TAKE A STAND, PLEASE!

TAKE A STAND, MAN. - PLEASE, MAN, TAKE A STAND.

All of you are probably familiar with the name, Colin Kaepernick, and most of us know that he is/was a football player in the National Football League.  I want to take a few minutes to address the treatment of and responses to his taking a stand against the unjust killing and torturing of Black people in this country at the hands of police officers in various cities.

Although one would normally start this conversation with “I couldn’t believe this was happening in this point in time”. But for me, the most bothersome issue was not that the injustices were happening (and being filmed), but that no one was being held accountable. And, the fact that no one was being held accountable, seemed to be “ok” to the citizens and the government of this country. Thank you, Mr. Kaepernick, for picking up the ball and carrying it. There may be others that I am not aware of but he is certainly one of the most notable leaders.

And he is a leader simply because he decided to take a stand (kneeling). Thank God for such a wonderful display of Strength (through Humility). I could spend a lot of time going over the insensitive reactions to Mr. Kaepernick, but I would rather make another point today.

I still am struggling with trying to deal with the “almost” non-issue this has become in our society. Most people seem to just ignore the injustice and its lack of accountability. It’s just business as usual, even with my Brothers and Sisters. I can, and did, say at the onset, “why don’t somebody do something”. “Doesn’t anybody care about Black People in this country?” “Don’t Black People care about Black People, in this country?” Have we somehow taken the Rodney King statement, “can we all just get along”, and cloaked ourselves in it as a covering for whatever unpleasant thing we don’t want to face?

Why is Mr. Kaepernick taking this stand, almost all alone? Do the rest of the Black players in the NFL see what’s happening, both to the victims on the street and to Mr. Kaepernick? Do they value human life and welfare less than a dollar? If they are having a problems joining such a quiet, peaceful protest as this, God help us if something more strenuous is needed. I then wondered why there seems to be no support from or concern by Black players in the other major sports. But then, it finally hit me …  What about ME? Why am I not expressing much concern? Why have I been so silent? Why am I not talking to the fellow citizens, my sons, my nephews, friends and others about the injustices? Is there something that we, as ordinary citizens, can do?

Yes, there is something that we can do and we should do. We don’t need to just ask the NFL players to take a gamble with their paychecks, we need to sacrifice the enjoyment and pleasurable life styles that we have sunken into from year to year. The 2017-18 football season will kick-off in a few days. Unfortunately, we are hearing the usual banter from the fans about our hopes and expectations for my team(s). We act as though everything is all right and happy days are here again. Why don’t we put aside all this talk about and attentiveness to the ball game? What would it do to the game if we take just one year, just one 12-month period, free from professional football? We don’t need to attend any games. We don’t need to watch any televised games. We don’t even need to talk about the games each week, as if they have some importance in our world or national affairs.

Let’s treat football (and any other sport, if you choose) like what it is, or at least what it should be, just a game. Can we all get along for at least one season without participating in this sport, called professional football? I know it’s not much, but at least it’s a start. And right now, it is all I could think of. If someone has a better idea or suggestion, please share. But I believe that something should be done, by all of us.

AM I RIGHT or Am I ?

I posted a message a few years ago, titled "Has The World Gone Mad" (or was it, "What's The Matter With The World"). Anyway, today's message could be called "Part II".
"To be Black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage..." These words, I believe, have been attributed to James Baldwin. I tended to agree with the statement to some degree and, since I am a Black man, I have always agreed in general with this. But lately, I realized that I am living expression of this rage, though I am sure it is not OPENLY seen by others. It's been building boiling inside me since that night in 1991 when LAPD Police Chief, Daryl Gates, categorized the malicious beating of Rodney Glen King as an aberration. I don't know why that bothered me so, but it felt like somehow I was the man at the end of those night stick blows and stomps and kicks.

Virtually everyone in these United States is well aware of the unjust treatment and crimes against the Black Man, over the years. So although, the Rodney King beating was not a new happening, it was perhaps the upgrading of these atrocities in this country. (Upgrading for the perpetrators, but Down-grading and Degrading for us). Now here we are, in the 21st century and it is worse than we would have imagined a few decades ago. These days, a black man - a black woman - a black boy - a black girl - A Black Person -- can be ruthlessly beaten, chocked, whipped, or murdered ON VIDEO, and no one is held accountable. That's right, no one!

