The Lotus flower returns to the mud and emerges again … beautiful and unscathed!
I have been absent for a few months and I am returning to blog as it is one of my passions. I re-entered school beginning afresh my pursuit of a doctoral degree. It is my sincerest hope that those of you who have chosen to follow my blog will continue to support me in this quest. I will be spending the break from school preparing articles that speak to my heart as promised in the launching of this site.
In the coming weeks I will share my thoughts on the elections, pastoral issues with infidelity, why black lives still matter, and the great divide in the “body of Christ” just to name a few. Take the journey with me. Comment, share, dispute, agree it is all apart of the process! These are my opinions and I am aware that everybody has one – this space is designated for mine.
Be patient as we continue this journey there is much in store!
How did the American people elect a man with minimal qualifications to be President?! The Constitution states that to be President the candidate in question has to be 35 years of age, a resident, and a natural born citizen. There are, however, implied qualifications. These include experience in a governmental or military capacity, the ability to debate and respond to questions, display mental stability, raise funds, and align with the political beliefs of the party he/she represents. Even as I compose this article I am shaking my head at the fact that a person was elected to office with the minimal requirements of a leader of this country!!!
When I think about running a company and hiring employees for an expected job, I would hope that I would examine their resume specifically looking for employment in areas that align with the position in question. That said, I read #45’s resume searching for the implied qualifications as he unfortunately fulfills the Constitutional requirements. He had no political background, no legal background, and no military service. His current performance with the press leaves him lacking in fielding questions and responding with viable answers to the questions presented. As a therapist, assessing clients is an area in which I have experience – we need to realize that though there are diagnosis that have become “buzz words”, #45’s mental capacity is questionable at best. As he has won the seat as president it is fair to say that he can raise money (this is the one area in which he stands proficient). The Republican Party needs to take an introspective look at its party beliefs!! Are they racists who look to divide the American people and put their foot on the neck of the middle class and the poor?!
Did his party review his resume?! Have the staunch supporters of #45 look at his resume?! Did Americans look at his resume?! Pre-President his resume included President of the Trump Organization (this is his real estate company); Owner of Trump Model Management; Executive Producer and Star of The Apprentice; Part owner of Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen pageants; and he did numerous cameo shots in various films. #45 used his access to avoid the draft and thus never served in the military and there is no mention of one political venture of any kind. What were we thinking?! I say we because just based on his resume it is apparent his thoughts of the role of women and many men (of all races) voted for him because they could not stomach the thought of a female running the country. We would rather have an ill-qualified man than a competent woman?! “HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM”!
It is my sincerest hope that with this coming election, we the people will look at the qualifications, both Constitutional and implied, of the candidates more than the party that they represent. The greatness of America relies on democracy not promises to “make” it great;especially when #45 refuses to produce documentation that reveal where he puts his money. We can not afford as a country to continue to have a narcissistic dictator run it into the ground! #45 has spent the majority of his time in office trying to erase the works of his predecessor, especially in regard to the Affordable Healthcare Act. He has ruined the image of the United States globally as he did not have the ability to maintain our allies and build new relationships with foreign nations (hard work for a bigot to perform). He has been swift to respond to protests relating to the #Black Lives Matter movement and did not respond to the violent acts of white supremacists – except to imply that they were “good people”. Let me say correctly…”good people on both sides.”
This country is called the land of the free and the home of the brave. To whom exactly does that refer? This country was birthed from insolent liars and thieves. Those who came to this country stated that they were in search of “religious freedom”. That is a half-truth, which at its core is a lie! The people came to this country in search of a “better life.” They were in search of wealth and that is still the goal of those pursuing the “American Dream.” Let us not get distracted!
African Americans, Black people, Negroes (all forms – Mullato, Quadroon, Octoroon, etc.) built this country and made it great after the “founders” stole is from the Native Americans. The ignorance of those of the Caucasian descent is profoundly amazing – only in their continued attempt to turn a blind eye to their own savagery. A savage is a brutal or vicious person – sounds founding fatherish to me!! The very reason that the “America’s” wanted to break away from British rule was because it had become so wealthy they no longer desired to “share” the monies (in the form of taxation no less).
However, the fact remains that this country’s founders were hypocrites. They utilized their “religious freedom” to hold those who were making them great in bondage. They ignored scriptures such as Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11 – both which share that in the sight of God there is neither Jew, Gentile, slave or free, male or female – we are all the same in His eyes. Yet, devices have been utilized to formulate the minds of whites, as well as other nationalities, toward the African American in a way that is far from the truth.
Throughout the ages here in America, WASPs have sought to emasculate the African American male and even cause African American women to join their ranks. I watched the “great” cinema presentation “The Birth of a Nation” and was deeply sickened. The minds of people forever formulated by the thoughts of a white man in terms of the freed slave and the African American male in particular. The very people who had cooked their food, picked their crops, and built their “great” nation – for free might I add, were mere Sambo’s, piccaninnies, and mammies. Sex craved, depraved individuals – presented in “black face” looking to do to the white man what had been done to the Negro for 400 years. Amazingly enough the true “brave and now free” have been working to recover from the traumatizing effects of slavery to compete in a country that was already setting them up for failure.
Written into the emancipation proclamation was the illegality to enslave another, with the exception of those who were jailed. A loop hole that has consistently kept African American men and women bound. White judges, white juries, the inability to vote or stand on the “spirit” in which the Constitution was written – to have life, seek liberty, and pursue happiness. Lied on and to, cheated at every given opportunity, who are the brave?!
To be brave means “ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.” Courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one – strength in the face of pain or grief.” The brave are those who possess courage and are the very persons that have been painted as “criminals, sex craved, rapists, savages, etc.…” the African American. We came from greatness and in spite of your damning cruelties we were and continue to be the “Rising Star” that our flag depicts.
From the ashes of your hatred we rise. You attempt to under-educate our children in your resegregated schools, you jail our men and bind them with unfair sentencing, you underpay the most highly educated group in the nation (African American women), you call our protests tyranny; you have redline and attempted to keep us in the new “slave quarters” of your making; tear apart our families … and still we rise! We are resilient – haven’t you recognized that yet?!
Our white counterparts ask “what can we do to change things” as they march with us in protest of those of you who still operate and lead in the spirit of the founding fathers. This is what you can do … re-write the history books and place them in all the schools telling of your true rise to power on the backs of the African American; stop focusing on the “criminal past” of those who are shot down and killed by racist cops and know that “blue bloods” are the largest gang in the nation; stop trying to perpetuate hate among our ranks for one another favoring and encouraging us to favor/hate those who look more like you; stop looking at us through your “DW Griffith” eyes and recognize that we all are Humankind. Acknowledge that you have for far too long operated under the auspice that your skin alone made you superior and that in and of itself is simple-minded.
The land of the free and the home of the brave – that celebration of the Independence Day really belongs to those whose blood, sweat, and tears made this country what it is…The African American!!!
I am a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, a social worker, a therapist, and an advocate. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI and now reside in NWI. I am the mother of one daughter and a surrogate to many sons and daughters.
This blog was birthed out of the civil unrest and the pandemic scars of the year 2020. It is my desire to share things that have become are becoming matters of the heart for me as I evolve on life’s journey. I desire to share my insight concerning emotional and mental health as well. I am also a woman of faith and follower of Christ. I have come to understand the importance of embracing one’s faith and allowing it to guide your choices along the way.
I invite my perspective to be challenged through the engagement of the thoughts and comments of others.
The Heart of the Matter 