Recently, I received my Golden Buckeye Card. That is indeed a confirmation of my aging. I can now receive discounts from 10% to 50% at over 16,000 businesses across the State of Ohio, and discounts on prescription drugs. When I looked at this card and just held it in my hands, I wondered what the 60 years I've spent have meant. So, I decided to take advantage of the latest development is public diaries -- the blog!

Who in the world would want to read my musings? What do I have to say that is worth sharing with others? Only a little bit of reflection informs me that I have a lot to truly be thankful for. We recently returned from a vacation where we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Now that is something special to achieve -- especially when we smile, and tingle, and kiss and tell each other "I love you" every day. So, I am 60 years old, married 40 years, with two adult children and two grandchildren.

I am spending my days sharing what I have learned, accelerating my learning so that I can keep up with the speeding developments in this "flat world" that has evolved, thanks to the Internet. The thing that I am most passionate about -- after going to Heaven when I die -- is trying to unravel the challenge of low expectations, low achievement, and self-destructive behavior among Black people. So in my "Golden Years" I have formed iZania -- the virtual community for the descendants of Africa -- at www.iZania.com. This is where I live now that I am retired.

iZania is the combination of "Internet" and "Azania" -- the name that is used to describe Africa (more specifically Eastern and Southern Africa). So, iZania is my effort to connect the people of Africa via the Internet. This is a community where I invite and seek excellence in an effort to add just one more voice to encourage those of us who are a part of the African Diaspora. We have been scattered all over the world. Some deny their African heritage. Others don't know about our African heritage. And many have not considered making it a priority to "act in our self-interests."

Somehow, we have been led to believe -- by our many oppressors in the Motherland, and other oppressive places around the world -- that our self-interests are not important. So, when Asians (Koreans, Chinese, Thais, Vietnamese, and others) seek out each other to build on their common heritage, their efforts are applauded. When Blacks seek to bind our efforts together, we are the first to accuse each other of "reverse discrimination." How can it be that we have been convinced that acting in our self-interests to overcome hundreds of years of oppression is "reverse discrimination?" The concept of divide and conquer has been firmly implanted in our minds. It seems that many of us would rather join forces with the descendants of our former oppressors, than join forces with the descendants of Africa to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again. When are we going to say, "Never again."

In this "virtual community" formed by the Internet, many of us would prefer to seek an invisible existence, and not bring attention to ourselves as Black people. When a Black cyber-entrepreneur tries to find the Black economic community online, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Worse, as these Black cyber-entrepreneurs try to increase their visibility among Black Internet users, they are like a needle in the haystack trying to be found. So, communities like CB, and iZania, and NBBTA, and BlackAmericaWeb, and HBCUConnect, are measured in thousands of Black members when there are millions of Black Internet users. AOL Black Voices has more than 8 million Black members. BlackPlanet.com boasts over 12 million Black members. These are economic powerhouses that are owned and operated by non-Blacks. It is not a priority for the African Diaspora to seek ways to find each other and leverage our common heritage, economic resources, values, and strength.

Occasionally, when I bring this up, I hear the response, "I am not going to do business with someone simply because they are black." I wouldn't encourage anyone to spend unwisely, or spend time unwisely with someone who connot add value -- simply because they are Black. However, we see HBCUs declining; we see Urban (Black) neighborhoods declining; we see prisons filling up with Black men and women; we see the health of Black people declining at a faster rate than other ethnic groups; we are dying more frequently of cancer, heart desease, diabetes, and the effects of HIV/AIDS. These phenomena are not random accidents of time. They require "intentional effort" to correct. If not us, then who will take the initiative to change the course of the decline.

There is a new "underclass" of people on this planet -- characterized by those who are undereducated, underskilled, and unconnected. Black people are once again disproportionately represented in this underclass. Those of us who are educated, skilled, and connected can leave our Black brothers and sisters behind, or we can bind our efforts together and begin to simply "act in our self-interests" as a matter of priority.

I will pause here. This is the essence of my passion and focus for the remaining time I have on this planet. I am seeking others to share this dialog with, so that it doesn't remain a "conversation with myself." If you would like to join me in my conversation, my efforts to engage more of us in economic activity, and my efforts to identify the excellence in the Virtual Black Community, please respond to this blog, or visit me at www.izania.com.