Quote:
"The black man today is at one end of a psychological continuum which reaches back in time to his enslaved ancestors."
Many of us refuse to believe this. We actually think because we live in white neighborhoods, buy cars, eat where we want, and shop that we have truly overcome. If all you want are those things, then we have. But I submit we want much more.
We do not want to be followed in the stores we shop in, but we are and yes, it is just because we are black.
We do not want to have to wait longer than other patrons in restaurants, but we do, and yes, it is just because we are black.
We must understand that the only way whites could feel good about enslaving us was to believe we were not human, or subhuman in some way. This belief allowed them to kill man, woman, or child who refused to be a slave. Our manual labor was needed, nothing more. They did not care if we could read, write or even speak properly. As long as we could perform manual labor, that is all they wanted.
In our quest to rise above, many blacks felt like black folk should not learn trades such as plumbing, carpentry, farming. Instead of realizing we were used for economic reasons, we have negatively identified with those professions. The result has been frightening. We are a capable people and the least employed.
We were told to aspire to be doctors, lawyers, dentists and the like. All the while knowing that the odds were truly stacked against us. Now, we are desperate for any work and it is being sent overseas, or taken by others with foreign tongues.
We do not want to believe we harbor plantation mentalities. We want to think we are far away from that time, but I submit the memory of the downtrodden slave lives on today. You see it in our ghettos, the prison system and those who choose to be homeless rather than fight the system. We live like a broken people still. Yes, the threat is real, but so is the reality that we can stand up and use the rights so many fought and died for. Instead, we complain amongst each other.
Know your history or you are doomed to repeat it.
Showing posts with label American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, September 30, 2011
Why Marryiage Doesn't Work In America
I completely believe to answer this question honestly you must look at the different predominate cultures in America. Hispanic, White folk, Black folk.
Right of the top, marriage last longer in the Hispanic communities because most of them are Catholic and Catholics, as a rule, do not consider divorce. They also go through a pretty rigorous training before they get married. This is done to introduce them to the realities of married life and to allow each of them to participate in scenarios and conversations that uplift the union, shine light on some of the snags and snafu's, that can occur during married life.
White folk, many of which consider themselves Christian or Jewish, handle marriage in many ways, but mainly understand the economical benefit of marriage. Although getting married for "love" is the rally cry, getting ahead through marriage is the primary goal.
Black folk, the majority of them Christian, often opt out of marriage for varies reasons. Ironically, many of them have to do with finances. You often hear women say, "We don't have enough money to get married," and yes, they are usually living with the man. These folk are uninformed about the financial benefit of merging, in legal marriage with the man they are already sharing everything with.
Many claim to marry for love, black, white, or otherwise in this country; yet we bare the highest rate of divorce in the world. Marriage doesn't work in America, because we do not respect the benefits of married life. Most of us go into marriage, holding on to romance. It is a lethal combination, because once life hits the marriage (children, mortgage, jobs, parents, friends), and there is no true agreement (marriage), all bets are off.
Our way of thinking keeps us from truly sharing our lives. Women, tell the truth, many of you run to your friends, before you do your spouse. You use the excuse he doesn't understand you, but in reality, you don't really want him to because you don't want to give him something to use against you. Well, dear, until we unmask ourselves within our marriages, we cannot get what we want.
Men do the same thing. But I think men's desire to hold on to an image of themselves keeps them from really committing to marriage. May it be the computer nerd, the womanizer, the work-a-holic, so many of them are chasing the wrong things.
Marriage will not work in American until we truly decide to give our partners what they need. The only way that can be done is to open up and let them in. Make your marriage work, starting today. Agree to disagree. Listen to your spouses dreams. Smile at them. Show them love. Now is the time.
Right of the top, marriage last longer in the Hispanic communities because most of them are Catholic and Catholics, as a rule, do not consider divorce. They also go through a pretty rigorous training before they get married. This is done to introduce them to the realities of married life and to allow each of them to participate in scenarios and conversations that uplift the union, shine light on some of the snags and snafu's, that can occur during married life.
White folk, many of which consider themselves Christian or Jewish, handle marriage in many ways, but mainly understand the economical benefit of marriage. Although getting married for "love" is the rally cry, getting ahead through marriage is the primary goal.
Black folk, the majority of them Christian, often opt out of marriage for varies reasons. Ironically, many of them have to do with finances. You often hear women say, "We don't have enough money to get married," and yes, they are usually living with the man. These folk are uninformed about the financial benefit of merging, in legal marriage with the man they are already sharing everything with.
Many claim to marry for love, black, white, or otherwise in this country; yet we bare the highest rate of divorce in the world. Marriage doesn't work in America, because we do not respect the benefits of married life. Most of us go into marriage, holding on to romance. It is a lethal combination, because once life hits the marriage (children, mortgage, jobs, parents, friends), and there is no true agreement (marriage), all bets are off.
Our way of thinking keeps us from truly sharing our lives. Women, tell the truth, many of you run to your friends, before you do your spouse. You use the excuse he doesn't understand you, but in reality, you don't really want him to because you don't want to give him something to use against you. Well, dear, until we unmask ourselves within our marriages, we cannot get what we want.
Men do the same thing. But I think men's desire to hold on to an image of themselves keeps them from really committing to marriage. May it be the computer nerd, the womanizer, the work-a-holic, so many of them are chasing the wrong things.
Marriage will not work in American until we truly decide to give our partners what they need. The only way that can be done is to open up and let them in. Make your marriage work, starting today. Agree to disagree. Listen to your spouses dreams. Smile at them. Show them love. Now is the time.
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