The Power of Change!

I started reading a book last year that didn’t quite hold myinterest so I changed books. I changed my outfit three times before deciding onthe on I really wanted to wear.  Ichanged majors, schools, addresses, beliefs, religions, jobs, schools, careers…you name it; I’ve changed it.  I evenchanged the title and URL of this blog today. Thoughts evolve, minds changes and you adapt to new situations all thetie.  There’s a certain amount of powerin that.  Change is about choices andchoice is powerful.  When you no longerhave the ability to choose, the power is removed from your hands and now in thehands of the ones who hold the keys to the choices you can make and frustrationseeps in.  Frustration at now needing tomake choices you wouldn’t normally make, changes you never would adapt tobecause someone beyond your reach altered the playing field against you.  This is the country we live in.

The Politics of Art and Culture

Someone is going to need to explain to me why there are so many public schools losing their funding for programs in the arts while on the other side, there are not-for-profit and for-profit organizations cropping up all over the city offering cultural programs in the arts and music.

It is obvious that the corporate world values artists, musicians and also athletes because of the amount of money that one can acquire by becoming a singer or an actor or an athlete.  They in turn get huge profits from having them at their schools, on their teams, on their labels and in their shows.  So then why don't they invest in public schools' art programs in urban neighborhoods.  Many public schools in affluent neighborhoods are doing just fine.  It's only those in the "inner city" neighborhoods coincidentally that are such dire need of reform and assistance.  It's so hard to believe that this is not contrived because there are other areas where one can point to where this same kind of lop-sided effect takes place.  It is also that way for housing, fresh fruits and vegetables and other essential services.  But if you go into a "upscale" neighborhood, there's an abundance of good food choices, cleaner neighborhoods and more services.  Coincidence??  I don't think so!

Consider This

Technically, we all start out the same.  We are born into this world naked andvulnerable.  We end up the same way,too.  Cold and stiff.

So what really matters is what happens in between, right?  So with all that you have to do before you reach the end, how is it that you are able to find time to obsess over someon eelse’s life!  Message: Let celebritieslive their lives…. they’re just people!

Society Matters

Where do I begin....

Hunger, poverty, war, famine, agriculture, climate change, housing, economy, race, prison system, education…. There are critical issues to address in each of these areas.  In my opinion, each one is equally important.  So where do you begin – to care!  It is so overwhelming to care about so much and very frustrating to want so much to change; with solutions that seem incredibly simple, but unable to make a dent in the pile.  The hope lies in the strength and courage of ordinary people who do extraordinary things -  Arab Spring, Occupy Movement, Civil Rights…  people with no money and very few resources who were able to move mountains. These activists and leaders were truly extraordinary and we in dire need of more of them today.  The problem as I see it is this:  people are too bogged down with the business of living and surviving to find time to care.  The pretense of what is getting done, the good news, appears more contrived than organic in today’s times.  What does it say about our society when every major news show uses the first five to ten minutes focusing on death, murder and mayhem?  What does it say about our society when we use people’s reality as a source of entertainment; shows like Lock Up, Cops, and Caught on Camera.    We are creating a society of citizens who, on the whole have been desensitized, and everyone talks about it, but too many are not doing their part.   

I want to help, I want to make a difference – a big difference, but I can’t seem to find that breakthrough, that thing that will catch fire and go viral.  I need to be catapult into a position to fight (while I still can) for the little people, fight for the poor, the uneducated, bring truth to light, and so on.  The Internet is a wonderful place for anyone to speak, but what gets noticed most often are the gimmicks, a viral video of some outrageous or outlandish scenario.  Creativity is the key!  You have to come up with something that will get you noticed, something different, unique - something that will break through the fray.  That’s where the hope lies, above the fray. Only now I need to figure out how do I get there.

To be continued…..

Sagging Pants!

Pleaseforgive them and do not judge!

Theyare VICTIMS of one or more ofthe following conditions: 

Low Self-Esteem 

No father in the home 

Crowd Pleaser 

Follower 

Parental Neglect 

Confused 

Prison mentality 

Rebel without a Cause 

No self-respect or wasn’t taught 

Or 

They may just be advertising an invitation for intimacy from the same sex. 

You cannot shame these individuals into changing their style.   Nor can you fine them, or take them to jail for walking around looking like no one cares for them. You can put up as many billboards as you want or as many bus ads as you like. It only makes them wantto continue their behavior. It’s rebellion.  Either find a way to reach them on their level or let it ride!  These kids need attention not criticism.  They are mostly poor, black and latino/hispanic men and they are obviously lost and ignorant.  So stop trying to pass laws and come up with something better for them to follow.Thank You!

What's Wrong With Change???

The mantra for the republicans seems to be, “Take thiscountry back!”  This statement in an ofitself is somewhat alarming since I am not really sure what they want to takeit back from – Democrats?, The Black Man in the White House?, Liberals andProgressives?”  Just exactly who “has”the country now!  How far back do theywant to go?  There were a few groups ofpeople whose basic civil rights were denied if they set the clock back about40-50 years.  They site concerns aboutmatters that have long been fought over and won and now they seem to want to gobackwards.  They seem to have no ideaabout how the rest of the country works or how the benefits of the programsthat they want to end help the less fortunate in this country.  The powers that be have created conditionsthat negatively impacted peoples lives and now they either don’t want to fixthe conditions or those very conditions have come back to haunt them.  Take for example, outsourcing!  Need I say more.  Now you have both political parties talkingabout we need to make more things in America, but where was this argument whenthey were making America out to be a “full-service” country.  Now they want the jobs back and themanufacturing back.  Republicans arescreaming that over-regulation and high taxation drove those companiesoverseas, however, they didn’t do much to get these jobs back when they had theopportunity to do so.  And don’t get mestarted on regulations.  I see the needfor government intervention on a variety of things that without would meanlittle people would get trampled.  Who issupposed to be able to speak for those who cannot speak loudly enough forthemselves.  Government, that’s who!