What Social contract have you signed?
REPUBLISHED FOR MY NEW HOMIES AT L.B. JORDAN HIGH MALE ACADEMY, GIVING BACK THE LOVE
As children we live in the freedom of wonder. All we do is a first for us. Taste, feel cold and hot. We learn. Our parents are our Universe, we shall be so lucky that they show us a broad universe of books, colors, shapes, science and adventure. We soon leave that behind to experience life out from under their wing. We step with false boldness in that we seek to cling to new found friends for comfort.
The freshman contract- As we begin to live for our new hormones our parents voices quickly fade as we replace them with voices of peers who accept us and give us a new sense of belonging and understanding. We sign a freshman contract that may tell us that purple hair, tattoos and Young Jeezy are cool. Talking about the blind leading the blind. This is the process of finding one’s self. A lot is riding on what contract we sign. Read more
Institutional Racism against African-Americans no longer exist
Well woven within the fabric of American life is a thick thread of racism. We are a melting pot, no, a tossed salad of different cultures and ideologies layered with a dressing of supremacy complexes. So what. Individuals can not hold a people back. Every person has some adversity, even if it is laziness inbred by rich daddy giving me everything I’d ever want, or guilt because I never had to struggle. So regardless of the few people who stand in your way, you are not unique. If you have twice as many hurdles to jump, get to jumping.
The power to stop a targeted group lies within Institutional racism. Where there is a systematic rejection of opportunity. I will prove that this power does not exist as an adversary of African-Americans. Read more
Complex game of Chess- Social Contracts II
Originally published 2/2/09 
I enjoyed the Super bowl at the home of my new friend Joe Blunt. He is African-American and his wife is not. Of the 20 people there, Joe, my wife and I were the only African-Americans. There were 3 children there; the first was a boy around 10 years old, as well as two girls around 6 years old. My wife and I were introduced to everyone there, including the children. The parents introduced their children and expected the children to greet us just as if they were 30 years old. I noticed how the children had many interactions with different individuals in the home.
At half time, we turned the TV down and the 10 year old was introduced from the back room. He appeared with a sheet of paper in his hand and he proceeded to begin a comedic monolog, sharing about 15 jokes, some where pretty funny. Read more
Ending Friendships – I just lost one
Lay with dogs, you will rise with fleas. Birds of a feather flock together.
“Your child is just running with the wrong crowd.” School counselors say this to the parents of all 8 kids to make the parents feel as if their child is not bad, but are influenced by “bad” kids. Yeah right.
If you think that peer pressure will influence you to make different decisions, you should be really careful in selecting your friends. Instead of choosing friends by their looks, status or commonalities, you may want to consider looking deeper at who they are and select people who are more like who you want to be tomorrow rather than who you are today. I’m not saying get too far out of your comfort zone, but if you are trying to move away from substance abuse, shallow or immoral activities and focus on being more financially, spiritually or intellectually successful, you may want to consider holding your friend selection to a higher standard.
You may need to cut people out of your life or at least out of your favorite 5 if they are holding your progress back. Often time’s people unintentionally do things to sabotage your goals; you may need to dump them out of your boat before you sink. Be careful, thoughtful and methodical with cleaning out your boat. This transition can be very trying in the short term, yet liberating in the long run. Friendships can be just as important as they can be debilitating. Some people’s seasons pass and you may need to grow beyond what they have to offer. Read more
Fight – Don’t let life knock you out!
Have you ever been through a very tough situation and after it was over and done, you felt stronger? You felt better about yourself due to the lesson you learned? Each day presents a situation that will either pump you up and make you feel good about yourself, or it will feel like a Mike Tyson blow to the chest and take the wind right out of you. You stagger and think to yourself “should I lay down, or
will my knees stop wobbling.
As parents, our job is to stand close to our children and make sure we reinforce and celebrate each daily success our children encounter. We also are to be there to talk to our children to point out the lessons within every defeat. We must make sure that each blow to the chest our children receive is accompanied by a discussion of what, why and how not to have that happen again. Good parenting technique balances the punishment and the lesson of encouragement. Read more
Governments vs. Tribes – Highest level of Social Contracts III
Sambura Tribe - Kenya
U.S. Capitol
Governments have been formed by man in order to control the natural and human resources of a stated geographical area. They are usually established by a very few members of a society and more times than not throughout history, have been constructed to inequitably benefit the few. Governments by nature of their creed work towards fewer and fewer Governments that manage an increasing quantity of resources; the ultimate of this ideology is Imperialism. Given this fact they tend to grow more complex as they evolve. The older the Government, the more complex it becomes.
The word tribe is an English word that is used to represent a Government that has a relatively small amount of geography, power and influence. Westerners tend to disregard any claims of sovereignty (Independence) by tribes. Tribes by nature do not quest to be the sole power of a growing geographical era or empire. Given this nature, tribes tend to grow in quantity and each limit patronage to a manageable quantity. Once a tribe grows beyond a sustainable capacity granted by the local resources, it splits. A new culture is adapted by the new tribe, creating more cultural distinctions and blood-lines than in a Governmental society that may be multicultural due to conquest. Conquest also provokes internal discrimination or stratosphering.
Roman Conquest
War for survival – Cultures that are rooted in Governmental philosophies tend to be large conquest societies that have grown by way of military dominance. They settle on land that is not theirs and force obedience of the natives (tribesmen) in an effort to grow their resources. Tribal cultures turn to war only when splitting does not resolve shortage issues. As the natural resources are diminishing, they turn to war. War is used as a last resort in both Governmental and Tribal societies. When there is no foreseeable understanding to be reached to resolve both sides quandaries amicably, war ensues. The question remains, how easy is it to get to that point. Governmental societies consider themselves “civilized” and refer to many tribal activities as “uncivilized” yet the resorting to war and barbarianism by one group more than the other is arguable. Historically tribal warfare turned more deadly and murderous once resources are overtaken by Governments. The Zulu Nation of East Africa changed the landscape of tribal warfare once they learned the concept of mass murder from the Europeans.
The nature of the Governmental society is more complex relative to Tribal societies. In order to effectively navigate in a Governmental society, an individual should be cognizant of pyramiding and stratosphering (see my article “Complex game of Chess”). The Tribal mindset has proven to be ineffective in a Governmental society. Current American Tribal mentalities can be found in concentration within inner cities and rural areas where the pursuit of upward mobility is evasive, and self destructive behavior is prevalent. Within this Governmental society we should all consider somehow moving new generations towards a healthy balance so they may effectively navigate among the masses in order to capture valuable assets that create freedom.