If that's not bad enough, all of the good citizens of this "Christian" nation continue to go about with business-as-usual. Technically, it's not all of the good citizens, but the outcry is minimal for sure. It is no wonder though when you consider way that Colin Kapernick was treated/is being treated simply for quietly protesting for a couple of minutes during the start of a football game. Yes, the same NFL that was held in-check due to the reporting of dog abuse. But, human abuse, that's ok,

Where is the outrage from the good citizens. Nobody is doing anything and nobody is saying anything. Somebody ought to do something; somebody ought to say something. Why haven't I done something? Why have I waited all this time to say something. Frankly, I cannot tell you why we all seem to be so quiet on this matter. It pains me, every time I think about it. Am I Right or Am I Wrong?

Abortion & Health Care

Some of this stuff is pretty good. Enjoy!

By Ellen Goodman

My favorite moment so far in the health care debate was when Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl argued against mandating maternity benefits as part of a basic insurance coverage. “I don’t need maternity care,” he blurted out. At which point, Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow quipped, “I think your mom probably did.”
For that matter, so did his wife and daughter. But never mind. We had one brief glimpse into the mind of a politician who doesn’t quite see women’s health concerns as equal to his own.
Michelle Obama referred to this connection between health care and equality when she told a group of women that overhauling the system was “the next step” in women’s advancement for opportunity. Women are not only less likely to have insurance at work, but more likely to face discrimination from insurance companies. They also, she added, can be denied coverage just for the pre-existing condition of having had a C-section.

It is becoming obvious that just having a female reproductive system is a pre-existing condition in the health care debate. The up-and-coming sticking point is abortion. The Senate Finance Committee beat back some restrictions, but the question for Congress is still whether the “reform” that is supposed to increase coverage will instead reduce it. Will women who now have coverage for abortion in their private plans end up losing it?
In the days before Roe v. Wade, we had a hodgepodge of different state laws governing abortion. The argument in favor of abortion rights was not just about equality between men and women, but equality along economic lines. It was unjust, many argued, to have a system in which a wealthier woman could find and afford a safe abortion while a poorer woman had to put herself at risk.
After Roe, abortion opponents regrouped and went looking for a restriction that would appeal to the ambivalent middle. They latched onto the idea that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to pay for abortions. This not only stigmatized abortion, separating it from “legitimate” health care, it reintroduced a two-tier health system for poor women on Medicaid.

Today, those tiers have expanded. Women on Medicaid can get abortion coverage only when states pick up the bill. Women in the military have no coverage, not even if they were raped. Doctors on the military payroll aren’t allowed to provide abortions even for soldiers who can pay their own way. Nor is there coverage for federal employees.
So what now? We were told that health care reform would be “abortion neutral,” that it wouldn’t change the shaky status quo, or rile the troops in the abortion wars. One compromise in the House proposed by California Rep. Lois Capps would keep it that way. Abortion would be neither mandated nor banned. There’d be no federal funds in subsidized plans for lower-income people; the money would be segregated.
But it turns out that finding neutrality in the abortion wars is elusive. We now have pro-life Republicans and Democrats—most notably Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan—demanding that any health plan offering abortion be banned from the newly created health care exchange.
And guess what that will mean? More than 80 percent of private insurance plans cover abortions. But any insurance plan that wants to be eligible for the huge wave of new clients would have to drop the abortion coverage it offers.

So let’s regroup. The first target was poor women on Medicaid, then came women in the military, now women needing subsidized plans. Next? “The millions of women who presently have private insurance would lose it if they [abortion opponents] are successful in putting in an all-out ban,” says Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
This isn’t supposed to happen. The pro-choice president said, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” Not if folks like Stupak get their way.
No woman expects to have an abortion. But one in every three women has one by the age of 45. That’s a whole lot of women to stigmatize ... or ignore.
The irony is that this attempt to enforce a federal moral rule over everyone’s health comes from precisely the people who are most angry at the idea of a government takeover of health care.
This leads me to my second most favorite moment in the health care debate: when Republican Jim Bunning of Kentucky loudly railed, “I do not support a government takeover of the health care system,” and then fell asleep.
I’m sure he’s covered for narcolepsy.
Ellen Goodman’s e-mail address is ellengoodman1(at)me.com.

