The Meeting

Happy Earth Day

Soldier of Love

In honor of the release of Sade's new album Soldier of Love I felt like I should express a commentary on the lead single from the album.

I feel that the song has a really deep meaning and I wanted to share with you guys the meaning that I get from the song when I hear it. As always feel free to comment and leave your own interpretations of the song...my commentary is italicized between the actual lyrics.

I've Lost the use of my heart

It's hard for me to love in a world filled with hate

But I'm still alive

Despite the fact that I'm surrounded by hate, I'm still here

Still looking for the life

Still searching for this so-called promised life 

The endless pool on the other side

The eternal life on the other side

It's a wild wild west

America and Europe are both considered western civilizations

I'm doing my best

I'm doing my best to stay alive in the wild west, a society filled with lies, corruption, hatred, deceit and all things evil

I'm at the borderline of my faith,

I'm beginning to question my faith, because nothing is changing for the better, only getting worse

I'm at the hinterland of my devotion

My devotion is wearing thin

In the frontline of this battle of mine

Everyday is a constant battle and my faith and devotion are withering

But I'm still alive

But yet, I'm still alive 

I'm a soldier of love.

I will always be on the side of love, on the side of good, not evil, for all of humanity
Every day and night
I'm soldier of love
All the days of my life

Until I die, I will be a soldier of love

I've been torn up inside (oh!)
I've been left behind (oh!)

I have been through so so much
So I ride
I have the will to survive

But the love I have for myself and for the GOD within me has willed me to survive in this chaos that we call life

In the wild wild west,
Trying my hardest
Doing my best
To stay alive

I am love's soldier!

I wait for the sound
(oooh oohhh)

I know that love will come (that love will come)
Turn it all around

Love will return to my people one day and things will change
 

I'm a soldier of love (soldier of love)

I am a soldier of GOD because GOD=LOVE
Every day and night

I'm a soldier of love
All the days of my life

I am lost

I admit, I am lost sometimes
But I don't doubt (oh!)

But I don't doubt the power of love
So I ride

I believe
I have the will to survive

In the wild wild west,
Trying my hardest
Doing my best
To stay alive

I am love's soldier!

I am GOD's soldier!!

I wait for the sound

I'm waiting for the REVOLUTION

I know that love will come
I know that love will come
Turn it all around

LOVE will come and turn this mess all around!

I'm a soldier of love
I'm a soldier

Still waiting for love to come
Turn it all around
(4x)

I'm a soldier of love
I'm a soldier

Still waiting for love to come
Turn it all around
(3x)

Still waiting for love to come

Still waiting for the rest of you to wake up and realize that the love starts with us and if you want to see a change, there will have to be a revolution...we musn't be afraid...one person can't do it alone...we're so screwed up we don't even know what a world filled with love, instead of hate, would be like...we can't even imagine it...I do know one thing though, I'd be willing to fight and die to ensure that my children would grow up in a world much better than the one we live in today...so are you a soldier of love?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song...DEEP!!

Interesting...

