The Cost of Freedom

November 21, 2015 africafifth@gmail.com 1 Comment

Everything in life costs something. Irregardless of what it is there is always a price we must pay for something we want. It doesn’t always necessitate money as being the common denominator. In my last piece I wrote about the price we pay for over indulgence, making ill-advised purchases as well as trying to maintain a life style that we can’t afford.

In this piece I’m going to talk about Freedom today and what are some of the primary related costs. More importantly is the question, are we willing to pay the price for freedom today?

I’m not going to elaborate on the brave people and pioneers of yesterday. Folks such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Jane Pittman, John Brown, Nat Turner WEB DuBois, MLK JR. Malcolm X, The Black Panthers and others who championed the cause for Black Freedom and Equality…or folks who help build up Black America during The Reconstruction Period, The Black Wall Streets of America, The Voters and Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s and 70’s. These folks were cut from a different cloth and we today haven’t experienced the suffrage that they have and aren’t as courageous..Neither do we feel the same sense of urgency.. We definitely need too though!

What does it cost to have real meaningful freedom? I’m talking about the kind of freedom that will allow you to go anywhere your heart desires, do whatever your heart desires ( within the framework of the law ), live where ever you can afford to live and be whomever you desire to be without the pigmentation of your skin being a factor? What is the cost to be able to live separate but equal and furthermore is that even possible in today’s society? What would be the cost for either of these notions to be transformed into a reality? What is the price we have to pay for law enforcement to stop profiling us and to stop shooting us down like animals?

What would that cost be for dark-skinned people as well as white skinned people for this to be realized? You see, whether or not you considered this brothers and sisters there is a price that white folks must pay also for any of this to become a reality. I’m not so sure that they are willing to do so. You ask, what the heck is it going to cost them? Well then I will tell you. It’s going to cost them sacrifice and reconciliation the same that it will cost us. What do I mean by sacrifice and reconciliation?

In order for us to have unimpeded freedom or separate but equal status they have to open the door for the former or we have to force it open and they also have to accept the notion that we are their equal and they are not our superior. And let’s be honest folks, white America ain’t ready for their big show to end. Nor are they willing to accept us as equals.. These two in my book are the primary reasons why we are stagnated aside from the fact that we don’t take the initiative to radically challenge it. We are conditioned for docility and don’t even know it. We don’t believe that we can ultimately win against them and that is a very sad and disappointing reality. This brings me to my second issue and that is the costs for black folk. Again we are decimated and stagnated mostly because of systematic and systemic society that is predicated on white dominance.. Systematic because of the step by step methods that have been implemented to create and build a system of oppression, discrimination, marginalization and dehumanization. Systemic because it has become so ingrained in this system of white dominance/superiority and now inherently into the minds and lives of Black folks.

We are now and have always been confronted with self-identity, self-confidence, self-esteem issues to say the least. Another destructive organism is the self hate that we feel and project onto each other in the most harmful and violent ways. ie; rape,murder etc. Which brings me to another aspect of freedom that we fail to give much attention too. What about the freedom of our little black girls and our little black boys? Yes, the freedom for our children to play in their front yards and community playgrounds without the constant threat of shots being fired and having their life snuffed out before they even begin to live.. How about the freedom of not being exposed to drug dealing and other illegal activities that plague our streets and trouble their innocent souls? What about their freedom to grow up, go to school, have friends and to pursue their dreams? What about the freedom of safety for them because it is the same freedom of safety that we want to have with law enforcement, isn’t it? Our children also have a right to the exact same freedom of safety that we expect to have. We want freedom for ourselves and don’t provide freedom for them. We can’t expect to receive and not be willing to give. So I guess it is fair to say that some costs for freedom begins at home…It begins with one’s self and what one is willing to change in order to gain that freedom..Again courage!!!

We have a propensity to sabotage our own progress and fail to provide each other with the support we need in order to make constructive progress. . We have become our own worst enemies when we fail to utilize and convert this negative energy into positive energy and work towards gaining real freedom.
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Do we continue to march and sing or do we resort to some acts of violence to achieve freedom and respect? Do we continue to burn down buildings and in the process destroy integral parts of our own communities? We gotta do and give up something man. Has the implementation regarding conceptual freedom been so elusive because of our reluctance to conform to what we think white society wants us to be? Hmmm, let that marinate for just a minute…

A lot of us are already wearing the skin of the uncivilized, uneducated,unemployed, impoverished and no good for nothing filth that they view us as. So why not wear the skin of the conformist? Imagery and Perception I guess.. It would be too demeaning to most of us and would suggest a degree of Coonism or Uncle Tomism to conform..Could there not be conformity without fully embracing Ideologies and Doctrines of white America? I believe so and this is a topic that I will talk about in my next piece.

