MY BROTHER'S KEEPER...

While I have always considered myself to be an enlightened and sympathetic supporter of the plight of Jewish people, after all, we have in some ways identified with the Jewish experience. I understand that the conflict between Israel and Palestine or the sons of Isaac and Ishmael, is complicated and requires a team of analysts to define , but I don’t have a team of analysts what I do have is some common sense and so when the smoke clears what remains of the conflict comes down to the unadorned fact that it is territorial, it is about the land, and one group of people (on the father’s side) telling another group of people (on the mother’s side) that they not only have no right to the land, but they are not the legitimate heir of their father therefore, they have no right to exist!
Having said that, I was outraged when Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla carrying hundreds of activists in international waters. The issues that trouble me are twofold; has Israel become the enemy they claim to fear? It is no great mystery that Israel has been at war for decades, they specialize in war, they are good at it. They have 230 nuclear weapons and everyone in and around the region is willing to concede that fact even Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s President. This latest violent incident makes me question Israel’s true motives? Did Israel really suspect weapons were being imported to Gaza? If so, why not seize the flotilla and document their findings. I suspect this is a more testosterone-driven-“bring-it-on”-ala-george-bush-dangerous show of force that manifests itself as “commando paranoia”. If it is, Israel has become a rogue nation and is dangerously out of control. As Israel’s largest, most powerful, political and financial supporter what position does that now place this country in the international community? It appears to me that an olive branch was extended to the Middle East last year when President Obama went to Cairo and called for a “New beginning in American – Muslim relationships.” President Obama talked specifically about Israel and Palestine when he said in his speech:
“…[t]hat is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest… America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.”
I remember walking a little taller knowing that as country we were finally being represented internationally by a President that was intelligent, articulate and globally minded. No longer did we have to hide shame faced in the “Bush-es”. Later I read how President Obama’s Cairo speech was well received by everyone… with the exception of Israel who was not then and apparently is not now willing to make any concessions to relinquish a strip of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel that is slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC.

Is it now time for the U.S to redefine our loyalty to Israel without fear of being labeled anti-Semitic? Dr. King told us during the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s that, “The segregationists and racists make no fine distictions between the Negroe and the Jew.” American History has taught us two very different lessons. In the Jewish experience in this country, education and hard work eventually pay off therefore the future is full of possibility. Blacks, however, face a legacy of three and a half centuries of racism on American soil and the irrefutable sense that something more than dedication is required. There is hope however; it is with the next generation of Israelis and Palestinians that no longer subscribe to the teachings of hate and divisiveness but seek a global existence with the world in which they live thanks in part to the internet. It will be the same generation that mobilized the social networks for the Obama campaign, the generation that mobilized the Jena 6 movement in Louisiana, the generation that volunteered to support the hurricane Katrina victims, the generation that fights to expose the genocide taking place in Darfur, the generation that protested the Iranian election and continue to fight for the civil rights of all Iranians, the generation that volunteered aid to the victims of the earthquake that devastated Haiti , it’s the generation that protest the immigration FLAW, I mean law in Arizona, and it will be the generation of activists that were on the flotilla that Israel attacked. If we collectively do nothing should we all just put color coded stickers on our license plates? I’m just sayin’…

Peace & Blessings

Juneteenth Festival

Juneteenth, a worldwide celebration, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It dates back to June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became official. That’s when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, with word the Civil War had ended and that slaves were freed.
The telling of Sarah Johnson’s, they all called her Aunt Sarah, life story will one of the highlights of Olean New York’s first Juneteenth Festival this weekend. The only “colored” female in the community when she arrived in Olean in 1833 as a runaway slave, she married James Johnson, a local barber and she became the towns only midwife. The couple became the first African- American homeowners in Olean. Their home still stands today. The house is said to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. The streets and roadways that were once canals led slaves to the house. Mrs. Johnson’s exact age was not known, about a year and a half before her death this fugitive slave from a Maryland plantation was considered the oldest person in Olean, according to her obituary in the local newspaper.
Last year, a Black owned company, Neighbor-Works Home Resources, purchased the current location to start the cultural center. The three-day event will also include dramatic readings, children’s activities, art workshops, food vendors, distribution of flats of vegetables for neighbors to plant at home, demonstrations and audience participation in cooking and drumming and a photo exhibit. Some of the programs to be offered at the center beyond Juneteenth festivities include after-school programs for children, coffee houses and “vinyl jazz nights. Now that is motivation for a jubilant Juneteenth celebration if I ever heard one, rest in peace Mrs. Johnson for you are free indeed and your living was certainly not in vain! I’m Just Sayin…