The Longer I Live, The More I Understand.......By B. Chambers

     I once heard Richard Pryor, in one his routines say, “You don’t get to be old being a fool!” Unfortunately I now believe the opposite is true. You don’t get to old being a wise man. Let me tell you what I mean.
     For my young brothers and sisters reading this blog I’ve been around a little longer than you which means I have seen and heard more than you. I’ve seen dogs let loose on our women and children. I know what it is like not to be able to go into a movie theater because of the color of your skin. I lived through the riots and saw the “for colored only” signs. I saw the segregated schools and department stores and the assassination of King, Kennedy and Malcolm. I’ve seen my uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins, etc., get together at a family gathering only to be fighting and threatening to kill each other after a couple hours of drinking.
     I have also seen us sticking together as a people (Black People). I’ve seen us living together in a poor environment (the projects) and helping each other; Living together as a true community. Most of us didn’t have anything but we shared what we had. I’ve also seen a lot more; I just want you to understand where I'm coming from.
     Now, to my point. As I have gotten older things have started to become clearer to me. I regret that this has taken so long. You see, I now realize that I have grown old being a fool. If I was a wise man things in my life and my family’s (my black people) lives would be a lot different. As an example we would not be killing each other, beating and abusing our sisters/brothers, our babies wouldn’t be having babies; Black people wouldn’t be at the bottom of the totem pole, as they say, around the world and nigger wouldn’t mean a thing to us. Just to name a few things that would be different if I was a wise man.
     Fortunately, I still have the greatest gift our Father gave us and that’s my mind. So I have to start using my mind. I need to be more analytical. I need to be more like Mr. Spock (Star Trek) and think logically. Use my mind to interpret the data coming from my five senses.
     Knowing what I know a wise man would have acted differently. I do know that I haven’t seen any progress for my people during my life time. For any Black man to say that we have made progress in our life time makes him a fool. All we have gotten is a promise! A promise that if you are a good nigger (which in Greek means something dead) and do as you are told then you will live forever in heaven with Jesus. I know some will say we have more opportunities now as a people then we have ever had. My response: For being a good nigger! As you can see I haven’t buried the word because I am being honest with my self. There is no way we can call ourselves Black men and women because we are nothing like the original black Kings and Queens that once walked this earth. If we were like them, I would have never seen the things I have seen and still see in my community and in the world. If our ancestors saw us today, they would be ashamed. And since we’re not true Black men and Women then what does that make us?? Dead….A Nigger! No one wants to be Black. We’re at the bottom of the barrel around the world, Period! How dare we call ourselves Black men and women?
     When I look at Haiti I ask myself questions like, is God in control? Is God the all knowing and all wise? Is he all caring and loving? Does anything happen without it being his will? If the answer is yes to these questions then it begs the question is God messed up OR are we messed up? If God is God than he caused the earthquake bringing all of the suffering and death we now see in Haiti. So if we’re not the ones messed up, which I believe that we are, then God has to be the one messed up and just gets pleasure out of seeing us suffer.
     You don’t get to be old in this system being a wise man. You might just reach a hundred being a fool. We need to see this world for what it is and stop lying to ourselves. Just think, if we didn’t believe in the promise (Heaven) we would have to admit to ourselves that we were afraid OR we would do something about our situation.
     What I’m going to do and what I’m also asking you to do is let your mind grow. Let it guide you by keeping it real. I would rather go with what is logical than with a promise for the unreal or unproven. Death for sure will come to us all but why surrender your life only to become one of the living dead, because you are afraid to die? You don’t get to be old being a wise man because a wise man would rather die than to live as a slave or a nigger.

Oh, Now You Care About Haiti??

Why did it take a natural disaster for us to notice a country that was so poor and desolate before? This is a question that had been on my mind since the earthquake happened. When I noticed that other people were thinking the same thing I just knew I had to write about it and get my thoughts out on paper. First let’s explore a brief history of Haiti.

Christopher Columbus stumbled upon Haiti during his voyage to the “new world” in 1492. Just like the Native Americans, the indigenous people (called the Taino Indians) welcomed the Spaniards with open arms.  But in typical European fashion, they violently tried to convert the people to Christianity. It is estimated that several million indigenous people inhabited the island before the Spaniards invaded. By 1550 only 150 of these people remained! Forced labor, abuse, diseases against which the Tainos had no immunity, and the growth of the Mestizo (mixed European and Tainos) population all contributed to the elimination of the Taino and their culture. The island was eventually taken over by Spanish rule and because it lacked natural resources, it became an agricultural training ground for the slaves that were being imported from Africa.  Like most of the Caribbean islands, it was a drop off point of the slave trade.

Skip ahead a few hundred years to colonization and the French have taken over the island. The French maintained the colonial hold over Haiti until a slave rebellion in 1791. Haitians declared their independence in 1804. This independence, however, led to decades of instability for the Haitian government. Unable to enter into the global economy because of their lack of a natural resource for Europeans and Americans to exploit, left this country beyond poor.

Fast forward to today. Is it just a coincidence that the top poorest countries in the world are African, or of African descent? According to nationmaster.com, Haiti is the third poorest country in the world! So my question again, why did it take a natural disaster for us to notice a country that was so poor and desolate before the disaster occurred? I guess when they were just poor and struggling to survive it was ok. Or now you are pretending to care, because the whole world is watching (talking to American/European governments). 

Or let’s take this even deeper, if God is all powerful, all knowing, all wise, etc., HE knew this was going to happen right? Better yet, HE made this happen, right? So the question then becomes, why would HE allow this to happen? Either one of two things: Either HE is really messed up OR we are. Which one do you think it is? 