So what does freedom cost? A whole lot folks and I’m not so sure that we are willing to pay the price because it requires a great deal of courage, personal sacrifice and reconciliation on both sides. For us as Black people our freedom starts with us liberating our minds and separating ourselves from the umbilical cord of white America’s poison. We must start looking at ourselves and each other through a different set of lenses other than the ones provided by them. Stop feeding on and digesting the never-ending poisonous propaganda that they spew through the conduits of communications. Stop believing and accepting it!!! If we continue to reconcile ourselves to the picture that’s been painted, the narrative that has been spoken and written about who we are, what we are and what we can and can not do then we will always be enslaved. Don’t believe the hype from them or from the naysayers…

You’ve got to know who you are before you can be free. Freedom begins at home, mentally, spiritually and physically…

Yeah, Freedom costs a whole lot folks..Most folks ain’t ready for that. They may talk about it but they’re too damn lazy and or brainwashed to do anything about it. They’ll be the ones who will enjoy the fruits from the labor of others..

Sacrifices, Reconciliation and Courage!!!

African American Conscious, Black Awareness, Social Conscious

The Buffet Table of Life

November 20, 2015 africafifth@gmail.com 1 Comment

Let’s be truthful; We are all very familiar ( at least most of us ) with the buffet table. Most of us have dined at some of these establishments that offer a variety of all you can eat foods for one price and there are those who make sure they get their moneys worth and then some…I’ve seen people just eat and eat until they can eat no more and then try to sneak some out in their bags….. These are the folks that will gorge themselves on just about everything in sight. The tummies have been filled to capacity but they will stretch it beyond it’s designed limit and continue to force it to expand. What transpires in the aftermath is a tummy that now requires more and more to fill it up and the appetite for food develops into a ravenous and insatiable one. Unbeknownst to them at the time is that eventually there’s a price to pay for these episodes of overindulgence. You see my friends, everything in life costs something and aside from the listed price what additional costs are you willing to pay?

Most of us would be ecstatic if life only mirrored the buffet table concept. Oh man, I can visualize it now this sort of like a wild bonanza of delirium and intoxicating endless display of greed and over indulgence. Oh well as it is unfortunately or fortunately one price for everything does not apply here.. Not only is there not one price for all you want but the ache that you’ll get from overindulging in the buffet table of life is a bit more painful, damaging and longer lasting.. Big Ouch!!!

On the buffet table of life there is a massive abundance of merchandise available for us to adorn ourselves with and beautiful sexy automobiles to parade around in and show off as well as lots and lots of different and splendid toys for us to play with for our enjoyment or just to occupy our time with.. There is something for every one, whatever you may fancy. Yep, on the buffet table of life you can get just about anything you want . Only difference is that it all comes with a price tag not to mention those unforeseeable costs that we incur depending on how careless or irresponsible we are., ie;Financial Aches and Pain…. Hey but that’s ok, it don’t matter, we want all that we can get and more even if we don’t necessarily need it and more importantly, can’t afford it… There’s a misconception that a lot of folks have about buying things. The fact that you can purchase it does not mean you can afford it,,A lot of us will place ourselves in precarious situations simply because we don’t know how to put the brakes on nor factor in the ramifications of our careless actions.. We continuously make every conceivable effort to keep up appearances in order to project a certain image ( a false one at that ) of someone and something that we are not. We will go out and shop for the most expensive things, drive up that credit card bill and then sit back and wonder why we can’t pay the electricity or the phone bill. We’re not that concerned about food shopping because McDonald’s one dollar meal special will do the trick.. I have seen lots of folks pulling up to that drive-up window in these high-end expensive cars… Why is it that Black folks are continuously trying to buy the illusion of success instead of building real success?

I know folks who are driving BMW’s, Mercedes, Cadillac’s, Audis, Lexus, Jaquars and Range Rovers and don’t even own their home. They have their nails and hair done at the salon, wear the latest in fashion and have the most expensive bags on their arms (some real and some not ) and act as though their you know what don’t stank.. . Brothers are hitting the clubs and making it rain but eventually it dries up and now they are delinquent on their payments but you wouldn’t know it by the way they carry themselves. ..Perception is paramount I guess. Man the money that is spent on the illusion of success does not serve us well at all. It simply does not yield a substantive or positive return on the investment as let’s say a home or some other type of financial investment would. But most aren’t concern with building up equity in a home or anything else for that matter as much as they are consumed with building up the perceptional image of success. Hey I may not have any type of viable net worth but I sure as hell look good baby. If that isn’t asinine I don’t know what the heck is..

