Have you noticed that all of those on the right who want everyone to know how "Christian" they are, rarely, if ever, quote Christ? They love to spout scripture, more often than not the fire and brimstore stuff. But where's the love that Christ taught? One of my favorite stories from the Bible is the parable of The Good Samaritan. You know the story -
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
To make this parable more meaningful, here's a modern retelling of it I found online:
You are a contributor to and participant in the Conservatives Family Values movement. You have come to a certain American city to attend a big Convervatives Family Values event. On Sunday morning you happen to attend a nearby church before heading home. You are challenged by the guest preacher at the pulpit to answer the question, "Who is your neighbor?" This question came after the preacher had just quoted from Old Testament (Lev 19:18) passage, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
The guest preacher then tells you a story of another Convervatives for Family Values event attendee. He got lost while in that city. While walking through a run-down part of the city, he became ill, fell to the side-walk, and passed-out next to a homeless woman who was on top of a sidewalk grate, from which warm air was coming up to keep her -- and now both of them -- warm on that cold winter day. Soon another homeless man came by, took the man's watch and wallet, and swapped his own beat-up coat, hat, and shoes, for the man's very nice ones.
An hour later a small group of Conservative Family Values event people -- a preacher, a deacon, and some children -- also happen to be passing by there. They saw the unconscious man -- whom they thought was a homeless man sleeping next to his woman partner. As the woman began to stir, the preacher of the group spoke to the deacon and to the children saying what a sinful sight this was and how it illustrated the need for their Conservative Family Values movement. And they continued walking.
A few minutes later a well-dressed gay couple came by, arm-in-arm. They recognized the homeless woman, to whom they offered a bottle of water and a granola bar that one of the men had in a bag. When they tried to stir the man, they realized that he was ill and needed professional attention. He was barely conscious at first. The couple immediately dialed 911 to send for Emergency Medical Services. They took off their coats to cushion his head and to keep him warm until the EMS professionals arrived. The man thanked the gay couple as they told him to let them know if they could be of any further help.
The guest preacher at the pulpit then asks you, "Which of the three acted like a neighbor? The preacher, the deacon, or the gay couple?"
See, the gay couple are the Christians, in the only way that would have mattered to Jesus. They're a model of what it means to lead a Christlike life. Simply put, they love their neighbor - and recognize that a neighbor isn't just someone who lives next door, or looks like them, or shares their beliefs and prejudices. A neighbor is simply another human being - any human being. Jesus' message - that a member of a group you despise may be a better neighbor to you and a better model for neighborliness for you than those whom you respect - is one that many outcasts today can hear with gratification.
The story also offers those who are outcasts something more than mere affirmation. It presents them (as I Black man, I should say us - blacks, gays, immigrants, the poor, etc.), it presents us with a powerful challenge - a challenge to live in a world where many people despise us as fervently as 1st century Christians despised Samaritans, and to love them anyway. It's a challenge not to just say that you love those who hate you; it's a lesson that tells us that to love is to act with love. It is to do.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Who does their market research?
Okay, it's Friday and I have the day off, so I'm watching a little TV. Third Watch on A&E. I love Third Watch, by the way. Anyway, a public service announcement just came on urging kids not to join gangs. It's a good idea, but how many kids are sitting at home watching A&E? It's A&E, people!! C'mon, spend your advertising funds a little better than that!
A little help?
Anyone know anything about Tarot cards? I just ordered a used book and it came in the mail yesterday. As I was thumbing through it, a tarot card fell out - La Mort. Scared the hell out of me. Anyone know what it signifies?
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
History repeats if we don't pay attention
The following is by Fritz Stern. It's long, but well worth the time. And it's very, very scary. It can happen again, people.
...the rise of National Socialism was neither inevitable nor accidental. It did have deep roots, but the most urgent lesson to remember is that it could have been stopped. This is but one of the many lessons contained in modern German history, lessons that should not be squandered in cheap and ignorant analogies. A key lesson is that civic passivity and willed blindness were the preconditions for the triumph of National Socialism, which many clearheaded Germans recognized at the time as a monstrous danger and ultimate nemesis.
We who were born at the end of the Weimar Republic and who witnessed the rise of National Socialism—left with that all-consuming, complex question: how could this horror have seized a nation and corrupted so much of Europe?—should remember that even in the darkest period there were individuals who showed active decency, who, defying intimidation and repression, opposed evil and tried to ease suffering. I wish these people would be given a proper European memorial—not to appease our conscience but to summon the courage of future generations. Churchmen, especially Protestant clergy, shared his hostility to the liberal-secular state and its defenders, and they, too, were filled with anti-Semitic doctrine.