This is our wake-up call people. He keeps telling us to wake up and we just shake our heads and say, “that’s a shame” or we donate money or we say a prayer.  Why are we saying prayers? God already knows, HE made it happen! He is talking back to you! Open your eyes to the reality of this world. A change has to happen and God keeps calling on us to make that change, but we sit paralyzed in fear waiting for our so called leaders to stop pulling the wool over our eyes. We keep sending “up” prayers and God keeps giving us our answer. He’s been talking, the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and now this earthquake.  He’s calling on us to make the change. One person can’t do it alone, but if we all come together…

In light of the situation, I can’t help but think about MJ’s song “They Don’t Really Care About Us”. When Jackson began releasing songs like this one, speaking on world issues, the media (the powers that be, because they control everything we see and hear) began to turn us against Michael. The video for this song, which was hardly played in the U.S., was shot in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. State authorities tried to ban all production over fears the video would damage their image, the area and their prospects of hosting the Olympics. Still, the residents of the area were happy to see the singer, hoping their problems would be made visible to a wider audience….

Avatar Commentary

I got a chance to see Avatar over the holidays…I was really excited to see it and it did not disappoint!  The cinematography and special effects were awesome! I saw it in 3-D, but I would love to see it in IMAX just because I think it would have been even better on such a large screen. But beyond the graphics and the special effects lies a story that has been told and retold countless times.  A brief synopsis of movie: 

“When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.”  Written by The Massie Twins  

Does this story sound familiar to you??

After the movie was over, when we were walking out of the theater, I overheard a man say, “back to reality.” But I couldn’t help but think, was the movie really a break from reality or a story of what has happened countless times and is still happening today? A prime example, the Native Americans. Check out this clip with the sound bite from the Avatar trailer over top of Disney’s Pocahontas trailer.

But even deeper than the familiar story, lies a nugget of knowledge that looks far beyond the love story that develops between the Na’vi princess, Neytiri and the avatar, Jake. The knowledge that unfolds is the connection that the Na’vi people have to their world; Their understanding that they are a part of a greater whole and not separate from it. This is what the princess shows the avatar and it makes him fall in love with not only her, but the world around him. Humans used to have this same connectedness to Earth. Many ancient peoples were aware of our connection with the Earth. We have been taught that they were savages and that they just aimlessly roamed the Earth. But many ancient peoples in Africa, Asia, America and South America had technologies and knowledge well past what we have today. Why is that so hard for us to believe? We are so lost…the person that knows something, knows that he knows nothing at all. But one thing that is evident is that ancient peoples were advanced enough to build architectures that still amaze and wonder us today. 

The Earth is our mother and we are destroying her. We are a PART of a BIGGER whole. Not greater than that whole. We have been deceived. They are wandering through space with their tools and technology searching for God. But they refuse to see that God lives within. Every human has the capability to do god-like things. Even in the bible, God says man was made in his image. And according to the bible, Jesus was sent to show us that the greatness of God is within us. Do you know we only use something like 10% of our brain? So what is the other 90% for? I believe that that is our connection with God and to the world and universe around us. We have been deceived by the devil for so long that we have been cut off from the God within us. Can you imagine the greatness that could BE if we learned to LOVE ourselves, number one, and then truly begin to embrace the greatness of God that lives within. But we live in FEAR and it is FEAR that paralyzes us and corrodes the mind….and I’ll leave you with that for today.

My Father speaks...

My father wrote this piece...I had to read it a few times to grasp the depth of what he is trying to convey...powerful message...feel free to comment...

“Father Forgive Them; for They Know Not What They Do,” said Jesus Christ with his last breath as he hung on the cross.  According to the bible I might add.

Forgive them for they know not what they do?  They had just killed the ‘Son of God.’  I recently asked myself what was God’s response to his son’s request?  “Father Forgive Them; for They Know Not What They Do?”  After all, he wasn’t telling or commanding his father to do it because Jesus would never do that.  So what was God’s response to his son’s request?

Obviously I don’t know because I wasn’t there.  However, I can look at the data available and come to a logical conclusion.  From what we’ve been taught God is almighty, all knowing, all wise, and the creator of ALL THINGS.  That’s some of the data we have to look at to conclude what we think God said to his son.

