You’ve heard of fantasy football, right? Why not a game of fantasy government? Any takers?

Barack Obama - President
Ron Paul - Vice President
John Edwards - Attorney General
Hilliary Clinton - Secretary of State
Rudy Giuliani - Secretary of Homeland Security
John McCain - Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Bill Richardson - Secretary of Interior

Issues:

Immigration

Why it is an issue:

• Taxes resources
• Growth of population that does not honor or respect fundamental values of citizenship
• Undocumented persons

What not to do:

• Erect wall with armed robotic sentries posted at intervals along border.
• Place minefield along border.
• Continue current border patrol program.

Proposition: Implement humane programs to deter illegal immigration including but not limited to:

• Create DNA database of all captured illegals.
• Retrain border patrol agents as detectives.
• Fine and/or confiscate businesses and property of employers hiring illegals and families taking them in without reporting them.
• Zero-tolerance enforcement.
• Property is sold to finance salaries and deportation expenses.
• Possible incarceration at work camps.
• Education initiatives on both sides of the border regarding immigration.

Economy

Why it is an issue:

• Gas prices
• Home foreclosures
• Lagging wages
• Stock market jitters
• Rising education costs

What not to do:

• Continue our dependency on foreign oil.
• Continue our relationship with the Internal Revenue Service.
• Continue operating within the current economic model.
• Continue to import goods and services to meet our national needs.

Proposition:

• Divert defense budget to research and development of alternate sources of energy.
• Overhaul the American Banking System to reclaim independence from world banking industry.
• Cancel our contract with the Internal Revenue Service.
• Invest in the development of environmentally responsible and efficient energy sources.
• Divest ourselves of dependence on foreign markets.
• Strengthen our commitment to academic and vocational leadership.

Health Care

Why it is an issue:

• Because everybody in America is sick (smile).

What not to do:

• What we’ve been doing.

Proposition:

• Follow the French.

Terrorism

Why it is an issue:

• Because people still don’t believe that the Bush Administration was behind 9/11.
• Because people don’t understand how the C.I.A. operates.

What not to do:

• Believe everything the media reports without holding it up to a candle.
• Believe we are above the law.
• Force feed our views down the rest of the world’s throats.

Proposition:

• Weed corruption out of our government and keep it out.
• Adopt extreme zero tolerance policies for corruption.
• Re-establish diplomatic relationships world-wide.
• Humble ourselves as a nation and right our wrongs.
• Understand our standing in the world and recommit ourselves to excellent values.

Tell the children
Being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
Enjoy your innocence while you’ve got it
You have enough time to lose it
Once its gone, it’s gone
Live long enough and you’ll regret it
So don’t be so quick to squander it
Thinking it’s yours
It is
One of the most precious things in the world
If you don’t believe me
Look at how desperately the world tries
To buy it, corrupt it, and destroy it
It is
One of the most precious things in the world
Don’t let anyone sell you short

© 2007 Eric Nunnally

Legal tender
A pound of flesh
Selling bodies
Reaping souls
Money’s counterfeit

Buying into the game
Gambling your name
Looking out
Looking in
Who made that window pane?

Given freedom to choose
With the sky as the limit
You hesitate and look back
Needing someone to give it

It was already yours
But you did not believe it
So you hired a master
Gave him power to lease it

Shylock
Loan shark
Bank’s got the lease
Life costs too much
Too little
No peace

Stick up
Shake down
Lean on garnish or tax
Filling pockets too fat
Believe in fear
Not the facts

It’s slavery
Grave robbery
Darwin’s legacy
Even dying ain’t free

Ad – dict - ed to
A perversion of life
In a barrel or box
Going over the falls
Only safe behind locks
Where’s your telephone call
There’ll be no recess today
That is all
That is all

Feet are chained, fall in line
Labor long, labor hard
Keeping busy and dizzy
Took your eyes off of God

Something for nothing ain’t
Worth as much as it seems
You are not getting over
You’re getting in deep

You’ll come up short
Weighed down in the red
It won’t kill you straight out
But you’ll wish you were dead

Hindsight from hell
With no one to warn
Because we’ve all heard the truth
All had lessons to learn

Some fight the good fight
To be sure, they are few
The rest are stuffed in a handbag
Like bruised spoiled fruit

For those who can see
For those who can hear
Pay attention
Understand
The reason you’re here

There are signs all around
The awakened mind
Let the world fall away
And be quiet sometimes

Remember, reflect
Meditate on the Truth
You are your own Bible
The message is you

If you need some assistance getting back to the Word
Just read your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

© 2007 Eric Nunnally

“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically . . . The complete education gives one not only power of concentration but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the Book of Genesis 25:29, Jacob was cooking a stew when Esau, his elder brother, came in from hunting, famished. Esau asked for some of the stew his younger brother was preparing. Jacob, the younger brother, being a shrewd boy, demanded Esau’s birthright in exchange for something to eat. Esau implied that his birthright couldn’t satisfy his hunger pangs. Still, Jacob insisted that Esau sell his birthright for some food. Esau did, and Jacob gave his elder brother some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate, drank, got up and went his way. Esau cared little for his birthright.

