Line in the Sand

Does your soul have a price tag? My kids, Malik and Amir, love to play this game where they give me these ridiculous circumstances of life and ask me if I would do or experience certain things for a certain amount of money. For example, for $500,000 would you eat someone else’s vomit? Or, for $10,000,000 would you give up the gift of one of your five senses like sight, or hearing. While this game sometimes can be a bit daunting because they love to present me with the most insane and unimaginable options for the most astronomical amounts of money, it does cause one to explore this notion on a more realistic level. When I think of the state of our world, nation, and more specifically our cities, it begs the question, what amount of money causes one to turn a blind eye, or ignore the convictions of ones own conscience (assuming they have one)? 

In my professional experiences I have witnessed many individuals become oppressors of the very one’s they seemingly were advocates for as they pursued higher salaries. In most cases the higher salary came directly at the expense of the one’s they claimed to advocate for. I am in no way suggesting that seeking greater financial compensation is wrong; I too enjoy the finer things of life that only money can buy. However, I believe that when it comes to life's essentials: food, shelter, education, health care, and safety, my Soul has a line that is drawn in the sand, and I have decided that there is no amount of money worth crossing to the side that causes other’s to suffer and go without for my own selfish gain. My conscience will not allow it. Sadly, the people I mention before who were chasing after money, they also articulated the belief that they would never cross that line either. 

What about you? How much does your line cost to cross? Or do you even have a line?

Not Buying It!

So, Hollywood doesn't green-light or financially back movies that can't bring in big dollars and doesn't have an overseas market. Really? Is that a fact.

I understand the need for George Lucas to be politically correct in his interviews about his new movie Red Tails. He may want to make other movies in the future so he might want to stay on the right side of Hollywood bigwigs. But, can I just say, come on...I'm not buying it. Last time I checked there were plenty of movies with all White casts that bombed at the box office. Yet films such as those continue to be made and distributed. That being said, the theory that it's all about the box office money that can be made doesn't ring true. How many times have you been in a movie theater during the coming attractions and thought "who gave the go ahead on making this film". As a person with great love and interest in film I am deeply bothered that I can always count the number of starring actors of color on one hand; and sometimes it takes no hands at all because there are no shades of pigmentation to be found. I remember last year having to turn off the Emmy's because it was so homogeneously White I became dizzy. And Im not just talking about the nominees which is always the case, I am referring to the audience as well.

Now, let's get to the real. It is easier to attribute the lack of support for films that spotlight actors of color to dollars and cents than it is to attribute it to the real culprit...good old fashion RACISM. I know this word makes many uncomfortable. It's like the pink elephant in the middle of the room. Everyone knows its there but no one wants to talk about it. However, I think our inability to have honest dialog about race makes us incompetent of its power and effects. Race is one of the greatest determining factors of power, respect, earning potential, and prestige in our global society. It also continues to be a factor for the way in which people are perceived, gain educational and professional access, and advance in ones aspirations. Sadly, it is also the means by which people are oppressed, marginalized, victimized, and forgotten.

Media can be used to address the pink elephant. That is what I believe George Lucas is doing with his new movie Red Tails. He stated that he was not making a film about victims but one about heros. He chose to make a movie that naturally will cause people to confront the ways in which they think about race. Conversely, media can also make one believe that the pink elephant does not exist. Film and television are the greatest perpetuators of racial stereotypes. Mass media is the medium where status quo seeds are planted and nourished. Then underrepresented and underserved people get to watch the status quo continue to grow. The issues George Lucas faced working to get Red Tails made is not a new struggle. I posit the issue is not that making a film with a predominantly Black cast can't make money, but more so, that telling stories like Red Tails cause American's to confront truths about this nation, historical and present day. Furthermore, positive stories and images of people of diverse cultural backgrounds allow people to see that all things positive in this country did not and do not begin and end with White individuals.

Fish out of Water

I would imagine that no one under the age of 10 is unfamiliar with the old saying "fish out of water". There is even a game by this name that kids play at the pool. Have you ever seen a fish that has jumped out of it's bowl only to struggle to breath in a world that does not support it's life sustaining characteristics? It is a rather disturbing sight to see. When I was around 11 years old I had a fish tank with two fish and every couple of weeks I needed to clean out the tank. This required removing the fish and placing them in a water filled bowl while I emptied the tank in order to remove the filter and give the tank a complete cleaning. One day when I was completing this task that had become a mindless routine for me, I did not notice that while I was at the sink cleaning the filter one of my fish had jumped out of the bowl, leaving it helpless on the floor to flop around as it suffered in what I imagine was agony. Now, in my mind I knew that it was dying. However, the thought of grabbing it's slimy, near death body from the floor was paralyzing and it grossed me out. Unable to stand by and do nothing I grabbed it as quick as I could and threw it back into the bowl. I ran around the house in repetitive movement that resembled a wet dog attempting to get dry. I get chills and frown just thinking back on that moment. Almost as bad a when my rabbit froze to death because I accidentally left it outside over night after cleaning its cage, but I digress.

At this point in my life I now realize that just as my fish flopped around on the floor as it fought to survive in an environment it was not created to live, this is what we do as individuals each day. We fight to be people we think others expect us to be. We work jobs we don't enjoy, we date and marry people we believe will make us happy, we have kids thinking they will fill our emptiness, and for what? Attempting to fit a worldly concept of who we are supposed to be. We live as "fish out of water" each day we avoid living the life God has created us for. What if you were not created to be rich? What if you were created to be of service, rather than to be served? Are you okay being in the bowl of water God has for you? Or do you prefer to struggle for breath because you continue to jump on the floor chasing after a life that is not meant for you.

My "fish out of water" moments occur all the time. Understand that these moments in our lives do not mean that we are bad people, it simply means that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time or trying to be someone we are not. Somewhere on our journey we jumped from the bowl of water that God placed us in. It can also be confusing because even when we are out of our bowl God allows us to continue to breath, our breath may be shallow, but we are breathing none the less. We rationalize by saying, "if I wasn't meant to have this job, this man/woman, this house, this car, etc. etc. God wouldn't have given them to me." But remember, you can be a "fish out of water" and still enjoy and be blessed with the desires of your heart. However, nothing can fill the space set aside in your soul for your God given purpose.

In what ways are you a "fish out of water"? Is it your career, your home, within your family, or even in your own skin? In whatever way you find yourself struggling to breath, set aside some time to meditate on the source of the feeling. Once you identify it commit to jumping back into your bowl of water. That's what I had to do.