Me No Wanna Change

Nothing is impossible; however, some things are improbable. -- Montu 

It's always easier for people to dismiss what you say by convincing themselves you're nuts, unhappy, militant, angry--which to many of them is the same as militant--and a boatload of other buzzwords they've seen and heard in the media. But the truth of the matter is that it takes a person with aspects of those and a whole lot more to speak truth in a world besieged by lies, especially when history proves that the messenger is usually the one that's shot.

In our day, we've seen lots of messengers come and go: Wesley Snipes, Amos Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, Omar Thornton, just to name a few recents. And when I say go, I don't mean all are dead, but their time on the stage of American media has been dimmed to the point of ineffectiveness or obliteration. As you can see, these are all different people, with different points of views, coming from different walks of life, bringing their messages in different ways. But their messages are and were the same.

And that message is that if you do not stand for truth, stand for justice, out the lies, demand to be treated humanely and even be willing to die for that humanity, you will segue into the robotic mass confusion of what has become America and there you will wait your turn to physically expire because you're already long dead, brain dead.

Truth is not taken well, even with honey to soothe the throat. And that's because truth requires something that most people don't have the fortitude to provide: follow-up. And prior to follow-up, there has to be some sense of obligation or responsibility to the truth. Most people can't handle that. They like life just the way it is. Sure, they'll complain every now and then. They'll hate their jobs. Hate their spouses. Hate their friends and family. Hate the damned dog that keeps pooping in their yard. But none of that emotional release comes close to facing the truth and having to birth change.

That's what made it so easy for Obama to toss out superficial vows about hope and change. He knew, just like many of those do who flew the flags, slapped the bumper stickers on their cars and the buttons on their shirts, that this was all fleeting. That tomorrow, it would be back to business as usual. Why? Because change takes work. Change means being uncomfortable. Change, we're told is inevitable. But, in that midst of that, a lot of us figure that if we can just get through our lifetime without having to do a dance to the death (as Obama does on an upcoming mag's cover) with change, we'll be all right. Somebody else can work it out in their lifetime. 

You see, Obama and his people who took an accounting of the public's mindset already knew that. They knew you wouldn't do much toward change. You're already exhausted from working long hours at jobs you hate, taking care of children who won't mind you, trying to find Peter so you can borrow from him to pay Paul. With all that you have to do just to keep up appearances, how in the hell are you supposed to have time to change?

Real change would have represented a complete wipe-out of the current government structure. Not a reform. To reform something is to say there's something worth saving. Obama knew going in that change would be not highly impossible, but highly improbable, given the fact that he wasn't trying to start from scratch. 

So, once again, the people of this country find themselves in an improbable position. Why? Because they expected someone else to bring them the change that they, themselves, were responsible for enacting. As the people of this country galloped to the polls, they forgot one thing--change doesn't happen through the hands of another man; it happens directly through us and as a result of us.

The reality is that we cannot get to change, until we get to truth. Doing so will prove a painful birthing process, but it's the only way to make the improbable possible.