Looking at what I have before me I have concluded that God told his son, don’t be FOOLED my son because they know exactly what they do and they also know what I will do!  To tell him anything else he would not be God.  Not the God Almighty, all knowing, all wise, and the creator of ALL THINGS including the creator of the people who just killed his son.  God has to say that they do know what they do OR admit He didn’t give them the ability to KNOW what they did.  And, if that’s the case he can’t blame them for killing his son and Jesus would not have to ask him, “Father Forgive Them; for They Know Not What They Do,” because God would already know. 

Now, I don’t think God would do that because I would then have to ask what kind of games are God playing.  God wouldn’t create some people who are crazy as hell: Murderers, thieves, whores, liars, homosexuals, child molesters, etc., etc., and then don’t tell them about Him until He sends his son to tell them to see how they react.  And what do they do? They kill him.  So I guess the forgiveness comes if they repent and join God’s religion and confess Jesus as their lord and savior, then they can spend forever with Jesus and God in heaven.  Don’t do that to God.  Whomever or whatever he/she is.    Not the almighty, all knowing, all wise, and the creator of ALL THINGS, loving and caring God!

He told him, son, don’t be fooled by them. They KNOW exactly what they did.  Let’s not make God Almighty a chump, or a fool or just someone who says one thing and does another.  We need to start analyzing everything we’ve been taught and truly look at the real lessons being taught by our teachers. 

So remember, Jesus asked “Father Forgive Them; for They Know Not What They Do.”  And based on the data God has to respond “Son, They Knew Exactly What They Did and They Shall Be Punished!”

~B. Chambers 

SADE IS BAAAAACCCCKKKKKKK!! YES!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite artists of all time is back and I LOVE this song...Below is the lead single off of Sade's forthcoming album, Soldier of Love, dropping February 8, 2010!!

I'm still waiting for love to come and turn it all around too girl!! Beautiful song, brought tears to my eyes when I heard it the first time...she couldn't have said it better.

Check This Out...Black Ice

The Destruction of Black Civilization

I read this book about two years ago...and I think it is a must read for all black people and any who are interested in learning the truth about African history from a non-euro-centric point of view. The book is by Chancellor Williams, a scholar, anthropologist, historian and professor at Howard University. Chancellor explains how there were many great African empires and civilizations that existed long before Christ and even the ancient Egyptians. These ancient empires were where people from all over the world came to learn...Below is a video interview with him from the late seventies, talking about some of the major themes from the book. These topics touch mainly on the little known African history that seems to be left out of the Euro-American HIStory. So my assignment to you is to read this book over the holidays! I'm going to re-read it myself. The only way to learn and grow as a people is to first learn the history and the truth of ones self. Knowledge of oneself will then empower you....SANKOFA! (Go back and claim it!)

Also, I think Nas summarizes it best in the third verse of his song "I Can":

Be, be, 'fore we came to this country

We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys

There was empires in Africa called Kush

Timbuktu, where every race came to get books

To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans

Asian Arabs and gave them gold when

Gold was converted to money it all changed

Money then became empowerment for Europeans

The Persian military invaded

They heard about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred

Africa was almost robbed naked

Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships

Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went

He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces

Shot up they nose to impose what basically

Still goes on today, you see?

If the truth is told, the youth can grow

Then learn to survive until they gain control

Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes

Read more learn more, change the globe

Ghetto children, do your thing

Hold your head up, little man, you're a king

Young Princess when you get your wedding ring

Your man is saying "She's my queen"

For those of you who want to listen to the song:

Monday Morning Mocha

I went to see Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” yesterday with my two cousins and their young children. The movie is historically significant because it features the first black princess of the Disney movies. The movie was really cute and my little cousins really seemed to enjoy it! The basic theme of the movie was to dream BIG and work hard to make your dreams a reality. Although I enjoyed the movie I couldn’t help but think that sometimes Disney movies inspire false hopes in children. I grew up watching Disney movies, my brother and I; we had them all, my favorite of all time was The Little Mermaid (my very first Disney movie) and The Lion King of course. So I was truly excited to see this movie myself because I had grown up on Disney movies and was interested to see the story of the first black Disney princess. After leaving the movie though I began to wonder why we take our children to see these fairy tales. I mean I know we want them to be amazed but at the same time are we giving them false ideas of reality? I think that by watching a lot of the movies I did as a child, it made me believe in ideas that weren’t necessarily true; such as, my prince in shining armor would come rescue me and I would become a princess and live happily ever after. But does happily ever after really exist?

