Echoes of Libyan Freedom

If you've been following the news recently then you may have heard of the freedom fighters in Libya. Ordinary citizens who, not unlike some plucky Americans, have taken up arms against a tyrant. For America, we had our King George, the Libyans have their self-styled "King of Kings," Gaddafi.

As another day dawns since the rebellion began, freedom loving Libyans are taking up arms against a vicious killer. With no way out, it's quite literally, victory or death. With such fierce determination, these people can't help but garner admirers and supporters.

The French government is once again at the forefront in support of liberty. Recent reports indicate that France will attempt to resupply the rebels. America is doing her part by preaching coordinated action in support of innocent civilians. In a moment such as this, we as Americans ought to reflect on the bravery of those free Libyans (as we recall our own history) and support their efforts in whatever ways possible.

While such fire for freedom burns, there is hope for democracy everywhere. I'll be keeping a free Libya in my heart and mind as I wish, hope, and pray for those brave lads. Here's hoping that whatever can be done causes more good than ill.

The Brilliance of Tupac Shakur

To many people, Tupac Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) might be viewed as a man who died a violent death after a life full of danger. For others, his music was judged to be so much noise in the cacophony of sound called Rap. But, I would urge a second look. Tupac is a man who cared enough to write down many of the social problems of his day - in a way not that dissimilar from many bloggers. In the one song presented below Tupac addresses issues of welfare, abuse, female reproduction rights, self-image, rape, race, drugs, brotherly love, a corrupt justice system, black on black crime, false friends, surviving the ghetto, the ability of nations to promote war balanced against the need to feed the poor. Tupac was much more than a rapper, he was a thinking man, preaching to the masses. I think its worth exploring the ideas presented in these lyrics. As we face daily mounting problems I wonder how many will hear Tupac's message. Read the lyrics and please let me know how you feel, is the message as powerful today as it was when written?

Keep Ya Head Up
Little somethin for my godson Elijah and a little girl named Corinne

[Verse One:]

Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
I give a holler to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, and don't nobody else care
And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block brothas clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells you you ain't nuttin don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you you should leave him
Cause sista you don't need him
And I ain't tryin to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em
You know it makes me unhappy (what's that)
When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy
And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

[Chorus]

Keep ya head up, oooo child things are gonna get easier
ooooo child things are gonna get brighter [2x]

[Verse Two:]

Aiyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me
He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be
And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough
And though we had it rough, we always had enough
I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two
And I realize momma really paid the price
She nearly gave her life, to raise me right
And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream
Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen
I'm tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents
It's hard to be legit and still pay tha rent
And in the end it seems I'm headin for tha pen
I try and find my friends, but they're blowin in the wind
Last night my buddy lost his whole family
It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
It seems tha rain'll never let up
I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up
You know it's funny when it rains it pours
They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor
Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is
it ain't no hope for tha future
And then they wonder why we crazy
I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby
We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup
And even though you're fed up
Huh, ya got to keep your head up

[Chorus]

[Verse Three:]

And uhh
To all the ladies havin babies on they own
I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin all alone
Daddy's long gone and he left you by ya lonesome
Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em
Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
Cause ain't nuttin worse than when your son
wants to kno why his daddy don't love him no mo'
You can't complain you was dealt this
hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless
Because there's too many things for you to deal with
Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless
While tears, is rollin down your cheeks
Ya steady hopin things don't all down this week
Cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me
I was given this world I didn't make it
And now my son's getten older and older and cold
From havin the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin Benz
I'm still tryin to hold on to my survivin friends
And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but
please... you got to keep your head up

For more information on Tupac Shakur see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur

The early morning thought of the day

Judith Jamison in a recent PBS interview shared her thoughts on success. "Pray, Prepare and Proceed." That's advice worth having in my opinion. We are forced to contemplate the universe, to navigate our world and finally to take personal action.

Blog Upkeep (Tip)

A recent development in Blogger (Google's blogging service @blogger.com) has made managing blogs fairly easy. 

The ability to send updates via email has been around for some time. One can update a blogger account by creating a custom email account in blogger under Settings/Email & Mobile/Email Posting Address.

To link a blog to twitter one may use a free service like twItterfeed.com. This service will forward posts to twitter, Facebook and others. One will need to add the blog address as myblog.com/rss.xml.

To maximize effectiveness when dealing with multiple blogs one might consider using an email distribution list.

Happy Posting.

Lost Treasure

A number of professionals, business folk and general media outlets have focused on employee engagement. The idea of engagement is to empower employees so that they become fully involved with their work. The theory is that involved employees will find their work more meaningful and consequently will be happier and more productive.

 

One bit of advice for business managers and owners might be to leverage the benefits of employee engagement. I wondered this morning how much money and innovation might be accrued by following through on the ideas of employee engagement. I recalled as a younger man being employed by a business owner to simply examine technology and make recommendations on their usage in his business. That was the extent of my job and because of it I developed a intuitive sense about the possibility for employees to change the course of a business.

 

When setting new years resolutions I would recommend that one include promotion of employee engagement together with serious consideration for implementing active employee suggestions. Don't waste the competitive advantages that exist in your organization. Businesses may have technology and streamlined processes but one must remember that people are your foundation and hold a wealth of lost treasure.

The Importance of Language as Culture

Image via Late

Lately, I have contemplated the concerns of bridging the gap between language and culture. Along these lines I have some pretty strong beliefs. For one, I always think of language as culture.

To my mind language is a powerful tool which in effect binds a group into a shared cultural experience. Language centers around the construction of thoughts. Many of these thoughts produce interlinked concepts which in essence define a people and their culture.

Given this thinking and considering American history it is no wonder that I have some concern that the original culture of new Americans are diffused (if not totally lost). Since culture has an interesting impact on who we are and in many ways define who we must become then one must see the value in learning (or in some cases relearning) the language of one’s ancestors.

One challenge I have taken up is that of learning Wolof (amongst other languages). The goal is to penetrate the mindset and the culture which was stripped away when my ancestors came to these shores. This is not to say that one should not consider and contribute to the fabric which is the American culture. But, rather its to understand that one must know where one comes from before one can understand where one is going.

Without a foundation the house cannot stand.

A Foundation of Hope

Today – in reviewing how far we have come since Martin Luther King’s (MLK) declaration “I have been to the mountain top...I may not get there with you,... we as a people will get to the promised land...” I was struck by the foundation of hope which MLK provided for America. In the election of Barack Obama it appears that hopes for a better America have been answered. Indeed our prayers for a more equal and just society seem to have been answered.

On the other hand we have rappers like Nasir Jones (Nas) who note that many of the hatreds and prejudices remain a prevalent component of our society. Nas puts it this way (referring to racism), “We still see this [-] on Youtube, My Space, when’s this ignorant [-] going to stop?” Most find these two perspectives to be irreconcilable. Maybe, it’s because I have done a bit of traveling abroad, but for whatever reason I can relate to both the hope and the despair of these two perspectives.

I have always believed that one should attempt to maintain some sort of emotional equilibrium in any case. The promise of the future must be weighed with the realization that Obama (god bless him) is only human. We have to mitigate our hopes and dreams by realizing that Obama’ real power comes from his ability to inspire hope and action in others. At the same time, Nas reminds us of the hatred which still exists in our country. We must also remember that people are always going to be people. Some may not like others (for a variety of reasons, including race).

Having felt both extremes (at one time or another), it might be wise to look at where we can stand up and make a better contribution to our society. One place might be picking up the challenge which Obama referred to as his commitment to remind each of us of our commitment to education. America cannot remain rooted in the past, we will have to forge ahead to remake America.

May we all dare to dream of a better day.