Peace & Blessings

For Morality’s Sake

As parents, it is our responsibility to instill in our children the types of morals and values that we hope will create in them the kind of well-adjusted, productive members of society that we can all be proud of. I recently engaged in a thought-provoking discussion about the morality issues facing our children, and the mixed messages being given to them by society. An acquaintance believes that rewarding children monetarily for doing the right thing is the only way to ensure the moral wellbeing of her children, I suggested that doing so may teach them to value the money rather than the behavior itself; however, a reward can be manifested in lasting ways, such as the positive examples set by parents, controlling the moral environment of children, and by practicing good character. These are just some of the ways parents can change money for morality to morality for morality’s sake.
For any given behavior, parents may potentially respond in a fashion that rewards children. One of the ways this can be achieved is through example. Examples are routinely set by parents in the ways we treat each other, family members and those outside of the family. The simple virtues of honesty, kindness and integrity suffer from an image problem and are in desperate need of a makeover. Because families are more stressed than ever, and because there are many more negative forces in our children’s lives, parents need to be more intentional than in past generations about creating a family life and more vigilant about raising a moral child. Even then there are no guarantees. However, if a child sees his/her parents reading, he/she will be encouraged to read. Because of the toxic media, society in general and other parents who may be more permissive, the opportunity for parents to teach children moral lessons present themselves often. When children see their parents treating others with respect, they too will learn that is the behavior expected of them. Whenever a parent has an opportunity to teach a child politeness, courtesy and respect, he/she should do so. The most important example a parent can set may be in the stands he/she takes.
Good character will not be absorbed from our current moral environment. Parenting is inherently hard work. Like many other professions, we, as parents, receive our training while on the job; however, the job is harder than ever because the family has fewer allies, e.g., the extended family, cohesive neighborhoods and an economy that doesn’t pay a living wage. We can and must control the moral environment of our children. We can do so in subtle, yet very effective ways that develop good character in our children and have the added benefit of forming ethical behavior that will serve them later. Do we ask our children to be deceitful on the phone when we don’t want to talk to a telemarketer by saying, “She’s not home?” What do we prohibit? Violent video games, TV shows and movies that contain sex, violence, or foul language? All forms of pornography, music with lyrics that denigrate women, immodest dress? Parties where there’s drinking? Prom overnights? Respect for life, war and peace, threats to the environment, the plight of the poor? If we’ve ever taken a stand in the workplace or public arena or even in a conversation with one other person, have we shared that with our children? Stands like these define our values our ethics. They let our children know what we care deeply about. That’s essential if we hope to pass on our values and the importance of integrity in a life of character. If our children never see us standing up for what we believe, never “fighting the power,” how can we expect them to have the courage to stand up to the pressure from their peers? Increasingly, young people seek their self-esteem and identity in clothes or other material objects. At the same time we’re working hard to protect our children from dangers, we should make an equal effort to expose them to what is uplifting, decent, and elevating. Somewhere in the evening paper there’s at least one example of integrity, courage, or compassion share it with our children.
We need to practice what we preach, but we also need to preach what we practice. Teach our children common the courtesies that were expected of us like; “Say please and thank you.” “Don’t interrupt.” “Look at the person who’s speaking to you.” “Pick up your toys and clothes.” “Cover your mouth when you cough.” “Remove your dishes from the table.” “Remember your telephone manners.” “Write or call to say thank you when you receive a gift.” Literally hundreds of teachings like these communicate to children, “This is how we behave,” and “This is how we live.” All of these virtues develop through practice. We don’t develop integrity in children simply by talking about it. Another of our children’s important responsibilities is to do their best work in school and make the most of their education. Homework is not only should not only be viewed as a means of getting good grades but as an opportunity to develop habits of good character such as self-discipline and respect for the teacher. Spiritual development should be nurtured, whatever the religious denomination in our so-called “upwardly mobile” world we are on a downward spiral toward moral bankruptcy. For young people who do not have faith in God, there is, I believe, a greater temptation especially in today’s culture to make a god of something else: money, clothes, or sexual pleasure.
In conclusion, as parents it is our job to make the most of the many opportunities we have to help our children grow to be well- adjusted and moral members of society. When we do not set high standards, we abandon our children to their own immature desires and the pressures of the peer group and society. If we draw a line, and then we cross that, soon we’ll draw another line, and then we cross that. Pretty soon we’ve compromised our standards to the point of disappearing. Without pretending to have all the answers, parenting is a complex art and every child unique, therefore, his/her character must be a parent’s top priority. The process of developing character begins, like everything else, in the home. The morality issues that face our children can be abated if we as parents lead by example control our children’s’ moral environment and practice what we preach…for morality’s sake…I’m just sayin…
Peace & Blessings