Allow me a few remarks not about the banality of evil but about its triumph in a deeply civilized country. After the Great War and Germany’s defeat, conditions were harsh and Germans were deeply divided between moderates and democrats on the one hand and fanatic extremists of the right and the left on the other. National Socialists portrayed Germany as a nation that had been betrayed or stabbed in the back by socialists and Jews; they portrayed Weimar Germany as a moral-political swamp; they seized on the Bolshevik-Marxist danger, painted it in lurid colors, and stoked people’s fear in order to pose as saviors of the nation. In the late 1920s a group of intellectuals known as conservative revolutionaries demanded a new volkish authoritarianism, a Third Reich. Richly financed by corporate interests, they denounced liberalism as the greatest, most invidious threat, and attacked it for its tolerance, rationality and cosmopolitan culture. These conservative revolutionaries were proud of being prophets of the Third Reich—at least until some of them were exiled or murdered by the Nazis when the latter came to power. Throughout, the Nazis vilified liberalism as a semi-Marxist-Jewish conspiracy and, with Germany in the midst of unprecedented depression and immiseration, they promised a national rebirth.
Twenty years ago, I wrote about “National Socialism as Temptation,” about what it was that induced so many Germans to embrace the terrifying specter. There were many reasons, but at the top ranks Hitler himself, a brilliant populist manipulator who insisted and probably believed that Providence had chosen him as Germany’s savior, that he was the instrument of Providence, a leader who was charged with executing a divine mission. God had been drafted into national politics before, but Hitler’s success in fusing racial dogma with a Germanic Christianity was an immensely powerful element in his electoral campaigns. Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics, but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured his success, notably in Protestant areas.
German moderates and German elites underestimated Hitler, assuming that most people would not succumb to his Manichean unreason; they didn’t think that his hatred and mendacity could be taken seriously. They were proven wrong. People were enthralled by the Nazis’ cunning transposition of politics into carefully staged pageantry, into flag-waving martial mass. At solemn moments, the National Socialists would shift from the pseudo-religious invocation of Providence to traditional Christian forms: In his first radio address to the German people, twenty-four hours after coming to power, Hitler declared, “The National Government will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built up. They regard Christianity as the foundation of our national morality and the family as the basis of national life.”
...the rise of National Socialism was neither inevitable nor accidental. It did have deep roots, but the most urgent lesson to remember is that it could have been stopped. This is but one of the many lessons contained in modern German history, lessons that should not be squandered in cheap and ignorant analogies. A key lesson is that civic passivity and willed blindness were the preconditions for the triumph of National Socialism, which many clearheaded Germans recognized at the time as a monstrous danger and ultimate nemesis.
We who were born at the end of the Weimar Republic and who witnessed the rise of National Socialism—left with that all-consuming, complex question: how could this horror have seized a nation and corrupted so much of Europe?—should remember that even in the darkest period there were individuals who showed active decency, who, defying intimidation and repression, opposed evil and tried to ease suffering. I wish these people would be given a proper European memorial—not to appease our conscience but to summon the courage of future generations. Churchmen, especially Protestant clergy, shared his hostility to the liberal-secular state and its defenders, and they, too, were filled with anti-Semitic doctrine.
Allow me a few remarks not about the banality of evil but about its triumph in a deeply civilized country. After the Great War and Germany’s defeat, conditions were harsh and Germans were deeply divided between moderates and democrats on the one hand and fanatic extremists of the right and the left on the other. National Socialists portrayed Germany as a nation that had been betrayed or stabbed in the back by socialists and Jews; they portrayed Weimar Germany as a moral-political swamp; they seized on the Bolshevik-Marxist danger, painted it in lurid colors, and stoked people’s fear in order to pose as saviors of the nation. In the late 1920s a group of intellectuals known as conservative revolutionaries demanded a new volkish authoritarianism, a Third Reich. Richly financed by corporate interests, they denounced liberalism as the greatest, most invidious threat, and attacked it for its tolerance, rationality and cosmopolitan culture. These conservative revolutionaries were proud of being prophets of the Third Reich—at least until some of them were exiled or murdered by the Nazis when the latter came to power. Throughout, the Nazis vilified liberalism as a semi-Marxist-Jewish conspiracy and, with Germany in the midst of unprecedented depression and immiseration, they promised a national rebirth.
