Friday, December 29, 2017

Believing in Social Justice.



There is plenty of reasons why I wholeheartedly believe in social justice. One is that I believe in the Golden Rule. Internationally, we humans live in many countries and we have a diversity of backgrounds. One pristine, glorious concept that definitely unites us is about us having the inborn, inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In that sense, we have the right to exist filled with freedom and excluding oppression. In our times, the world has many forms of injustice and corruption from tyrannical leaders, environmental degradation, and to bad economic policies. That is why we fight for a government that not only defends the rights of some, but one that protects the human rights of all people. Democratic freedoms like the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of religion, and the right to petition didn't come out of thin air. These freedoms were fought for by courageous activists who wanted their posterity to witness a world better than the past. Enlarging human freedom is necessary. The long road to equality will not be easy. That is why people have utilized various forms of protests including civil disobedience in order for the world to see monumental, transcendent change. We desire justice in our daily lives, in the law, and shown in our government. We promote this aim not just because we want to help people (which we do). We advance this premise because it is the right thing to do. Immigrants, black people, women, and other minorities have made great contributions throughout the epochs of human history. Therefore, we are obligated to enrich the lives of others in an altruistic fashion. The concern of the poor is our concern. When one human is violated of his or her rights, then all of our rights are violated. In that sense, we stand up for our collective humanity when we utilize the Golden Rule faithfully in our lives. The pursuit of greed for the sake of nefarious self aggrandizement and ego makes no sense in building up the soul.

What builds up the soul is uniting ourselves in building up our communities and seeking answers that go beyond benefiting ourselves, but courageously lifts up humanity in general. We have seen positive work done by many heroes. One woman, Harriet Tubman, freed many people who were held in bondage. One man, who was Steve Biko, engineered a movement which wanted Black Consciousness to be used as a great vehicle to end the oppressive system of apartheid. A revolutionary change is definitely our goal, because a positive, revolutionary change can make the Promised Land so real. Social justice means that we desire the promotion of the general welfare, we want tranquility, we want justice, and we want to secure liberty for ourselves and our descendants. That is why true government ought to be made by and for the people. A strong social safety net and compassion to the poor are great things to enact too. We know that man can't live by bread alone. Material needs alone will not save us. We need to recognize that humans are more than atoms and electro-chemical patterns. I believe in the existence of the human spirit, I believe in God, and I believe that spiritual growth is necessary to develop too. Being against oligarchy and being in favor of truth plus wisdom is a magnanimous, concise aphorism to live by.

Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Pamela Williams. She grew up in Philadelphia. She is a world famous jazz musician, saxophonist, producer, and painter. She has toured globally too. She has musically worked with Patti Labelle, Teena Marie, Sheila E. the Ohio Players, and other artists. Glover Washington Jr. was one of her many inspirations. Her 1996 debut album was Saxtress. She continues to inspire and perform. She is also a great artist and has developed very exquisite, creative, and detailed paintings (which shows images of fellow artists and other themes about life in general). I wish Sister Pamela Williams more blessings. Yesterday was the Birthday of Brother Denzel Washington. He is now 63 years old and he was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He's a living legend. He is one of the greatest actors in human history. Highly intelligent, he has worked diligently to speak up for causes of volunteering, after school programs, and lifting up our community. He has been involved in some of the greatest, most inspirational films in history. He was definitely born to play the role in Malcolm X (which is one of my favorite films). Washington earned a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. He played basketball in college too. By the late 1970's and the early 1980's, he was in many TV shows. During the 1980's, he played a doctor in St. Elsewhere. Also, he was in theater throughout his career as well. He won the Best Supporting Actor role in Glory. That was in 1989. He has played in a diversity of films from Remember the Titans to Crimson Tide. He's a blessed man and he's married to a gorgeous black wife whose name is Pauletta. The couple has many children. Denzel Washington is his own man who has funded charities, spoken out on issues, and continues to bring great excellence in the craft of acting.

It's certainly one of the most tragic stories of the year. The 17 year old Ulysses Wilkerson (who was beaten to the point of near death in Alabama) never deserved this at all. For the cops to claim that causing a child his eye socket to be cracked "reasonable force" is a lie and a total masochist nature of those crooked cops. There should be an independent investigation to ascertain all of the facts and accountability should manifest itself. Our people are always lectured on respectability politics by conservatives and even some Hoteps, but these same people refuse to lecture cops on what they ought to be as it relates to decency and respect to human rights. The abuse of the human rights of black people by crooked "cops" (or the gang in blue) is not new. Obviously, the teen was viciously beaten. We are committed to oppose police brutality, so the parents of this teen can have some semblance of justice in their lives. Trump is a fascist. He actually believes that he can do what he wants involving the Justice Department. He is silly to say that in an impromptu New York Times interview in public. That tells me that he has no shame and he has no forthright compassion for the rule of law and for common decency. Louis XIV was an authoritarian absolutist. Absolutism is totally repugnant to any free society, because democratic power means that no one person has unilateral, unlimited power. Power is regulated and the power of any President should controlled ultimately by the people (as the government ought to be by and for the people). More people are exposing Trump and he should have never been President in the first place.

We are born to have Excellence, so achieving Excellence while having fun is one great purpose of life. Just because you're conscious, doesn't means that you can't have fun. We are human, so having time to have fun via vacations, sporting events, concerts, picnics, hiking, and other trips recharges human energy and gives people the opportunity to establish plus grow more positive human connections. Real strength ultimately consists of overcoming obstacles, standing up for truth, compassion, and believing in justice. We can learn from others, do excellence, be humble, and never be ashamed of our power (as power used to help is great). Some historic news is that a posthumous story from Zora Neale Hurston will come out and become published in 2018. It is about the story of the last survivor of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. His name was Cudjo Lewis. RIP Brother Don Hagan Charles. He was a famous photographer of the Civil Rights Era. He was 79 years old when he passed away recently. He was the man who took a picture of Malcolm X holding a rifle next to the window in the sense of protecting his family, which he had a right to do. Creativity is a blessing, because it stirs up the mind and causes people to express more of their meritorious human talent. Constantly learning is a plus. Also, it is important to utilize that learning to find the truth. Wisdom is more than learning information. It is about applying that information and using it to benefit society as a whole (and analyzing to gauge its meanings and value in an inquisitive, comprehensive fashion). Some shocking news is that Eric's Garner's daughter, Erica Garner, just had a heart attack. She is in a coma now. We all send prayers for the Garner family during this time. Erica is a well known social activist in New York City. We wish for Erica to have a full recovery.



By Timothy


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