© 2009, Washington Post Writers Group

An Open Letter To The Pastor

FOR SUCH ARE FALSE APOSTLES, DECEITFUL WORKERS, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. II Corinthians 11:13-15.

I know that many of you believe that you are due to be worshipped by your congregants, mainly due to the scriptures about "those that have rule over you" and "do noT muzzle the ox that treadeth" etc. In fact it seems to have gone to your head and you feel that you have a right to be placed on the throne of Jesus. For the love of Jesus and for your own soul's salvation, repent and be reconciled to God. The Lord does not share his throne with man. You gladly tell the members that the Word says, "I am the Lord and I change not", when you try to scare them into putting in more money. But please understand that this applies to God at all times and in everything.

I never heard of an assistant-Jesus or a co-Christ. The church belongs to the Lord Jesus He paid the price with His own blood. He did it, and He alone. Your assignment is to look after a portion of the flock, until He returns. You don't own them; you are the overseer. You are to Lead, Teach, and Feed the flock; not misuse and abuse the congregation for sport - nor to make them lift you up (though cleverly disguised) along with or instead of Christ. Yes, it is indeed allowed that the ones who preach the Word should live off of the Word. And the elders who rule well, especially who labor in the Word and doctrine, is worthy of double honor. Think about that. This worthiness comes from carrying out your tasks at an extraordinary level. This is not for having a great "hoop", or being a great speaker, or having a melodious voice, or otherwise being able to make us jump out of our seats.

We are to "give honor to whom honor is due", and this most certainly would include the pastor. But the pastor must guard against surrounding himself with a lot of pomp and grandeur. Even if the congregants willingly try to crown him as King or make him, rather than Jesus, the central figure, he should resist and should teach them that only the Lord is worthy of such. Don't just say the proper sounding words, but mean it, when you say it's about Him.

Pastors are not celebrities/dignitaries. Jesus told His apostles to be Servant Leaders, not just leaders. This writing is not meant to scold or belittle anyone, but it is meant to warn.

STUDY TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVED.

MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE

LOVEST THOU ME. FEED MY SHEEP

AND I WILL GIVE YOU PASTORS, ACCORDING TO MY HEART WHICH SHALL FEED YOU WITH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

WAXING POETIC and Philosophical:

When In The Course of (Self-Destructive) human events; It becomes necessary for a People to dissolve the poison of self-hatred that has conditioned them and led them on a downward spiraling journey for over a hundred years.

It is time for this people to shake off the shackles of distrusting his brother, while blindly following another color.

When one people have been foraging in the filth and decadence of generational poverty, crippling illiteracy, demeaning buffoonery, endless unemployment, covert slavery, systematic imprisonment, and all around conditions of indecency and inhumanity, It becomes imperative for that people to denounce the causes (and purpetrators) that create oand sustain such reprehensible lifestyles and to declare new causes and life pursuits that will impel themselves to the majestic heights of real freedom and human diginity [not only as individuals, but as a people].

LET'S GO FOR IT, Today and Henceforth!

HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD?

"What's the matter with the world ... Has the world gone mad" So goes the 1st line of a song once sung by the late Lou Rawls. I just want to take a few minutes to comment on our little corner of the globe, not the entire world.
It is amazing to me how things have changed so much in the last 50 years. And, contrary to the generally accepted analysis, there are not many new things (if any) that are in the world today that were not available back then. Conventional thinking says that we/they face a different set of problems today than existed two or three generations ago. I say that we had the same problems and obstacles back then but it may seem like there are more now because of the internet, cell phones and their applications, and 24-hour "so called" news. This age of instant notification and observation has caused us to think that everybody's viewpoint and every commentators analysis are factual and worth airing. This "instant" information broadcasting is truly the one, new, item that is present in today's world but was not there in the past. And perhaps this is one of the major reasons why we've messed up this world that God has allowed us to briefly inhabit.