Twenty years ago, I wrote about “National Socialism as Temptation,” about what it was that induced so many Germans to embrace the terrifying specter. There were many reasons, but at the top ranks Hitler himself, a brilliant populist manipulator who insisted and probably believed that Providence had chosen him as Germany’s savior, that he was the instrument of Providence, a leader who was charged with executing a divine mission. God had been drafted into national politics before, but Hitler’s success in fusing racial dogma with a Germanic Christianity was an immensely powerful element in his electoral campaigns. Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics, but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured his success, notably in Protestant areas.
German moderates and German elites underestimated Hitler, assuming that most people would not succumb to his Manichean unreason; they didn’t think that his hatred and mendacity could be taken seriously. They were proven wrong. People were enthralled by the Nazis’ cunning transposition of politics into carefully staged pageantry, into flag-waving martial mass. At solemn moments, the National Socialists would shift from the pseudo-religious invocation of Providence to traditional Christian forms: In his first radio address to the German people, twenty-four hours after coming to power, Hitler declared, “The National Government will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built up. They regard Christianity as the foundation of our national morality and the family as the basis of national life.”
F****** Liars!!
The Republican party would have us believe that no one has ever stopped a judge from being voted on before. Just yesterday, White House spokesman was asked about the filibuster -
Q: Did you think the Republicans were playing politics when nominees when the Clinton folks had problems getting their nominees through?
MR. McCLELLAN: What has happened in this Senate is unprecedented. There has not been a situation like this, where members of one party have blocked nominees from even receiving an up or down vote on the floor.
Well, thanks to the folks at Crooks and Liars, we have videotape to prove this false. In 1968, Senate Republicans blocked Abe Fortas from becoming a Supreme Court justice. Click here. (you need Windows Media Player).
Q: Did you think the Republicans were playing politics when nominees when the Clinton folks had problems getting their nominees through?
MR. McCLELLAN: What has happened in this Senate is unprecedented. There has not been a situation like this, where members of one party have blocked nominees from even receiving an up or down vote on the floor.
Well, thanks to the folks at Crooks and Liars, we have videotape to prove this false. In 1968, Senate Republicans blocked Abe Fortas from becoming a Supreme Court justice. Click here. (you need Windows Media Player).
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Check it out
My buddy Sarah has picked up and moved a world away - to Juneau, Alaska to be exact. She's got an awesome blog detailing her adventures in the Great White North - The Juneau Journal. Check it out, and tell her Chaz sent ya!
Don't play poker with a Senator from Vegas!
Frist blinked! Basically, Senator Reid from Nevada, the Minority Leader, offered a compromise to the Republicans over the judicial nominations. The Dems would okay a 7 of W's appoinments, only blocking the 2 most extreme wingnuts. In return, the GOP would not get rid of the filibuster. Frist, of course, said no way to a compromise (how could he do otherwise? He's owned by the religious right). So now the Dems are looking like the party willing to compromise, and Republicans are looking obstructionist. Read about it here.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Does anyone write using cursive anymore?
This is a totally random thought, but does anyone write using cursive anymore? I mean other than signing your name? The reason I'm asking is because my boss asked me to sign something for her and it took me a while to remember how to write a cursive "G"! I remember spending forever as a kid learning to write, and now I hardly ever do it.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Pope Benedict ordered bishops to keep sex abuse allegations secret
From The Observer:
Pope Benedict XVI issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret. The order was made in a confidential letter which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II's successor last week.
Pope Benedict XVI issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret. The order was made in a confidential letter which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II's successor last week.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Money Quote
"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote - where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference - and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
"I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish - where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source - where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials."
JFK, April 1962
"I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish - where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source - where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials."
JFK, April 1962
Pope Benedict and the last election
From Salon.com:
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a "grave sin" and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" -- an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to "refuse to distribute it." Any Catholic who voted for this "Catholic politician," he continued, "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with "evil."
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a "grave sin" and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" -- an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to "refuse to distribute it." Any Catholic who voted for this "Catholic politician," he continued, "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with "evil."
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a hard-line guardian of conservative doctrine, was elected the new pope Tuesday evening in the first conclave of the new millennium. He chose the name Pope Benedict XVI and called himself "a simple, humble worker."
Ratzinger, the first German pope since the 11th century, emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he waved to a wildly cheering crowd of tens of thousands and gave his first blessing as pope. Other cardinals clad in their crimson robes came out on other balconies to watch him.
"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me — a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord," he said. "I entrust myself to your prayers," the pope said.
The crowd responded by chanting "Benedict! Benedict!"