Also, dreaming BIG and working hard in a capitalistic society does not promise everyone a path to success and riches. It’s just not possible in a capitalistic society because in this type of social system there has to be a class order, and that means poor people, individuals in the middle, and those on top. I am just saying, we are taught all these things as children but then as we get older, we realize that obtaining our “dreams” may not be as simple as we have been led to believe and most of us just settle for the status quo. And then we wonder why we are so messed up as adults, because we have been fed a bunch of BS and lies our whole lives. We live a life of freedom as children and then we are thrown into the slavery of the system in having to work to survive and take care of a family. 

Of course there are those who do make their dreams a reality, but this is just not possible for everyone, especially if those dreams include being rich. Another under-lying theme in the movie was the idea that money is power and if you don’t have the green, your dreams are impossible to make a reality. So the movie contradicts itself by saying in the beginning that if you dream big and work hard your dreams will come true, but then it says, wait, but not without MONEY! Everyone cannot be rich in a capitalistic society because then there would be no such thing; money would lose its value if everybody had it. This system is designed for people to fail and the people that make it all the way to the top usually lied, cheated and stole to make it there.

You may be thinking, how I could get all of this out of a Disney movie but most of the time the truths are presented to us in the form of a story or cartoon so that we will be so amazed by the tricks and illusions we look past the truth that is there. If you don’t believe me, go watch the Lion King and listen to the STORY that is being told, look past the illusion that we see in the animation….Now I’m not saying not to take your children to see animated movies but what I am saying is to listen to the real story and message that is being told to your children. Present them with both sides of the spectrum, especially as they get older. You have to give your children some realities, so that it won’t hit them so hard when they are faced with the true realities of the world we live in.

~MONDAY MORNING MOCHA~

About two weeks ago, I was walking on campus and as I was getting ready to cross the street, a lady was turning the corner and nearly ran someone over right in front of me! On top of that there was an old man, following closely behind the guy that she almost hit. Now I know that us VCU kids walk with no fear when we are on campus, daring people to hit us, but this woman was way out of line because the pedestrians had the right away. When I got to the parking garage the old man that was crossing the street got into the elevator with me. He looked at me, shook his head and said, “Where’s the Love?” So simply stated, but those three words carried so much impact on that day.

On black Friday, I was out shopping with my aunt when the same thing almost happened again, except this time it was to me. We were crossing the street to go into a store and after looking both ways I proceeded to cross the street. All of a sudden my aunt starts pulling me across the street in a running fashion and I notice she is hurrying us along because a car was flying through the parking lot and nearly about to hit us. Only because I was with my aunt, did I not curse that young girl out. I did turn around and stare her ass down and she just looked all silly. I couldn’t believe it! I was so hot! She was really about to hit us!

I mean, was she in such a hurry that she was willing to run us over to get to where she was going? Was she trying to hurry us along in her own way? Or was she just racist and purposely trying to run my aunt and I over? But even worse, why did I let that get me so worked up? I mean I was ready to pull her out of the car and beat her down (although I would never do that, I’m a lover not a fighter), but it got me to that point where those images flashed in my mind! 

I just don’t understand why people are so angry at each other! If you don’t like your situation don’t take it out on the next person. Most likely they are in the same situation as you. Or can at least identify with what you’re going through. Love comes with first respecting yourself as an individual. And until we can learn to love ourselves for who we are as individuals we will never be able to respect and love one another. And until we are able to love one another, we will never be able to WORK TOGETHER to change our situation. We’ll all go on continuing to exist as individuals, divided and conquered, and unable to change our situation for the better.

I don’t even have anymore words, the old man in the elevator couldn’t have said it better, “Where’s the Love?”

What Do You Think Wednesday

Is the public school system killing creativity?

Thoughts??

~Monday Morning Mocha~

My boyfriend and I went to see 2012 yesterday. I love “end of the world” type movies because they usually make me think. So I was excited to see how the story would incorporate the ancient Mayan prophecy of 2012. I enjoyed the movie, the story line was pretty good and the special effects were awesome. But the movie left me questioning the ancient prophecy itself. So when I came home I jumped on the computer and did some research on the actual prophecy and what it predicts. What I found out was that the prophecy does not predict complete and total destruction of the human race. What it predicts is the age of transition, or the end of the current World Age Cycle that we are in. We are living today in the cusp of the Mayan end times, the end of a galactic day or time period spanning thousands of years. One galactic day of 25,625 years is divided into five cycles of 5,125 years. You see the Mayans’ time and calendar was based on the stars and the cycles of the universe, not our limited calendar year of an earth cycle.

