Listening: The Forgotten Virtue of Citizenship

Borrowed from my friend Alex Peterson, a fellow delegate to the Libertarian Party's National Convention in Orlando this weekend.

As good citizens, there comes times that we must listen to our neighbors and act to maintain peace.  In today's discussions that is often a forgotten virtue, and has led to a regrettable situation where two sides are facing off with both believing that the other is exhibiting signs of racism.  Although one person does not speak for a movement, when the leaders of the movement do not call out ideals spoken under their banner that do not match the movement's ideals it is assumed they support them.  This has become a serious issue between the people stating “All lives matter” and “Black lives matter.”In researching this issue, we did find some very valid points about life experiences in our county that really should be fully heard by all.  

For example, we found that the idea of impending victimization to be a serious issue for a wide swath of people when they see anything pertaining to slavery.  This is especially true near government buildings.  We did also find reports of people being stopped an seemingly impossible number of times by the police.  These situations merit further action without question. 

Our American Dream is one of equality and personal prosperity. While the arguments of preserving history have merit, the facts are we can accomplish the same thing by moving those items to museums without having to expose people to that kind of negativity.  

We can also use the present hardware used by police to create systems of civilian tracking that would allow us to identify such abuse of power and hopefully end it before someone gets hurt or killed.  We would ask that the people under the “All lives matter” banner to listen to some of the speeches given at BLM rallies while imagining if your parents and now you had experienced some of those events.  

We would then ask that we respectfully put that part of our past behind us and work together with our neighbors to create a better functioning country for all.That being said, there are also some points that people are making underneath the “All lives matter” banner that have logical merit.  When one searches the internet, we find that there are quotes from media and videos on what are represented as being BLM leaders stating that all white people are inferior and racist.  There has also been enough violence especially considering the children that are dying from it.   

We would ask that the grassroots portion of the “Black lives matter” movement reach out to the charity's leadership and ask why no statement has been made clearing these matters up.  Because of those statements people are really saying “All lives matter” thinking they are educating the person in front of them about racism instead of hearing a cry for help.  It would also be important to ask where the billions of dollars the charity is getting is going.  It would be fair to say that the money was given with the ideal of helping your community; however, it does not seem to be doing so at this time.  If the charity will not come clean on these issues, it is our recommendation the grassroots portion of “Black lives matter” fight for their slogan and money back to use it for actual good.If both sides will step back and look at the merits of the other's points, we would find that because all lives matter we should be removing idols of slavery and putting them away.  We would also find that anyone speaking in a racist manner should be called out for it and better educated. By doing so, both sides should be able to easily work hand in hand towards the common goal.

In clarification of Presidential Candidate Jo Jorgensen's tweet using #blacklivesmatter and therefore being attacked for being a Marxist, I wrote this on the SCLP.org blog. Thanks, Alex, for taking the conversation further by suggesting we LISTEN to one another.

Who’s in?

This is an open invitation to anyone who wants to write a blog on the topic of Love & Politics to contribute to this space. It’s safe here, I promise. You are welcome here. You don’t have to agree with me or anyone else. Just tell us a story. Make a case. Make an effort.

Leave a comment if you’d like to contribute or reach out to me kasie@clemsonroad.com and let's talk.

On Freedom

Shared with permission from my friend Jackie Capers Brown on Facebook:

One of the dictionary meanings of the word freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Another dictionary definition of freedom is the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government. A despotic government is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot, as in an autocracy, but societies that limit respect and power to specific groups have also been called despotic.

On July 4th every year the United States of America celebrates the day that 13 colonies decided to claim their independence from England. 

It is the evolution of this country and what it might become when all citizens are respected and feel they are valued and capable of using their civil liberties to create the change they seek that will cause us to always be at crossroads throughout the history of this nation. This is a normal part of the evolution process.

The United States of America is not perfect, nor will it ever be. Humans are imperfect. Our challenge as citizens, regardless of race, is for us to not lose sight that this democracy can only see better days as we the people unite to respect, value, demonstrate empathy and genuine care and concern for one another.

For too long, we have allowed our country to be run by political parties, special interest groups, big business, wealthy and influential people who have not had our collective best interest in mind.

It's time that we the American people who understand the challenge but are up to it - begin the process of our turnaround in our communities with a focus on UNITY. Finding common ground with people that don't look like us for our collective common good.

The degree in which we can come together and find common ground and address community issues UNITED will reflect the degree to which we can rise up, TOGETHER.

For example, we the people need to use our freedom to decide that every citizen and person in this nation has a right to equal justice regardless of his or her skin color, gender, religion, sexual orientation etc. We need to establish what that looks and feels like and hold elected officials accountable for taking action that makes it a reality.

There is a cost for freedom. There are sacrifices we must make for freedom. There is a level of maturity we must demonstrate to actualize the American dream written in our constitution. 

I believe that each of us has been born for such a time as this.
I believe that all of the divisiveness and hate we are seeing in our country is a mirror reflection of the condition of our country's soul. 

And, unless, we are ready to relinquish the control of this nation to one person or political figure, each of us needs to take time to reflect on how we can use our unique code of greatness towards elevating our country to the next level.

We have to raise our personal standard as to how we will show up in this world and the impact we are having towards creating a better world for the generations behind us.

We cannot continue to live in ways that urge us to forgo the future benefits of becoming UNITED NOW to appease our tendency for instant gratification. It is clear that this approach is causing great harm to the citizens of this country, and the country itself.

IT'S DECISION TIME

I believe this moment in our collective history is calling us to make a decision. Will we step into a higher version of ourselves for the collective good of all?

We have demonstrated during times of great challenges that we can do this. Will this moment go down in our country's history where we decided to rise above our petty differences and find common ground from which we can begin to rebuild and heal in order to move forward?

We can respect our individual differences while honoring that which UNITES us. We can RISE UP and become the people who are capable of living our constitution out loud.

Our individual and collective decisions will determine the fate of our country. The acceptance of this reality provides each of us with the great freedom to choose how we will impact our family, community, and country's legacy.

#freedom #july4th #decisiontime #personalresponsiblity #usa

Thank you, Jackie, for allowing me to share this here and for sharing your voice, your vulnerability, and your love with me. Love and Politics on Clemson Road welcomes you.

About Jackie Capers Brown

Catch up with Jackie's significant and meaningful work here.

Who’s in?

This is an open invitation to anyone who wants to write a blog on the topic of Love & Politics to contribute to this space. It’s safe here, I promise. You are welcome here. You don’t have to agree with me or anyone else. Just tell us a story. Make a case. Make an effort.

Leave a comment if you’d like to contribute or reach out to me kasie@clemsonroad.com and let's talk.