It's Closer Than You Think

You have to look real hard to see the almost unnoticeable engraved legend in the passenger side mirror on your car these days.  But it reads “objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”  This is a safety warning that is now required on all cars in the country regardless of the made, model and color.  Since it addition, the number of possible highways accidents have decreased.  It in other words, side view mirrors have saved lives.       

Side view mirrors on cars were created to give a field of sight or view that gives a diver the ability to see oncoming objects at a merge glance.  These mirrors help the driver to make safe highway lane changes, maneuvers, and to adjust to other oncoming vehicles.   These mirrors help the driver to achieve something that does not come naturally, serve as a reminder of potential problems and to see those dreaded... “blind spots.”

They were designed as convex mirrors, which mean that they are curved.  These types of mirrors reflect light outwardly and thus objects that are seen in them appear smaller and farther away than they actually are.   Such mirrors form what is called a virtual image, which means it is what the observer sees in their mind and a reproduction of a real object.  And sometimes that is a good thing, for seeing oncoming objects in full view would be quite difficult to handle for most people.   

Conversely, there is a lot of conversation going on about how best to deal with the mounting real social issues affecting those living in urban America.  The view and perception of some people at community base organizations who are working on issues in urban America, writing grants, doing research and organizing events is one… “I see it… our work is needed, but can’t really relate to it.”  For others the view and perception is one of guarded concern...“I support the initiative...believe in the cause, but I am still trying to come to terms with what it all means.”   But for those who reside in the heart and soul of urban blight, poverty, crime, unemployment, and witnessing the dismantling of the social safety network, the view and perception is surreal and in full color.  

There is no way of escaping the enormity of the task at hand…"This is not a training exercise…I'm not just seeing things…the reflections... oncoming traffic...these objects are just not side view... but I see them in my front windshield...and in plain sight."     

Be That As It May

Discovering what you are capable of contributing to the wellbeing of a community should be the goal of all concerned residents.   Regardless if you are rich and   doing “well,” middle income, doing “OK” or poor and “just trying to make it,” all people have an opportunity to help make their community a better place to live, work and play.  All it takes is some time and lending a helping hand.  

Every day the beat goes on in which numerous urban communities are under siege and residents simply feel powerless to change things.  Each day, the numbers of reported incidents of domestic abuse, gun violence, drug addiction, and mental illness continue to rise.  With each episode, residents try to understand what just happen and what can be done to prevent something like that from occurring in the future.  And when you factor in the number of people who are struggling with chronic unemployment, homelessness, low wage jobs, no medical care and transportation, the barometer of what is affecting residents in a particular community is off the scale.    

In the search for answers, people quickly point to a number of reasons as the root cause for the break down in human behavior, social justice, family life, education, citizenship, and even common sense.  Even though most people are willing to accept some reasoning and that there is some truth in what another person has just said, it does not change their opinion in any significant manner.  Urban America needs help in so many ways and that is the whole truth…and nothing but…the truth. Just pick an issue and dive right in… you can make a difference…trust me.      

In spite of its growing complexity of problems, Urban America is also a working canvas full of great hopes and promises.  There is a lot of untapped human potential… I see it every day.   You see it when children are playing on the play grounds and in the streets.  It is happening when neighbors are engaged in organizing block parties, health fairs, gardens, and community clean up days. You  feel and hear it when residents, community organizers, church leaders, elected officials, law enforcement, leaders of agencies come together to discuss challenges, to brainstorm, and to work together in an effort to find solutions.  Edmund Burke, a noted 18^th century philosopher once stated… “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”     

So...what is your take?

 

Pushing Back

As a nation that is becoming more diverse each day, it is becoming apparent that some people are having a difficult time accepting the new reality.  The 2010 Census Report as well as the future growth and projections of the US population are revealing what others have known all along…change is here.  However, the greatest challenge for America in the 21^st Century is how to handle this major paradigm shift?          

Along with this change, there have been increases in the number of power moves or grabs within many local, state and national legislative bodies.  These activities include shifts in polices, modifying rules, redistricting, reviewing residency requirements, evaluating civic liberties, restricting voting opportunities, and using filibusters to block needed reform. One needs a score card, just to keep up.   

