heritage, and likened themselves to kings and queens.  To change their mindset, slave owners looked down upon them and (while they were forced to perform menial tasks, chained, beaten, or raped) they were called "niggers" repeatedly.  This forced a separation in the mindset of what a true Negro is versus the actions of a nigger.