Towards A More Perfect Union: Empowering Youth

So, me and you (yo’ momma and yo’ cousin too) helped my main homie President-Elect Barack Obama make his way into the White House. Now that we all have attended the rallies, bought the buttons and downed shots at the word “maverick” in debates, we have to get down to business. My “Towards A More Perfect Union” series will look at what we (the people we have been waiting for) can do to help Obama get this country on the right track. You down? Cool, let’s go.

GOAL: Empowering Youth

REASON: Whitney said it best, the children are our future. Young people right now are in the middle of a toxic intersection of easy (and often wrong/misleading) information via the internet, an embarrassingly inadequate public school system, extreme financial instability for their families due to the plummeting economy and layoffs announced by the thousands almost daily, mind numbing (literally) music that does little more than encourage virtual sex on the dancefloor and conspicuous consumption and to top it all off, we are pillaging the earth at record speed due to our need to fill up plastic monster trucks for the rough terrain of suburan cul-de-sacs. The rugrats of today will be running this country tomorrow, so we have to make sure they are as spiritually, intellectually, morally and physically prepared as possible to take on the enormous task of being productive world citizens. Doing this helps our main homie Obama because as we set an example for the young people, we will simultaneously be contributing to making the American Dream a reality. Plus, we have to make sure Obama 2.0 is in the making. Click on the link below to see a few concrete ways we can work towards the goal of empowering youth.

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

I’m so happy to have you here
Standing right by my side
Is it a dream or reality
If it’s a fantasy, please don’t wake me

~Guy, Let’s Chill~

He’s 8 years old and he’s charged with two counts of murder. ~CNN~

Folks keep dropping off their wayward teens to Nebraska hospitals. ~KETV~

R. Kelly’s 15-year-old nephew was shot allegedly as he tried to rob a barbershop. ~BET~

Hey Erykah, here’s when it’s useful to be a “bag lady.” ~WBIR~

The Obamas met with President Bush and his wife. ~Salon~

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

Whose world is this?
“It’s yours!”
It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine

~Nas, The World Is Yours~

The presiential election is a wrap, but there’s still a few Senate races that are up in the air. ~CNN~

Some very cool pictures of my main homie Obama. ~Boston Globe~

Here’s a list of some extremely wrong predictions given during the presidential campaign. ~Salon~

California is getting the side eye from. You elected the terminator as your governor twice and now you’ve banned gay marriage? Who are you people? ~KCRA~

This is a long article, but it’s interesting. It’s about how society is sexualizing very very young girls and how unhealthy that is. ~Daily Mail~

 

A couple thoughts about President Elect Obama

Barack Hussein Obama will be the 44th president of the United States
of America.  I felt strangely confident that he would win, so I didn’t
have any anxiety about that on election day, but I was (and still am)
incredibly excited about this new chapter in this country’s history.
Besides being completely enveloped by the rush of joy at the bar where
my husband and I watched the election results, I was elated to see the
pictures and video of people all over the world celebrating Obama’s
win. Take that in for a moment. People across the globe have been
wearing Obama t-shirts, making up songs and dances about him and
praying for his ascent into the White House. When is the last time the
whole world was so invested, so enthused (100,000-strong crowd in
GERMANY?!)  about an American president? Never.

There also has never (in my lifetime anyway) been a president who was
able to mobilize the American people in such large numbers. McCain was
right about Obama being a celebrity, he absolutely gets rock star
attention, but it’s not for doing drugs or flashing the paparazzi.
Obama has so captured the attention of the world because he appeals to
our higher selves, the parts of us that believe in creating a more
perfect union and believe that we can actually do something towards
that goal. Obama said we are who we have been waiting for and he’s
right.

So many of us have invested so much into his campaign that we feel
like WE are moving into the White House.  In a way we are. Obama is
definitely yoked with (and lifted by) the hopes and dreams of millions
of people who are now looking at him as the ultimate living symbol of
inspiration. We’ve all worked so hard to get him there and now we need
to work just as hard WITH him to get this country on the right track.
We can’t get lazy and expect Obama to become a magician and solve all
of our problems.