Today it can be argued that the masses have chosen to forfeit their inheritance for the crumbs of leisure. Their inheritance is the earth. Look what has happened to it. Go to Blockbuster and rent “An Inconvenient Truth.” The crumbs of leisure are the illusions of prosperity… when image is worth more than content.

By proxy people have given others the power to make decisions for them. This can be seen in the US electoral process and even the monetary systems of the world. Through the normalization of this process, the few have acquired power over many… to the tune where the decisions of the few cost the lives of millions. Polls may speak to a majority being against the war in Iraq, but yet we are still there.

We have become sheep led to the slaughter because we will not think for ourselves. We will not act on our common sense. Perhaps there is no more common sense. It could very well be argued that the masses have forgotten how to think.

There is no greater enemy to the status quo than the person who has the ability to think and act critically.

We are all responsible for defining the reality we live in. The quality of that reality depends on our investment in it. Things will not get better by waiting, by letting someone else decide or come up with the answer. This is your life - no one else’s to live. Do not be someone else’s game piece on their monopoly board. Join the revolution. Fight for your life before there’s nothing left to live for but a crack head’s dream.

Check these out:
A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking.

Or click here for resources on critical and creative thinking.

And here for over 100 free online tutorials on critical thinking, logic, scientific reasoning, creativity, and other aspects of thinking skills.

A wonderful documentary illuminating the phenomenal capabilities of the human mind. I am reminded of the assertion that we only use a very small percentage of our brains which leads to the question - what could we do if we were able to use more of it. This film gives us but one indication of what could be possible, but also serves to remind us of the multifaceted nature of the human mind and that our current perspectives on how reality is defined is at best limiting. If we could embrace non-traditional ways of understanding how things work, how they develop, and the possibilities for growth, we might collectively discover answers to our most nagging questions which have, to date, only served to segregate and isolate individuals and communities. To get to the point when we are not only able to acknowledge the uniqueness of individuals, but value and encourage that uniqueness within the context of its being an asset to the health and well being of the whole of mankind, perhaps then we would stop shooting ourselves in the foot through racism, classism, sexism and any other ism plaguing humanity.

I’ve got to thank Sheletha for this one. Brings back memories of Apostolic Church of God and Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, and Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Joliet, IL. When all is said and done about what kind of drama is going on in the building, it all comes down to the personal testimonies of the individuals who make up the Church. The most powerful testimonies, for me, happen when somebody is coming clean - airing all the dirt of their past with the ability to put it all into perspective with the realization that God is all there is.

Some might think it sad that some have to go through all kinds of changes before they come to this realization. Still others believe that such an epiphany is merely the result of a broken spirit having given up his or her personal power and resigned to believe in a fairy tale which absolves them of any responsibility for their lives. I have to laugh at that because they’re right - about everything except the fairy tale.

To argue with someone about whether or not God is real, is like arguing about whether a person has a right to believe what they choose. I can’t imagine how anybody could force another to love someone they don’t believe in, just as I can’t imagine someone believing in something they don’t have evidence of. Whether or not they can effectively articulate what that evidence is - is another matter entirely.

Each of us have our own life experiences. Our ability to appreciate and understand those experiences in a way that provides meaning and purpose for our lives can be difficult - especially for those dead set on doing things their own way by damn! But when we step off the picture a bit and take some time to reflect upon the pattern of our lives, sometimes we start to recognize how things fit together. Sometimes we can discern a plan. The more we focus and steer ourselves in the direction of the truth of the matter, more of it becomes apparent and suddenly what was once a life of chance and circumstance becomes a life of direction and obedience… if we have any sense (smile).

I used to be on the fence about doing what I know to be best (who am I kidding, I still find myself on the fence sometimes). But after losing my balance and cracking my nuts more than a few times, I think I’ve figured out (for the most part) what I’m supposed to be doing. I’d be lying if I said “I’ve got it, now.” I still mess up. But I’m trying… and at least I’m not as aimless as I used to be. I know which direction I’m heading in and I thank God for every day he blesses me with to demonstrate, correct, and model for His glory.

Amen.

Martin Luther King on Malcolm X

It is difficult for me to believe that Malcolm and Martin did not deeply respect each other. While each may have advocated different means to an end, I cannot help but “know” that they were two sides of the same coin, each complementing each other, both working in tandem to achieve the same goal. Both men exercised viable ideologies which, operating alone, may have been less successful in terms of moving and reshaping society. By presenting an option (i.e. good cop, bad cop) they managed to crack the conscience of white America and create conversations that may otherwise have never taken place. That many misunderstood a supposed rivalry between them is unfortunate, whether that rivalry was conceived in the minds of the everyday man or in the minds of so-called intellectuals.