I'm not Catholic, I'm Episcopalian, aka Catholic Lite, but my wife is Irish Catholic. The head of the Roman Church is an incredibly influential person, and in choosing Ratzinger, the church leaders have shown what they think of free thought an discussion in the Church. Ratzinger served John Paul II since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is also known as the Inquisition. In that position, he has disciplined church dissidents and upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms. He turned 78 on Saturday. I know a lot has been made of his being a member of the Hitler Youth, but to me that's not very important. He was a kid during the war (15 when the war ended). What does bother me as a student of religion are his various stances, whether his anti-feminist leaning or his advocating the withholding of communion from Catholic political leaders who are pro-choice, but not on those who are pro-deathpenalty. This, to me, is moral relativism of the sort that many on the right rail against.
Ratzinger, the first German pope since the 11th century, emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he waved to a wildly cheering crowd of tens of thousands and gave his first blessing as pope. Other cardinals clad in their crimson robes came out on other balconies to watch him.
"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me — a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord," he said. "I entrust myself to your prayers," the pope said.
The crowd responded by chanting "Benedict! Benedict!"
I'm not Catholic, I'm Episcopalian, aka Catholic Lite, but my wife is Irish Catholic. The head of the Roman Church is an incredibly influential person, and in choosing Ratzinger, the church leaders have shown what they think of free thought an discussion in the Church. Ratzinger served John Paul II since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is also known as the Inquisition. In that position, he has disciplined church dissidents and upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms. He turned 78 on Saturday. I know a lot has been made of his being a member of the Hitler Youth, but to me that's not very important. He was a kid during the war (15 when the war ended). What does bother me as a student of religion are his various stances, whether his anti-feminist leaning or his advocating the withholding of communion from Catholic political leaders who are pro-choice, but not on those who are pro-deathpenalty. This, to me, is moral relativism of the sort that many on the right rail against.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Spring in DC
Kornheiser's right, "It's a terrific time for sports in Washington. The Nationals have a better record than the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Wizards have a better record than the Los Angeles Lakers. The Redskins haven't had any players march in and ask to be traded in at least three days. Finally, there's something to do in May, June and July besides wait for Redskins camp to open. That feels good, doesn't it?"
Friday, April 15, 2005
Is your Senator on this list?
Collins (ME)
Hagel (NE)
Snowe (ME)
Smith (OR)
Sununu (NH)
Gregg (NH)
Lugar (IN)
Warner (VA)
All 44 Democrats and Senator Jeffords are on board. So are Senators McCain and Chafee.
These are the swing votes for the "nuclear option" vote the Republican leadership is about to force on the Senate. If you live in one of these states, please write to your Senator and urge them not to vote to kill the filibuster. They're calling it the "tyranny of the minority". Well, our system was set up to give the minority a voice, right or wrong. Don't like it? It's called compromise!!
Hagel (NE)
Snowe (ME)
Smith (OR)
Sununu (NH)
Gregg (NH)
Lugar (IN)
Warner (VA)
All 44 Democrats and Senator Jeffords are on board. So are Senators McCain and Chafee.
These are the swing votes for the "nuclear option" vote the Republican leadership is about to force on the Senate. If you live in one of these states, please write to your Senator and urge them not to vote to kill the filibuster. They're calling it the "tyranny of the minority". Well, our system was set up to give the minority a voice, right or wrong. Don't like it? It's called compromise!!
You can find anything on the net!
I did a google search of my grandfather awhile ago, not really thinking I'd find too much - I mean he was a pretty important figure in Charlottesville, VA, but years and years ago, long before the net was around. But I did find this awesome interview of him and my grandmother. What was even cooler, was that they had audio files of the interview.
My grandfather died 10 years ago, so I haven't heard him speak in a long, long time. I was so excited to find this, I e-mailed the interviewers thanking them for doing this. And to my surprise, they mailed me a CD of the interviews! I gave them to my Mom for Mother's Day last year. We can now here Granddaddy talk whenever we want!
My grandfather died 10 years ago, so I haven't heard him speak in a long, long time. I was so excited to find this, I e-mailed the interviewers thanking them for doing this. And to my surprise, they mailed me a CD of the interviews! I gave them to my Mom for Mother's Day last year. We can now here Granddaddy talk whenever we want!
Welcome To DC, AKA Tehran on the Potomac
From the NY Times:
As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.
Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."
Against the Republicans? Well you must love Satan!!
As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.
Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."
Against the Republicans? Well you must love Satan!!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
It was a great night!
