Leaderboard

My wife and I went to the polls last week and walked straight in and voted. No line at all... nothing. The people working the tables were three old White women taking the information to get your card and the people assisting with the completion and acceptance of the card back were three old black women. The neighborhood I'm in is about 80% Black so those were the people "not" voting. When we got back to the car we just kind of sighed and said, we did the best that we could do. I then went on a rant about fixing the only thing I had control over; my inner circle. If I can make my children aware of the importance of being socially, politically, educationally and business aware then I've corrected steering on my family ship. When I write or put my information out there that I believe, I am also effecting change. This is the best that I can do in a society of apathetic people who are so afraid to ruffle feathers and try anything new that they remain inconsequential. Black folks only participate in the popular mediums. They do online surveys for Beyonce's dress or Olivia Pope's choice in men. They vote for the best color of the latest Jordan because for them those things matter and they can discuss and feel involved. But it's not even disenfranchisement that has caused our current lack of political involvement. It's simply the lack of the entertainment value in politics. At least White people use their entertainment (Fox News) to stimulate their political and social activity. They may not know jackshit about what they are voting for, but they do know how to follow the lead of their on air personalities. Our on air personalities who could at least get people out there to vote and be involved in a "hot" topic are non-existent. Right now we can't even use entertainment to keep Black folks aware. At least James Brown stood for something, Trey Songz, Maxwell, Jill Scott, our new entertainers do nothing to be a part of the political dialogue. The only people who could say something in entertainment and possibly be heard (rappers) make songs with lyrics that say, "I don't fuck with politics, I don't even follow it," but they are in Ferguson fighting for rights (Talib Kweli said the lyric above). Talk about poor guidance.

Also, unless we are prepared to morph into an Utopian society where bartering is the means of obtaining goods and services, the law of supply and demand will continue to prevail. All of the appetites that drive us to crave what we want instead of what we need along with the unhealthy conditions that result from this are what create industries that generate jobs and profits. If everybody was healthy and no body smoke or drank or if nobody committed crimes or needed welfare, the economy would totally collapse. We are not a country, we are a Catch-22.