I woke up from a dream today. It was a dream steeped in The New American Dream... plentiful jobs, fully replenished 401(k)'s, incredible health benefits and educational opportunities for all. It was a dream best described as Unemploymentopia!
I woke up from a dream today with the words of our family ancestor, Uncle Clyde Simmons, ringing in my ears:
"Ain't nobody coming. Not the government... nobody."
Ain't nobody coming to fix the jobs situation or donning a cape to stop the flood of foreclosures. No governing body will bring about meaningful change to our education or penal systems. Ain't nobody coming... NOBODY.
To know Uncle Clyde is to know a walking, talking, believer and bestower of Positive Affirmations. His ain't nobody coming declaration, uttered just days before he transitioned, were not warnings steeped in doom and gloom. They weren't meant as an attack on President Obama either. They were and remain powerful words of inspiration, encouragement and a reminder to our family.
He understood that our solution lies in harnessing the collective intellectual, spiritual, emotional and financial resources within our own family. In other words, stop outsourcing ourselves and bring our talents in-house to create true wealth, true prosperity and legacy for generations to come. Thank God for the wisdom and guidance of our elders!
I woke up from a dream today knowing ain't nobody coming, but us. And you know what? I'm good with that. As we collectively emerge from this dream and act as if ain't nobody coming, we will invigorate our lives, our community and the world at-large, all the while breathing new life into the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Free at Last, Free at Last, Thank God Almighty, We're Free at Last!
Keith O. Johnson
a/k/a That Johnson Boy
4 comments:
And ...............AMEN To That
Powerful, and ohhhh so true!
The Absolute TRUTH!
So true... on so many levels, Keith! And oddly enough when we really embrace this idea, we become FREE to pursue what really drives us and fuels our passion! Like you say, we stop 'outsourcing' our talents... Unemploymentopia... yeah, bring it on, we can do it Together! Thanks for the post and your perspective!
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