A beautiful spring evening in the nation's capital. Metro was crowded, but not too bad as I headed to the game with my friends Lesley and Kerry. I love how RFK has a Metro stop right at the stadium. Getting into the stadium was a bit rough, what with all the security and what not, but folks didn't really seem to mind. We had great seats, upper deck behind homeplate. A few kinks need to be worked out by stadium staff (hint - it's not a good idea to run out of beer during the 3rd inning), but considering how long we've waited for a team, I'm not complaining. The Nats won the game, 5-3, but that was only part of the story. The big story is that baseball's back, baby!!
What a great day!
It's a beautiful spring day here in DC. Not a cloud in the sky, a nice breeze blowing, and for the 1st time in 34 years - baseball is back!! I'm headed to Nationals home opener after work, can't wait. I've waited my whole life for this!
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Hmmm
Last week, W said that we should always err on the side of life (referring to Terri Schiavo). But what about folks on Death Row, Mr. President?
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
I was just thinking...
The following is from my brother, Ken10:
I was just thinking...
So many original hip hop cats grew up wanting to 'fight the power' and proclaim "911 is a joke". So many of us had an uncomfortable feeling of pride and power in our stomachs back in the day. So many of us silently grinned when someone's mother would ask us about "Fear of a Black Planet", not sure we fully understood the concept either...So many of us, thought the fact that more than one of our black "heroes" was popped with crack (again), was just a sign of the times... What is so sad, is that we cannot be surprised. That almighty dollar is more addictive to some of us than crack, or heroin. More relevant to more of us than any sense of religion, or spirituality. Some of us would chase green papers before we stop putting poisonous sodas and fast foods into our bodies, because we're "on the run", "on the grind", "on the hustle", and then wonder we we always feel so tired... but that's another email soon come...the idea that Flava' Flav has so quickly fallen from the ranks of one of hip hop's icons, in perhaps the most influential hip hop group of all time... Public Enemy #1!! Public Enemy #1!
And how many laughed, let alone watched???
Are we forced to eat what is being crammed down our throats, or do we have a right to decide what we digest? And yes we are all guilty somehow, somewhere aren't we??? Who's in charge? Who's in charge of us? Individually? Collectively?
I was just thinking...
One Love,
kenton
Another night,
Another child says goodbye,
And another child attempts to hide,
Another child cries,
And another child asks why,
Another child opens wide,
And another child lies,
Another child sleeps outside,
And another child loses her pride,
Another child alone, flies
And another child fights for life,
Another child dies,
And another night passes you by
I was just thinking...
So many original hip hop cats grew up wanting to 'fight the power' and proclaim "911 is a joke". So many of us had an uncomfortable feeling of pride and power in our stomachs back in the day. So many of us silently grinned when someone's mother would ask us about "Fear of a Black Planet", not sure we fully understood the concept either...So many of us, thought the fact that more than one of our black "heroes" was popped with crack (again), was just a sign of the times... What is so sad, is that we cannot be surprised. That almighty dollar is more addictive to some of us than crack, or heroin. More relevant to more of us than any sense of religion, or spirituality. Some of us would chase green papers before we stop putting poisonous sodas and fast foods into our bodies, because we're "on the run", "on the grind", "on the hustle", and then wonder we we always feel so tired... but that's another email soon come...the idea that Flava' Flav has so quickly fallen from the ranks of one of hip hop's icons, in perhaps the most influential hip hop group of all time... Public Enemy #1!! Public Enemy #1!
And how many laughed, let alone watched???
Are we forced to eat what is being crammed down our throats, or do we have a right to decide what we digest? And yes we are all guilty somehow, somewhere aren't we??? Who's in charge? Who's in charge of us? Individually? Collectively?
I was just thinking...
One Love,
kenton
Another night,
Another child says goodbye,
And another child attempts to hide,
Another child cries,
And another child asks why,
Another child opens wide,
And another child lies,
Another child sleeps outside,
And another child loses her pride,
Another child alone, flies
And another child fights for life,
Another child dies,
And another night passes you by
Mandate my ass!
Here are the approval ratings for Presidents as recorded by Gallup in the March following their re-election:
Truman, 1949: 57%.
Eisenhower, 1957: 65%.
Johnson, 1965: 69%.
Nixon, 1973: 57%.
Reagan, 1985: 56%.
Clinton, 1997: 59% .
Bush, 2005: 45%
Truman, 1949: 57%.
Eisenhower, 1957: 65%.
Johnson, 1965: 69%.
Nixon, 1973: 57%.
Reagan, 1985: 56%.
Clinton, 1997: 59% .
Bush, 2005: 45%
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