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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Global Leadership in the Fast Lane -- Obama's Middle East Speech

As I listened to Obama's speech, I thought about two comments that have filled our news sound bites in recent days.

First, there has been a loud outcry among conservatives about the selection of Sonia Sotomayor as nominee for the Supreme Court. She has been called a racist because she challenged the narrow life experiences of white men who have traditionally presided over the oppression of people of color in the name of "blind justice." Now, when a person of color suggests that the richness of a life experience that has overcome such oppression without losing sight of justice, makes this statement --"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." -- she is accused of reverse racism.

These outcries and accusations confirm exactly the point she was making. At least Newt Gingrich has been advised to recognize that he stepped on a political land mine. His worldview is no less flawed.

The second comment that rings in my mind is that of Mitt Romney, who has criticized President Obama for going on a "tour of apology" while traveling abroad. This is a stubborn view of the "righteousness of American power" that is dangerously ignroant of other viewpoints in a global society. His statement takes up where Gingrich and Limbaugh left off -- admitting no mistakes, nor apologizing for any past injustces of powerful white men in the leadership of our country.

As a wise Black man, Obama once again confirmed the "Latino wisdom" as described by Soni Sotomayor, with his closing comments in the speech:

"We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. "

That is global leadership in the Fast Lane.

Click here to view the video and read the full text. 



Roger Madison
http://www.izania.com/