Before I begin, let me say the following piece is based upon my observations and experiences and is my belief. While I realize that many will find this controversial, I wholeheartedly stand behind the ideals expressed in my writing.
I have noticed a cultural phenomenon that has been taking hold in the African American community for most of my life and probably well before. An attitude of entitlement, laziness, and irresponsibility has nearly consumed a generation. The community I was born to and grew up in refuses to let go of the past hate that has gripped our nation once again since the inauguration of our first black President. While I understand and more importantly, respect the historical significance of what happened to our ancestors, I cannot understand why some refuse to move on. I cannot begin to fathom why some do not really want the civil rights movement to come to and end. I feel that in some cases the African American community is as responsible for the perpetuation of racism in America as those fools who run around in white hoods burning crosses in people's front yards.
As a community we spend more time picking apart the meaning of a published cartoon than we do teaching our children that they have to work hard and educate themselves to get ahead in life. Our community wants to teach entitlement based on the fact the our people were once slaves. This is just wrong. While we should never forget where we come from, nobody, regardless of color, should feel entitled to anything based up these things.
The most poignant example of how a community should respond to past hatred and trials would be found in the Jewish community. Jews were on the verge of extermination. Did they spend countless years operating on a sense of entitlement? No. They educated themselves, picked themselves up, and moved on while always honoring their past trials. They did not develop into a culture of laziness and entitlement, expecting others to just hand them the good life they felt they deserved. The Jewish community is now one of the strongest there are in America. They are at top levels in the financial world as well as the entertainment industry, not to mention countless others.
I just can't wrap my mind around the prevailing attitudes in my community. I had great hopes for my current generation to do an about-face and recognize that anything is possible if one applies oneself. For every instance of discrimination there are a dozen ways around that. We have so many examples of African Americans who've done this. Why do some refuse to see these shining examples? Why do we use the past as a crutch? There will probably always be racists somewhere in this country...people who also refuse to move on from past ideals. Why should these things hold us back? Better yet, why should we dwell on them? The best way to defeat racism is to be educated and successful. It's not necessary to silence every single perceived racist remark that is ever made or written in order to progress. Our lives provide all the evidence to the contrary that we will ever need. What we do with our lives will supersede archaic ideals and past or present hatred. It's not a dream...it's a reality now.
It's Time...
It's time for us to stand up and take responsibility for our station in life and stop blaming others...or the past...or racism. It's time to realize we are not entitled to anything that we do not work for. It's time to teach our children the value of learning whether it be formal or self-taught. It's time to accept that not one person in America owes us anything but the respect that we earn. It's time we admit that respect is indeed earned and not something owed to us because we woke up this morning. It's time for our fathers to return to their children and take the high road. It's time we teach a desire to work hard for what we want. It's time we stop letting petty people, places, and things distract us from our goals. They are of no consequence to us if we make up our mind that they are not. We can do anything. Just look to President Obama...Oprah Winfrey...Maya Angelou...Condoleezza Rice...Colin Powell...Whoopi Goldberg...Rosa Parks...Thurgood Marshall...Marin Luther King Jr....Nina Simone...Shirley Chisholm...Moorfield Storey...do I really need to go on? I could.
It's time we add our own names to the long list of those who came before us as well as those who are still shining examples of what anyone can accomplish here in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Stay Free!