The Great Cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar ends on the winter solstice of 2012 A.D. Following Mayan concepts of cyclic time and World Age transitions, this is as much about BEGINNINGS as it is endings. In fact, it was considered by the ancient Mayans to signify the creation of a NEW World Age. We are almost at the end of the fifth and final 5,125 year cycle! In the movie and in the media, like always, they are using fear to convince us into thinking that the world is about to end through complete destruction. And that the human race is under the threat of becoming extinct. But this just isn’t so. What they were predicting was an age of transition between the current world age to the new world age. The Mayans prophesied that from 1999 we would have 13 years to change our conscious attitude to stray from the path of self-destruction and instead move onto a path that opens our consciousness to integrate us with EVERYTHING that exists.

Rather than something to fear, the 2012 prophecy should be viewed as a wake-up call. A call that we should change our destructive ways and become more respectful of life and realize that we are part of a greater WHOLE. The old world mentality, founded in separation, greed, ignorance, and unconscious consumer materialism, has reached dangerous peaks. We are at a point where our planet can be either renewed or ravaged and our attitudes and actions will determine how harsh or mild the changes will be. So the question then becomes, what can we as individuals contribute to the new world age?

This is a crucially important moment for humanity and for earth. Each person is important. If you have incarnated (or reincarnated, as I like to believe) into this era, you have spiritual work to do balancing the planet...The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It's not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It's encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find you heart, and you will find your way. Let go of the fear, that’s why they keep it instilled in us, because FEAR corrodes the MIND.

“When the power of LOVE overcomes the love of POWER the world will know peace.”

~Jimi Hendrix

THOUGHTS, questions, answers??

Feel Good Friday

I wrote this poem several years ago...I hope you enjoy, feel free to comment and/or ask questions...HAPPY FRIDAY!!

THE CONVERSATION

by AliaShardae

SHE knows who I am and knows my capabilities

SHE understands my potential and all that I aspire to be

SHE knows the greatness in me

SHE knows my deepest thoughts and has heard my loudest cry,

And unto her I could never lie

SHE demands that confidence emerge from ME,

SHE challenges me to face my deepest insecurities

SHE allows me to see the evils of this world and also

How things used to be

SHE tells me that in a past lifetime I was a very intelligent, powerful Nubian Queen

SHE shows me how Europeans have destroyed this world

And exploited my people over countless decades

But, SHE also ensures me that SHE makes no Mistakes!

“But why?” I ask, “Why have my people suffered so long? Did we, as a people, do something wrong?”

“NO” SHE answered “but you are living in a world predicted by my prophets’ songs.”

SHE said, “It is time for a REVOLUTION and I choose YOU!”

I replied, “There is no need for further explanation, I know what I have to do.”

“And what is that?”

“I must go tell them the knowledge of YOU!”

“Yes, tell them that I am YOU and YOU are ME”

“I will tell them that the GREATNESS of YOU, GOD, lives within ME!”

What Do You Think Wednesday

Why do we fall for the “Bullshit?”

I often look at my daughter, the author of this Blog, and I’m amazed at the things she does and says. I see in her as a strong and beautiful Black woman and I realize that she understands. And that surprised me until I remembered she is my daughter.

Thank you dear for the opportunity to share my thoughts on your Blog.

Now, to the topic at hand. Why do we fall for the “Bullshit?” The simple answer is we love the bullshit. But what do we mean by “Bullshit?” In my hood it means a lie, a story or something that is not true.

For an example, we know Santa Claus is not real but yet it is the number one retail sales time of the year. It is also the time when the most alcohol and drugs are consumed and when the most people commit suicide. We go into more debt and become more stressed during this time of the year. All because of some “Bullshit.”

There is also no such thing as Thanksgiving. When they sat down to dine that day, the white man was planning to take the whole country while pretending to be friends with the Native Americans. Thanksgiving? No! “Bullshit.”

