The Obama Trick

Look at them, the American Dream realized!  Never has there been a more picturesque representation of a real life African-American family.  This particular photo was taken on the night of one of the most monumental events in American history.  Needless to say it felt like the ultimate victory for the black community in particular.  This moment was celebrated by blacks as if it were the end of all of our problems in the WORLD!!!  It was wasn't it?  Doesn't this excuse slavery?  Isn't this sufficient acceptance and a balance of power?  This has to be the reparations we've heard so much about.  Letting one black family live in the White House has to make up for hundreds of years of free labor.  Alright, by now my facetious tone should be more than evident.  My point is this...we have only made a dent in the armor of inequality and we can not be content with this one victory.  My intent is not to marginalize this major accomplishment, but to fan the sparks that it created into a full blaze of consciousness.  I feel we need to capitalize on the momentum of the election to continue to push for fair play, balance, and equal opportunity.  Time and time again we as a people celebrate the mini wins as if we have achieved the ultimate goal.  We tend to be satisfied with just being able to take the step rather than completing the journey.  Please understand that I am not saying do not be happy or do not rejoice, by all mean enjoy the moment.  Since I got behind him as a candidate (after finding out what  he was about not because he was BLACK) I have enjoyed every minute.  I cheered him during the debates, I was nervous when Palin gave McCain a spike, I cried when he was named the winner and again when he was sworn in.  Despite all of that there is yet more work to do before we can breathe a sigh of relief.  We must put our heads down once again until we can achieve another significant victory and accomplish the ultimate goal, EQUALITY!!!  So what do we need to do to make sure we accomplish that goal?  The plan is simplistic.  We need to abide three fundamental principles:  Unity, Organization, and Activism.  The principles are simple but implementing them into the everyday life and culture of our communities proves to be a far tougher challenge.  However, I will expound upon each principle individually and HOPE that my explanation will inspire the understanding needed to create real CHANGE.                                  









UNITY
-noun, plural -ties

1. the state or quality of being one; oneness
2. the act, state, or quality of forming a whole from separate parts
3. something whole or complete that is composed of separate parts
4. mutual agreement; harmony or concord

I thought it was important to include the definition because like so many words people seem to not fully understand their meaning.  Too often is this principle over looked amongst our community.  We seem to be obsessed with terms like "hater, baller blocker, jock riders, scrubs, and groupie" that we are void of any sense of UNITY.  The UNITY we need is the kind that bounds us to our common goal of equality.  This UNITY will require us to break the "Crab" mentality.  We must understand that some sacrifices must be made for the greater good.  This is where we must each understand that we all play a part in the grand scheme of things no matter how small our role is.  We need to get beyond the "keeping it real", "sellout", "uncle tom" mindset where we believe that someone owes something for their success.  Instead we should teach and instill the mindset that it is a natural service to give back to our community.  One of the major reasons we find it difficult to unite is because we do not take pride in our community, therefore those who can and do "make it out" never look back.  The essence of UNITY has to be taught and established at an early age if we intend to rid ourselves of the animosity that consumes our communities today.  The number one rule in defeating any enemy is divide and conquer.  We must realize that if we can not come together and exude true UNITY we will continue to struggle.

   

ORGANIZATION

-noun

1. order or system; method
2. something made up of elements with varied functions that contribute to the whole and to collective functions.
3. a structure through which individuals cooperate systematically to conduct business.
4. the condition of being arranged in a certain order         

ORGANIZATION is an important principle because everything must have structure.  Planning and focus is paramount to being successful in this ordeal.  Resources needed to be pooled, evaluated, delegated, and monitored.   Strategic planning will be necessary to achieve the desired results, therefore our ORGANIZATION will dictate how others are affected by our actions.  What I mean by this is, if we start being responsible for our own we should already be prepared to handle the outsiders who inquire into what we are doing.  This will be a change in behavior and we all know that "change" is a common fear and is especially disturbing to those who like when you are predictable (the oppressors).  Thus ORGANIZATION will be displayed in the form of being prepared to answer questions, influence other communities, handle the media, and defuse any unease of government agencies.  Be clear that being organized as a black will be view as a threat and we must be prepared to handle that.  This is precisely how the FBI dismantled the Black Panthers.  Imagine if we could organize to the point that we have Doctors, Lawyer, Teachers, Police, Bankers, Contractors, Printers, etc all volunteering their services back to the community.  Let's take this fantasy a little further and see what it could yield...so a Dr gives back through volunteering and after a while he is able to open a private practice near the community that he is volunteering in.  This practice brings jobs, directly he hires nurses, nurses aides, and receptionists.  Indirectly the Banker gets to open new accounts, the Teacher gets to train some of the employees, and the Contractor gets to build the new building.  This all improves UNITY through ORGANIZATION.  Lastly the Dr has a business to pass down to his children.

ACTIVISM
-noun

1. the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes  by demonstrations, protests, etc.
2. a policy of taking direct and often militant action to achieve an end, esp a political or social one              

This last principle needs to be executed with finesse.  ACTIVISM will be impossible to achieve with the desired effect if you do not have a firm foundation in the other two principles.  ACTIVISM if implemented improperly will stir up fear and recourse from the oppressor or their agencies.  Black people standing up and fighting for their rights is always frightening to the establishment.  However action is very necessary to reach our goal.  True committed and sustained action, action that endures the test of time because change will not come easy and it will not come over night.  It saddens me to think that we could come together for "Million Man March" yet it proves my point that we can not sustain it because it was a one and done event.  That should have been annual, and should have been the platform to demand change.  Hell the Mexicans protested for change and won...and half of them aren't even suppose to be in the country in the first place!!!  Unfortunately our track record for endurance isn't that great, remember that Martin guy and his "DREAM" and no I'm not talking about Martin Payne sleeping with Pam!!  I'm talking about the mountain top.  That brother got shot and we saw that white folks wasn't playing, we dropped that idea like a hot potato.  Hell we even let Arizona buck at giving the brother a holiday.  Every negro in Arizona should have been in the streets marching and if enough didn't live there Oprah should have flown some in!  ACTIVISM!!!  Don't talk about it be about it!  Ultimately some of us may have to die to get what we DESERVE!  (As if enough of us haven't died already)

So what's the "Obama Trick"?


Well I'm glad you asked.  I thought you weren't paying attention!  The "Obama Trick" is simple.  It is sort of like magic, like an illusionist, smoke, mirrors, and misdirection.  Plainly put, they gave us this small victory to throw us off our guard.  While we were in the streets dancing, hugging, and drinking (they own all alcohol by the way) they were raising gas prices, making business deals surrounding a made up war, and dividing up $700 Billion that they stole from us!!!  Yep no one was happier then they were when he won...the worlds biggest diversion!!!  Oh they gave us Bernie Madoff but do you really think that only one person thought of a multi-billion dollar scheme?  He is the first, last, nor only one to do this.  If they gave us one to me that means they protected hundreds...Bernie just drew the short straw!  This country was built on greed, corruption, and taking what you want.  You got to know the rules if you want to play the game or if you want to play to win anyway.