American values...

It's been awhile since I wrote on this blog but something has me stirred up. Meet the Press host Chuck Todd (best superhero name for a real person..ever) asked Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson about faith and "Should a president's faith matter?". Carson's answer just floored me.

 "If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter," he said. "If it fits within the realm of America and is consistent with the Constitution, I have no problem."  

He said that Islam, as a religion, is incompatible with the Constitution.

"I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that," he said. 


My response is:
         I remember, when growing up, watching a show called Schoolhouse Rock (a show that is sorely missed). There was a song on one of the episodes called "The Great American Melting Pot". This song talked about a different mix of people, coming together, to make this country what it is. It know it is a cartoon but it got down to the simplicity of what America is about. People have come here from all different walks of life with different backgrounds to get to this country. They believe they can make a better life here in this land, without prosecution of who they are and what they believe. I know it's not been perfect but the core beliefs are still there. The Constitution was build for all and not for the few. So, Mr. Carson, if you don't know what is compatible with the Constitution, please take a refresher course before running for President. Schoolhouse Rock is out there on DVD and is good place to start.


Source:
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ben-carson-muslim-president_55febdf6e4b08820d918faae

My inner thoughts and the outside world

I am a happy go lucky guy. I know that I am a different type of person that doesn't fit into category A, B or C. I treat people with love and respect that they deserve. All my life, I've worked on making people comfortable with me and who I am. Sometimes it definitely helped and sometimes it was to a fault/detriment to myself(as I've found out recently). We all have adjustments to make in life and I'm no exception.

The thing that gets me is that, no matter how careful you are or how cool you are with people, it takes one incident to your situation horrible wrong. You can be in wrong spot at the wrong time. You can get accused of something you didn't do. You can, as of recent events, be on the wrong side of a power struggle.  There have been more and more incidents reported of police violence happening in Black communities. Horrific ordeals happening over and over that should have never taken placed. Each examples representing different scenarios but the results had been eerily the same.

Communities (poor and all different shades of color) have known about this for awhile now but it's now just coming to the light. Things like this would be swept under the rug or there would be no true investigation with cases like you see now.  If cell phones didn't have cameras on them, some would still be believe that this doesn't exist. As much as camera phones catch trivial things, in this case it will start a revolution.

There are good police officers out there but they are being overshadowed by the the corrupted ones right now. It's not fair for them and it makes their jobs harder. People are scared and angry. They put themselves in the victims' shoes (like I have) and say that can easily happen to me. They feel like their voice has not and will not be heard. The thought of hopelessness is a crushing one. It can lead to violence or checking out completely.

We can't give in to the violent thoughts. So many different people that are affected in the same way are having their lives turned upside down by these actions. It's like a scene from a movie/television show when you're upset or hurt and destroy stuff in your home. It gives you a release from those feelings you have but at the end of the day, you have to pick up pieces. We shouldn't check out either. Police brutality affects us all and we shouldn't live in fear of it. We must fight to see that these incidents go punished. We must fight to straighten out this corrupt system and way of thinking. We must have this conversation together because it affects us all. In the end, we are the community and we must look out for each other in this world.

Listen up

Listen Up

By Chuka McCoy

We is lost

I am not trying to throw you

A grammatical interception 

And I don’t mean the game system either

Even though some do play

Some unnecessary games

Put those controllers down

Let’s talk for once

Hear us out

Maybe for the first time

We all can hear

For we

Do not talk

Or tolerant

We are ready to fight

At the drop of a word

Tolerance goes both ways

Communication leads to understanding

Even if both don’t agree

We can show respect    

Instead of letting the instigator

Keep egging on the fight

Hit my hand

You going to let them say that

Eliminate that noise

Do not become

Those two magnets 

That can never touch