For that reason, I have decided to start a new blog series entitled
“Towards A More Perfect Union.”  In it, I will focus on a particular
goal such as empowering youth fore example and I will also have
practical objectives we achieve to reach our goal such as becoming a
mentor, hanging out with your nieces/nephews/cousins, etc.  I’ll keep
doing the series as long as I keep coming up with stuff and as long as
I feel so inspired to do so. The series will hopefully be a guide for
all of us to be the best Americans, the best world citizens and the
best people we can be.

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

Remember today. Take a picture of yourself. Write a little note about your feelings. Your kids, grandkids and great-grandkids will want to know what you were doing when this country was in the midst of a historic election. You all already know I’m for Obama all day and if the polls are even  remotely correct, it looks like the majority of American voters are on his team too. But whoever you’re rooting for (I see you Green Party!), take it all in and be proud of a country that has a black man as a major party candidate for president.

Many of this country’s founding fathers were slave owners. Some of the very people who wrote the most eloquent and idealistic founding documents for any country on this planet were not opposed to owning other human beings. Slavery wasn’t that long ago in the grand scheme of things–same for sharecropping, Jim Crow, rampant lynching and many other atrocities. How wonderful to be alive at this particular point in time to witness this. I am truly excited for this day. Now stop reading this blog and go vote.

OBAMA, BABY!

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

I’m the beginning,
And you’re the after.
You hear the universes pulling us closer.

~Floetry, Closer~

Did you check out McCain and Obama at the Alfred E. Smith dinner? They were both hilarious. ~MTV~

Mr. Blackwell of the famous Worst Dressed List passed away over the weekend. I would say celebs could breathe a little easier now, but the blogs have more than taken over on that front. ~CNN~

Obama says he would offer Powell a j-o-b as a top avisor in his administration. ~Salon~

This is awesome. I was just telling my husband that I wouldn’t mind living above a museum or something. Don’t think I would want to live inside of one per se, but still cool nonetheless. ~NY Post~

Someone actually stole a beach in Jamaica. Interesting. ~BBC~

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

Love the way we touch, I love the way it feels
Every time you’re near me my poor heart just won’t keep still
No doubt about that this love I feel is real
Ask me to go with you, you know I will

~Anita Baker, Angel~

Is race an issue for you in the presidential race? ~CNN~

Beyonce has two new videos. I’m a little “eh” on the “If I Were A Boy” joint, but the “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” is super cute and catchy. I’m sure I will be getting my two step on to that song at some point in the near future. ~MTV~

Looking for a new novel to read? Here’s a suggestion. ~Salon~

Turns out the “freshman 15″ is really more like seven. ~Telescope~

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

Cuz a real man knows a real woman when he sees her
And a real woman knows a real man ain’t afraid to please her
And a real woman knows a real man always comes first
And a real man just can’t deny a woman’s worth

~Alicia Keys, A Woman’s Worth~

A certain cranky old man did not win last night’s debate. ~Salon~

Here’s the truth on Fannie and Freddie dollars to the presidential nominess. ~CNN~

The U.S. isn’t the only country that’s in a financial crisis. These world leaders should read “The Tipping Point.”  ~CNN~

I’m actually not for the death penalty, but ummm explain to me again why the death penalty was taken off the table in this case? ~BET~

According to a Vibe poll, the best rapper alive is Eminem. Interesting. I like Em! I was expecting Jay-Z to win this though. ~Vibe~

 

Good Morning,Sunshine

So if the devil wear Prada,
Adam Eve wear Nada,
I’m in between, but way more fresher.

~Kanye West, Can’t Tell Me Nothing~

You know who is leading in the polls. Obama, baby! ~CNN~

Dr.King must be turning his grave with all this foolishness with his surviving kids. ~BET~

The campaign gets dirty, dirty. ~Salon~

Are you a black woman? Make sure you know about breast cancer and your health. ~The Root~

 

Good Morning, Sunshine

Confusion need a solution
Blend and stir, stir and blend the part of humanity
Sift the ingredients of acknowledgment, apology, amendment, atone
We gonna work with the four A’s here
Forever part
Common good is forever
God’s memory is forever….

~Common, Forever Begins~

Listen up homies, go on out there and get registered to vote and while you’re at it, register your friends! too.