You probably know a few folks who are just like this. Maybe even have a relative or two who fall right into this category.

So, let’s fast forward to about 60 or 65 years old and take a peek at how successful they have been.
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Oops, unable to retire due to the enormous amount of outstanding debt and not a single penny in savings or some type of retirement account… No preparation whatsoever and still paying someone else’s mortgage.. Yep, you guessed it, still paying rent. I would say that these are some of most misguided and disillusioned Negros on the planet but they aren’t and hey, if you don’t know well, you just don’t know. I have been down that same road at the exact same spot so I get it.. Due to the absence of teaching and positive role models we are more likely to emulate what we see as passing for success because we aren’t taught what real success is. But wait a minute and let’s slow down for a second. Does this really excuse us because I mean we must know at some point in time that what we are doing is not conducive to establishing financial security for the future? No matter for we will continue to ignore the warning signs and give way to that most common of destructive rationales and mindset. It’s that old trap that a lot of us all fall into. You know that attitude we have when we someone starts to talk about preparing for the future..

Live for today man because tomorrow ain’t promised to ya..

Sort of like the O’Jays song-Living For The Weekend.. Yeah baby cause that’s when I party down….Party, party hey party down..

What the heck does thinking about 30 or 40 years down the road man gonna do for me now? I got to get my party on now dog.. I might not live to see 60 years old man, might not even see fifty..So therefore the concept of doing things in moderation never enters the mind because it’s all you can eat no matter what the cost…Screw the future man cause it ain’t in my plans and I ain’t thinking about it at this conjuncture in my life….. I hate to be the one to tell ya brothers and sisters, but you need to lend an ear to this here. Just because the future does not factor into your plans you sure as heck can bet that you most definitely factor into the future’s plan…. You can bank on it…. Now I’m not saying that you can’t eat at the buffet table of life I’m just cautioning you about the over indulgence, that’s all.. Know your limitations and don’t attempt to live beyond your means..

Hey eat all you want folks and enjoy yourselves but just remember, ( Eat Responsibly )… or else….

Written by Al DeVeaux Jr. Africafifth

Poetic Literature

Once Again

November 13, 2015 africafifth@gmail.com 2 Comments

Once again she has departed and I find myself alone and left to my own devices. Once again the beast inside me rears its ugly head beckoning me to enter into its dark chambers. Once again all that was laid to rest begins to surface and once again I find myself battling the temptations of sin. I pray for the stillness of my soul but the heaviness bears down on me and she is not near to help lift it.

She has always been my saving grace as well as my rock. It has been in her presence that I find my strength even though she is unaware of my darkness. It is her quiet and still manner that keeps the beast at bay and calms my sometimes restless spirit. She gives me peace of mind and my heart bathes in the joy which fills me with content for a while. She embodies all that is wonderfully beautiful in my eyes for her soul is one of innocence and virginity. She has not been contaminated with the vileness in life that I have experienced. Her heart knows not of corruptibility and she has been spared the pain and deceit of this world by a protective mother. Her upbringing, a stark contrast to mine has molded and prepared her for me. My lifes experiences beg a desperate need of her. For without her my life might have been doomed and incarcerated in dark perpetuity.

Once again in her absence it is the minutes, the hours, and the days that need filling for it is in my idleness that the beast thrives and gains strength. Once again indiscretion and futility strive to overpower me and dominate my actions. Once again I have danced with the notion of indulgence and I have entertained those would be regretful actions. Once again my mind and will were close to the doorstep of shameful exuberance.

Once again divinity intercedes and better judgment doth prevail. Once again it has been my time to show inner strength and mental fortitude. Once again it is upon me to rise to the challenge and confront the beast for once again I am reminded of just how flawed a human I am. Once again I have the opportunity in her absence to be the man that she needs me to be and the man I need to be for me. Once again I will gain more in depth insight into my inner being and become a better person from the experience.

Once again I have grown from the process and learned to appreciate her gentleness, her compassionate heart, her unyielding and uncompromising devotion, and her unconditional love for me. Once again she will return and life will resume with some sense of normalcy but who’s to say that this isn’t the designed normality for my life.

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