Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Scarface in Blackface--The Unreality of our Youth's Reality.



I Came across this video and first thought it was something out of the early nineties when Boys N Da Hood and so called "Gangsta Rap" was the flava. Then I realized this is this artist's new video and was posted 2 days ago.

Sometimes, words cannot express what the picture tells. This is one of those times.

God save our young men. #Godsaveouryoungmen

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Please, Thank You and Excuse Me.

Please, Thank You and Excuse Me.

Such simple words. But to get most people to say them, especially young people and teens, it’s like pulling teeth.

Recently, a girl about 19 years old asked if she could use my cell phone to make an important call being that her phone’s battery had died. I let her use my phone and when she was done, she handed it back to me and started to walk away. I called out to her and told her she had forgotten to say “Thank You”. She then proceeded to give me what I perceived to be a half-hearted, insincere “Thanks” and was on her way. Another day, I was on the train going to work. A man brushed against a woman in a rush to get a seat and almost knocked her down. He did not bother to say excuse me. The woman objected to his behavior and a volatile argument ensued. It started getting really nasty and neither one would back down. And all I kept thinking was if the man would have just said a simple, “Excuse me” when he bumped her, all this drama probably would have been avoided.

Please, Thank You and Excuse Me.

I then wondered why is it so hard for people to say these important words? My first thought is they do not hear them at home; where good manners and everything else begins. If you are not taught how to be a respectful, well-mannered child from your parent/s when you are young, it’s more likely you will not have these qualities when you get older. Good manners come from good habits. Being taught early to say Please, Thank You and Excuse Me instinctively becomes part of our nature and we’ll use these words as often as possible to let people know they are valued human beings, who, like us, deserve high regard and respect. It is also at home where we are taught the most vital emotion of all—Love. We must first learn to love ourselves. If we truly love ourselves, then we would truly have love and compassion for all living things.

Please, Thank You and Excuse Me.

In my opinion, much of the world’s problems emanate from the lack of our love for self and love for others. War, violence, hatred and intolerance are, in my opinion, direct results of the lack of many people’s  love and respect  for the sacredness of humankind. 
I do my best to show everyone respect in my daily travels--especially young people. I get a kick out of how funny they look at me when I purposely hold a door open for a young girl or address a young man as ‘Sir’. It is obvious that we cannot solve the world’s misfortunes overnight, but teaching and reminding our young and our older folks to use the words Please, Thank You and Excuse Me would be a good start.

#pleasethankyouandexcuseme #loveyourself #respectothers #actsofkindness

Photo courtesy of The Empower Network
http://fortune4me.empowernetwork.com/blog/the-power-of-helping-others-and-giving-back