So, when I say that there is not much new or different stuff in modern society, I'm talking about the issues themselves; issues like, sexual perversion, drug abuse, language abuse (public profanity), financial greed, acute racism, teenage pregnancy, abortion (just because), homosexuality, profits before people, etc ... these things were a part of our world when I was growing up too. But, while they did not seem to be as prevalent, the truth of the matter is, that they were not accepted by society. We did not put our stamp of approval on most of them. We made the perpetrators and purveyors feel out-of-the-norm. Even open racism, while not taboo in many parts of the country, was still met with traces of resistance and frowned upon at certain levels of indignity and inhuman treatment.

Now we have a society that seems hell-bent on promoting the "I'm okay, you're okay" culture. I'll bet that half of the people reading this have never heard the terms, manish boys or fast girls. Even in the local churches, the underlying message is "accept the life-styles of everyone". And that brings me to my main point. We have gradually moved to the stage where the so-called Christians and people of God have adopted the world's culture and behavior at an alarming degree. In many (actually most) of the churches in the United States today, one can get in all kinds of trouble, even get put out of the congregation for taking a Godly stand against sin. Believe it or not and, contrary to the illusion we've been sold, you can actually talk about and promote God more easily in general society than you can in the so-called Christian society. Yes, that's right, it's wrong to talk about righteousness, in church. Initially I find this hard to believe. But when you take your time and go back to the scriptures, you will see that that's the way it was in the day of Jesus and the early church. Jesus was crucified, primarily, for just that reason ... taking a stand, a firm stand for right and righteousness. The the Apostles and other disciples of Christ were ill treated and some even were killed for the exact same thing.

So you see, we haven't changed. It was like this 2000 years ago and it's has come full circle today. May God have mercy on our souls!

Are U Smarter than ... Anybody?

WOW! It's been a minute since the last time I've blogged here. So I will just delve right into my topic.

There is something that I want to do but I don't know just how to go about doing it. I want to instill some pride and sense of accomplishment in my black brothers. I have been on this planet for more than 5 decades, so I have been thinking about this for a long time. And, by "accomplishment", I mean things that are worthwhile and that show intellect, intelligence, and education. You may not agree with the terms I've just used, but I'm reaching, I'm grasping for straws; help me out if you can. You can call it by any name(s) you please, but I'm referring to all of the things that produce leaders on the national and world stage. We have a most noble and great example in our Black U.S. President. But we could use millions more. We just need a way to polish those lumps of coal into the brilliant diamonds that they can become.



But the first thing that I believe we need to do is to demolish (somehow) this long-standing thinking that we can only achieve prominence, greatness, riches, and fame through entertainment. I don't know if you have ever taken a serious look at this but you might be surprised to find out that this type of thinking permeates our entire culture in Black America. And it's been that way for as far back as I can remember, although the extent of it has grown and spread considerably in the last couple of decades. I wish that I/we could get the masses of professional Black athletes, singers, dancers, and actors to understand this first, then they could use their influence to direct most of our boys and young men to embrace education, intelligence, and intellect and (at least temporarily) reject the pursuit of the entertainment fields as vocations.



You may not see it the same way as I do yet but I implore you to take a serious, open minded look at what our people consider to be important in life and thus what they pursue. I think that it is terrible for us to strive for entertainment (almost exclusively) but what's worse is that it seems like we have reclined into believing that this is ALL that we can excel in and this is ALL that we can attain the pinnacle of success in!



And then finally, now in this age of "audio, video, and text" communication via our phones and computers, it looks like we're on a course of getting worse and worse. Far too many of our young (and not-so-young) brothers and sisters regularly use these media for vulgarity and filth. They use it with such ease too. The older adult friends and relatives of these abusers should respond and reprimand them at every opportunity. This is not acceptable and should not go unchallenged! People, let's wake up! You need to know that many of these boys, girls, and young adults simply do not realize what they are saying and doing - they think it's somehow noble and bold or grown up and mature or even cute. Those of us who know better should step up and speak up.

We need help, indeed with do. But I believe that there are at least a few of us around who were taught to have faith in God. Therein lies the answer. And I don't mean this contemporary faith that flourishes today - I'm talking about the "old landmark". Yes, I am old fashioned and I make no apologies for it. As I said I am old enough to have grown up in the fifties and sixties. Therefore I was a first hand observer and recipient of Grandma's Hands and Grandpa's (heavy) Hand, if you know what I mean. Yes We Can "do all things through Christ, who strengths us".