This is not an easy blog to write, mostly because I am still dealing with my positions on this matter. That is to say, I have not yet figured out, where I stand, so I am still feeling my way through these arguments and attempting to find a platform on which to stand. The basic idea is....You can't save them all. There are times in an emergency when you have to decide: who is worth saving, who wants to be saved, and who can be saved. When there are limited resources you have to decide what is the best way to utilize those resources to get the results you want to achieve.
Will there ever come a point where we say that we've attempted to get all our brothers and sisters on board, but we've gotten all we can get, and it's time to move out of the station, to the next destination. I'm talking about us....black people, right now in 2010. I'm torn, there is a part of me that says someone reached out to a two-bit hood and brought us Malcolm X, , someone reached out to an unwed welfare mother, and brought us Oprah. Our history is full of examples where we pulled each other up, helping each other survive towards a common goal, creating leaders, and powerful organizations that helped to reshape this country. And I wonder, while we still have a ways to go, at what point do we start to think about the fact that even 747's have weight limits. Carring dead weight will not only slow you down, but it can keep you from your destination all together.
So here I am torn between two truths as I see them. Truth number one...none of us would be where we are were it not for the struggles, and sacrifices made by those of us who were able to pave the way. Truth Number Two...If you weigh down the boat with enough baggage it will sink. At what point do we stop trying to focus our energies on the: Stepin Fetchits, those involved in blatant Coonery, the super uber thugs. We've already pretty much given up on Micheal Steele and Clarence Thomas, who else gets added to the list?
Or do we continue to fight and claw for every lost soul. I guess this is a question to the activists, the nationalists, the culturalists, the talented tenth, and those on the front, middle and back lines of "the struggle". Do we focus limited resources on everyone, trying to cast the net far and wide trying to catch every soul we can, or do we narrow our focus. Helping to reach out to those who want more for themselves, at the expense of the whole.
And there also lies the question, what if they are happy with their lot in life. It's hard to save the complacent, it's hard to move the anchored. It's like the guy in the Matrix Movie (the first one) Cypher, who wanted back in the Matrix, who was happy being a part of the system even if it was literally sucking the life out of him. Who sold out his friends and beliefs to get back to the system. How do you reach those people? Do you reach those people? Can we afford to try to reach those people.... Can we afford not to? I don't have the answers right now, but I hope to have them soon, I think one day we will have to decide...whether or not we need to keep trying to save Cypher.
I deal with this exact issue in life and even in doing community service at a boys and girls club. But,I know my best is sufficient. God has givenme an assignment. He has put me responsible to reach certain people. I am not the entire body of Christ so I am not to save the whole world. But I need to do my part. I provide the oportunity and live as an example. The decision is their. Malcolm little seized his opportunity, Oprah seized her opportunity.
ReplyDeleteYou only have to answer for your actions at the gate.
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ReplyDeleteGreat Question and a timely one as well. I believe there are enough of us actively doing the saving that it allows us to act as the captain of the 747's you mentioned, meaning, when our Plane is as full as it can get or is filled with as many people we can handle then we take off with the passengers we have. We then inform those who are actively doing the saving that we are moving on to the next phase but we will return when we get the passengers on board our 747 to their destination. Some of us will only be able to take a plane full and retire after one trip, while others will be refueled as opposed to drained after our first trip so that we can go back to get more of our people. Either way, we do not have to save everyone, our struggle has been on going for centuries and if one man could solve our problems as Our brother Kwame Ture once said, I would have done it already.
ReplyDeleteGet you a plane full Brother Hooligan and move to the next phase and hopefully you will be refueled when you reach your destination that you may come back for more, if not, we will thank you for your service and commitment to the struggle and keep it moving. Remember you can take a break and come back at anytime, the struggle will continue.... Keep it coming Black man....
Very well said Faheem.
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