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From The Ramparts
How To Create Positivity In A Negative Situation "Where there is hope there is
life, where there is life, there is possibility and where there is
possibility change can occur." Jesse L. Jackson We live in interesting times. In many ways we can
agree with Charles Dickens who wrote in the beginning of his novel Tale of
Two Cities, "these were the best of times and worst of times." In our era
we see the US government gone mad, with war and militarism, racism is
rampant, global capitalism is more predatory than ever and the mind
control apparatus spews anti-life values death doom and gloom every minute
of every day. We are experiencing the break down of both family and
community and a "leadership" has been foisted upon us by our enemies as
part of their ongoing government COINTELPRO agenda that has no concern for
our well being, survival or any vision for the future separate from the
agenda of our enemies which will be the death of us. Our communities are
besieged by drugs, self and group alienation, depression and despair are
rampant and the few folks attempting to heal themselves so they can help
heal others are being ignored in favor of the okie-doke of Western
materialism, hedonism and predatory self and group annihilation. The
African proverb "It takes a whole village to raise a child" is often
quoted but the reality is, our villages are not whole in any sense of the
word. We have not been whole since our capture from Africa and import to
this hemisphere. Our experiences of the "breaking" or "seasoning process"
which are euphemisms for dehumanization creation of maladaptive and
psychopathic personalities designed to serve the interests of white
supremacy are at the root of our despair and dysfunction. Our
villages/communities are ill. What can we do to heal/save ourselves from
this malaise of apathy, disinterest and self-negation? What can we do to
ad spunk, and purpose to our lives so we stop condoning and contributing
to our own demise and destruction? How do we remain focused and positive
in a negative environment? We must rekindle and cultivate a sense of hope! What is hope? The Dictionary of Psychology defines
hope as: "an attitude characterized by an expectation of the favorable
outcome of an event. The accompanying emotional tone is one of fear mixed
with anticipated joy." What is an attitude? An attitude is defined as : "a
relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a
certain way toward persons, objects, institution or issues either
positively or negatively." The Dictionary of Psychology also points out
that most attitudes are cultural, that is they are picked up or
transmitted from generation to generation, propaganda and suggestions from
authority, business, educational institutions and other agencies that seek
to influence conduct. What attitudes do you have about yourself, Africans
and the quality and possibilities for your life? Where did you get them
from? If they were not wholly self-generated, or auto-programmed you have
been influenced by an external source. All of us have. We have been
prejudiced by our parents, by "society" and by the mass media. Ideas and
images rule the world. Whose ideas and images are you internalizing? If
you are not thinking for yourself and making your own independent
assessments of the world, reality and you, than you are trapped in the
Matrix, you are a zombie. The truth of the matter is the world is what you
say it is. Let me qualify that. The world is what you say it is for you.
Each of us has the capacity to define, categorize and visualize as we
choose. We have free will and freedom of imagination and cogitation! The
fact is few of us use these abilities on an independent basis. Most of us
are outer directed, manipulated and brainwashed by sources outside of
ourselves; our parents, teachers, religious leaders and the mass media. We
can break the cycle anytime we want, at any moment and for any duration.
Of course it may be very uncomfortable to alter our present attitudes
because of peer pressure, the desire to be like everyone else or the fear
of the hostile reactions of others! That is the price we pay for freedom. We have the power to alter our mental world, our
thinking and our attitudes any time we want. Energy follows thought. Our
thinking produces emotional responses either harmful or beneficial and our
thinking are the building blocks of our reality. If our reality is
"negative" we can alter it by thinking of ways to make it better. Not only
can we think of ways to make it better we can design action plans to make
thins better and we can have hope, an expectation of change, a healthy
anticipation of change based upon our thinking and our actions. We must
take action. Rosa Parks was tired of disrespect and dehumanization so she
took action by refusing to give up her seat. She took action by willingly
going to jail by agreeing to be a test case to break racial cast and
apartheid. If she is the hero we say she is, we should emulate her
attitude and her actions! We should be willing to stand up for ourselves
despite the opposition and threats! It all begins in our minds. We must
think, envision, expect a better day but we must also work to bring this
better day into reality. Our enemies are not going to give up, be morally
persuaded or change out of the goodness of their hearts. If it is to be,
it is up to me/us! But it all begins in our minds, our thoughts and our
consciousness. Cultivate a proactive consciousness and expect to win.
Sooner or later the victory will occur.
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