Plus, there are only tricks and no treats. In fact, the damn treats are tricks themselves. Look at what we eat. Most of what we eat is killing us because we eat a bunch of “Bullshit.” We eat the pigs’ feet, ears, ribs, brains, colon (chitlins), nuts (testicles), and ass. The same goes for the bull/cow and we can include the tongue. Throw in the chicken, duck, horse, snake, rat, alligator, and for some the dog and cat. From the sea we eat the “bottom dwellers.” All of the scavengers: shrimp, clams, crabs, scallops, lobsters, oysters, and catfish. What do they do down there on the bottom? They keep the waters clean. They’re nature’s sewer system. And you wonder why most of us are sick and overweight? It’s the “Bullshit.”

On to Independence Day, another “bullshit” holiday. In 1776 when that fine document was being crafted and signed, my people were on the plantation and were not included in it. Well, that’s not quite true. We were in it but we were in it as three-fourth human beings (or property to the slave owners). More “Bullshit.”

Let’s not forget Easter when we eat eggs laid by rabbits and we celebrate/remember the day Jesus was reportedly killed and the three days later rose from the dead. But these dates change almost every year. Some years they are in the middle of April. Some years they are in the last part of March. Do we really know? I couldn’t peddle this in the hood if I tried. It’s all “Bullshit.”

Finally, I know some will say Christmas is not supposed to be about Santa Claus but about the birth of Christ. They will argue that man has taken this holy day and commercialized it. Some may even say they agree with me that Santa Claus is Bullshit but not Jesus’ birthday. My only response will be how can we tell when a bull shitter is not bull shitting? Our government/society feeds us all these lies, what makes you think you should believe some and not the others. After all, everything that we know we’ve been told by the bull shitter. So how can we tell the “Bullshit” from the truth?

I’ll leave you with this: if the bull shitter was telling us the truth about Jesus Christ he wouldn’t be a bull shitter because if you are really with God then you can not “Bullshit,” because God means the “Truth!”

~Monday Morning Mocha~

I'm baaaack! Sorry guys, had to take a break last week, school was kicking my ass!

So anyway, I was watching a very interesting documentary this weekend called Zietgiest. It was explaining how our Earth’s resources are not as depleted as we may think. We are just led to believe that our resources are limited because the big corporations are trying to control the market. You see, if an oil company has consumers and the public believing that resources are low, mostly likely demand (for that product) would go up. If demand is high, this allows corporations to raise prices because consumers think the supply is limited! What we aren’t being told is that much better resources (other than oil, etc.), exist and have existed for a while. These are resources that are unlimited and save the earth from the pollutants that are released into the atmosphere every day from the burning of fossil fuels. But large corporations won’t market them because they can make more money from creating this idea of SCARCITY (or that our resources are “limited”); Thus, allowing corporations to essentially control the marketplace. If we were able to harness and use the power of light energy from the sun or wind energy it becomes an unlimited resource and thus makes it harder for corporations to control. It has been proven that we are able to harness and beneficially use such unlimited resources such as wind and solar energy.

We’ve put our lives into the hands of these big corporations. They provide us with what to eat, wear, and all of the other “basic necessities” of life. We don’t know what to do without them and they capitalize off of that. The owners of these big corporations care nothing about you and I. They look out for themselves only and they will stop at nothing to maximize their profits. When will we wake up and realize that we are slaves to these corporations. It’s just the modern day version of slavery. We have to work to support our way of life. And our “way of life” exists all because these corporations tell us all the material things that we “need”.

But what can we do? I know I feel helpless at times. I admit that I am just as materialistic as the next person. (We're all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it. -Kanye West) We’ve been so conditioned and trained since birth to want “things”. But it starts with changing your perceptions and opening your eyes to the realities of the world. Every day is a struggle for me to break my love for my materialistic things (clothes, shoes, purses, nail polish, etc.). So I challenge you to take the journey with me of breaking this cycle. Half the things that we want, we don’t really need. And most of the time you only want that nice purse or the new jordans just to impress the next person. And for what? Why should you care what anyone thinks of you…We all know this, yet we still continue in our shallow, materialistic lives, while so many people in the world are starving….So let’s work on just obtaining the things that we NEED and not the things that we WANT. Hey, it’s a step, right??

Below are clips from the documentary, if you can't watch it at work, please watch it when you get home. This documentary really puts things into perspective......Your Thoughts???