No. 7 - yet another day in fear

I wonder what would happen if the fear we all live with would one day go away. I wonder what life would be like. Would we act the same way we now do towards one another, would we demonstrate a different kind of caring for our community, would we become more open to and trusting of others? I wonder how that would cause us to treat the homeless and less fortunate, and what new voice we might find to speak up for ourselves.

I dream of the day when we can overcome the paralysis that fear has wroth on us. I long for the day when we can be free from the constraints that have fragmented our communities to near extinction and that have caused our trust in one another to diminish to near zero. How great it would be to see the streets and parks filled with my Brothers and Sisters and my friends and neighbors in celebration of the diverse community we now have. A beautiful thought indeed, one that takes me back to the days of old when I knew I belonged to a community because the community came together in celebration and I saw my community in this positive and united light.

What has happened to us? Where has our fire gone? How have we become so fragmented and disconnected that we rarely say hello to someone passing by anymore?

This is something that’s been bothering me for some time and I struggle with accepting this current “way of being” as the way it is. I refuse to believe there is no hope for rebuilding the family unit, then the community unit, and then the country. I cannot allow myself to give up believing in the greatness that prevailed in our communities, and that was once synonymous with Black America, or the strength and dignity that once thrived within us and anchored our identity to the causes we all believed in. I know we have demonstrated our capacity and ability to stand up for what is good and righteous. I will believe in us always.

Okay, then… we live in a world where fear is the pawn that is used to keep us under control and at bay. It is the boogey man in the closets of our youth that frightens us, preventing us from speaking in a loud and clear voice to secure our part of the great riches this Country is renowned for. We have allowed fear of others to shape our perspectives and notions of other people. We have allowed fear of reprimand to silence our collective voice, eliminating our right to be heard and regarded properly in the politically arena. We have allowed fear of losing our material possessions to keep us working twelve hours a day six days a week while all around us the very things we work so hard for slip further and further away… even when, in our hearts, we know we are failing to maintain the strength of our community.

Troubling indeed... but not the end of the story for us by any stretch of the imagination.

I can think of no other People who has survived slavery, jim crow-ism, willie lynch-ism, or international racial discrimination. I can think of no other People whose collective will has changed the course of history throughout the world not once, but many times. I can think of no other people whose “will-not-quit” attitude is legendary. No other People, but Us. And we did it in the face of overwhelming fear.

And now, the time has come for us to remember that we have, we can, and we must set aside our fears to do the work at hand.

It is a great task and requires a sea of bodies willing to stand up for what is just, right, and needed in our communities. It requires that we make a conscious decision to do our part to better our status and communities. No longer can we afford to run headlong into oblivion at the slightest hint of fear… no longer can we be its pawn. It is our responsibility to build our community to its fullest potential. It is our duty to embrace one another and work collaboratively to realize the needs of the community. And it is the only lasting gift we can provide to the youth who are our futures, and our legacies.

There are two ways we can look at fear. How we look at it determines what hold it has on us. We can choose to see our daily challenges as “yet another day in fear” and continue on the path to (and in) despair.
Or we can choose to see our daily challenges as exciting opportunities to partake of the fullness of life by knowing we are part of a moving and vibrant community on the verge of re-establishing our greatness.


As a footnote: It has been my experience that the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had in the last five years have been those that include working with and for the betterment of my community. It is fine medicine to overcome any illness of the Soul, and only costs a little bit of time... and a little belief in oneself.