In this particular broadcast it would seem that the television program’s host, while playing devil’s advocate for the purpose of elucidating the ideologies of men, and succeeding to do so, must have known that despite the effectiveness of his strategy, he was still devilishly aligned.

Malcolm X debates James Farmer

Taking the immediate opportunity to correct an illegitimate comparison between a farmer’s revolt and the revolt of Black people, provides an excellent segue into an ideological confrontation between James Farmer and Malcolm X.

There is a sense of impatience and disciplined frustration in Malcolm’s rhetoric when addressing the hypocrisy of the United States. Malcom’s stated views of seperatism, while extreme in the sense that the fruition of such dreams can presumably only come about after racial conflict on a revolutionary scale, are at the same time more practical in their logic than Farmer’s assertion to the contrary. Every point Farmer makes in cautioning against Malcom’s aggressive standpoint seems itself clouded behind a veil of denial. Each postulate offered by Malcolm X is restated as nothing more than a hypothesis by Farmer, as if there was no evidence to support such an assertion that Whites in America hate Blacks.

Farmer goes on to suggest that the realization of Malcom’s stated ideology of separatism would render an outcome strategically devastating to the interests of the Black community as a whole, apparently unaware of the current state of affairs for Blacks in the country at that time. While Farmer’s argument makes sense out of context, when considering the conditions in need of being addressed, his position seems woefully inadequate… or should I say, more patient than Malcolm’s.

In this particular segment of the round table, the contrast in posture of the participants is painfully obvious. Morrison stumbles over his words, with the sum of his perspective based on hope, that is hoping that there is hope - not self generated but for another (the President of the United States) to bequeath unto the people as a matter of whim rather than rule.

Malcolm unequivocally states his assessment of the situation without reserve and it is immediately apparent why his presentation inspires so much attention and admiration - Malcolm seems to embody an uncompromising truth, stating it clearly and without apology.

Rounding up this segment, Farmer again seems to represent that faction of the Black community known as the Boulé Malcolm alludes to as having been hand-picked to contain the restlessness of the people by spouting disillusioned rhetoric, assuming a power which has never been made evident as an alternative to the power of the people which has the entirety of history to validate its effectiveness.

“If it is wrong to be violent defending Black women, Black children, Black babies and Black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our people, our own people, right here in this country.” - Malcolm X

Malcolm’s appeal to a certain segment of the Negro community is and was not by accident. His message incorporates a perspective shared by many and addresses the violence of the society within which they survive. At various stages in brother Malcolm’s development one may discern subtle changes in the scope and focus of his message. Because he was such a dynamic and controversial speaker, this fact is often overlooked and his speeches taken out of this context, to stand alone as representative of the entirety of his belief and vision. If there is one thing I love more than anything else about Malcolm, besides his passionate ideological views, is his capacity to evolve, ever seeking a greater understanding and striving for an enlightenment which keeps him moving forward.

We can only imagine how his views may have further evolved to this day or what impact he would have made and continued to make on the Black community were he still alive. The wonderful thing about this speculation is that we don’t have to bury that hope with him. The truth he sought is available to each and every one of us to understand for ourselves. While he was a messenger in time, he was not, nor was he meant to be, our savior; rather, his was but one example to us all that we not only have the capacity to but should self-nurture and exercise the will to be more than what we have been told we are. In this respect, Malcolm is yet another key to the as yet unopened doors of self-awareness the Black community at large has yet to open en masse.

He’s being touted as the future of American Tennis. His parents have sold everything and relocated to France to prepare their son for “something bigger,” according to an interview with the dad in an article written for USA Today.

Some would say this little one is amazing. Just looking at the child in action is enough to warrant that:

But are the parents exploiting or nurturing their child’s proclivity for tennis? To add some perspective for which to analyze this question, consider two powerhouses in women’s tennis - Venus and Serena Williams - straight out of Compton. Does it take selling everything and moving overseas to guarantee the success of a five year old?

A great investment one might argue unless the kid gets hit by a car, gets struck by a disease, or simply decides that he doesn’t like tennis anymore. How will the parents and investors react then? I can’t help but wonder who JonBenét Ramsey was doing it all for, and with the advances in genetics, success-obsessed parents, and grooming academies - where the innocence of our children is going?

As adults seek out prodigies and that fountain of youth called fame, will our children’s lives be fast tracked to adulthood? In case we lose our perspective, let me remind the reader of the fates of many of our child stars. While some, like Michael Jackson, have made the transition to adulthood with no side effects, many haven’t - the victims of depression, drug abuse and suicide.

It’s a wonderful thing to love our children - lets just not love them to death. Child labor, by any other name, is still child labor. Allow the little ones what childhood is left for them to enjoy in this world.