It is amazing how many critical decisions have been made with little to no input from affected communities and residents.  They just want residents to go along with a plan; decisions have been made; and you need to just get over it.  It will be “OK” in the end…you will see.   They do not like opposition or push back and try to avoid it at all cost.  In fact, a lot of people don’t take criticism of any kind too well, especially in open forums, town halls and special hearings. 

On the other hand, residents who do participate in the process and voice their support or concerns about an issue are inspiring.  Standing up for what is right is difficult for the average person and especially when the stakes are high.  However, in order for change to happen, someone must be willing to do the right thing and speak their conscience regardless of the unpleasant consequences that may sometimes follow.  The risk of going into the spot light; the chance to share one’s views is at times one of the missing components in our great democracy. 

President Abraham Lincoln once stated…“the probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”   My mother told me once that… “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” And perhaps that is where we are today… too many people are in the kitchen… “Who don’t like who coming to dinner, the menu and… who can’t cook!”   

Well... What Do You Know!

Just when you think you have heard and seen it all… something else takes the cake and grabs the national and local news headlines.  In most cases, it just simply takes your breath away or has you scratching your head.  It does not have to be something that takes place overseas, another state or city… but how about your own back yard, in your neighborhood and on your block. 

Real life situations play out each and every day as people are trying to live and make the best of what they have.  For many, their everyday life is quite a struggle, to pay the bills, keep the lights on, roof over their heads, feed the family, go to work, attend church and support various community events.  They are not looking to be in the spot light, hold a political office, or be the CEO of a company… all they really want is to live in peace, a nice and safe neighborhood, enjoy the fruit of their labors and quality time with the family.  Is that too much to ask for?          

Too often we lose focus and become disillusioned about what it means to be a “good neighbor.” Of course it is easy to just stay in our own little world and forget about those around us.  It is also easy to just look the other way, to not see something, hear something or say it’s not my problem.  And of course it is easy to just keep the grass cut, bushes trimmed, and trash picked up, and sitting down each evening and enjoy a cooked or take home meal.   But being a “good neighbor” is about being aware of what is happening in the neighborhood and participating in keeping the community a wonderful place in which to live, work and play.   And that is called the American spirit.    

See… the American spirit is more than just earning a living, becoming wealthy or seeing your name in lights.  The true American spirit is the willingness to help others who are less fortunate, those hit by natural disasters, enduring dangerous situations, overcoming acts of terrorism, and responding to a cry for help.  The American spirit is embodied when one person reaches out to help another person in crisis, regardless of their personal background, race, creed, ethnic origin or faith. 

They are simply doing what comes natural to them… and lending a helping hand is as good as it gets.    

We Must Own It!

There is enough blame to go around for everyone, someone dropped the ball, spilled the beans, or left the door wide open.   Anyway... here is the situation and what can we do to clean this mess up and right the ship?  Many urban America neighborhoods need some real help, not just a hand out, but a hand up and hand to hold on to. 

This is not a time to look the other way… some of this has come because of failed policy, a lack of political will, ineffective leadership, limited community support, the flight of neighbors seeking a better quality of life, and some of it belongs to those who continue to live in the reality of the moment and simply don’t care.   Listen, it belongs to someone and… so I nominate “all of the above.”

Many people have found success out of troubled neighborhoods and have never returned.   It is not that they have forgotten where they came from, humble beginnings, nor the pain of poverty, but rather they chose not to go back or remember.  Too often they have not come to terms with the realization that those days in the past are what helped them to seek a better tomorrow and a brighter future.   My grandmother often would say… “That which does not kill you will make you stronger…”

A number of people have made it out, survived and gone on to make a name for themselves in life and society.  Some people do not realize that they are not the first person to make it out of a trouble community or difficult life situation.  It is true that people must find their own way, to believe in themselves and to know that choices have to be made in terms of career, business, education, friends and family.   For it is not how you start, but rather how you finish.   

There is always a job for people who are looking for an opportunity.  And people must help others find their way out of troubled neighborhoods…and those opportunities are available now.   Michael Jordan, one of the all-time great NBA basketball players once stated… “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”    

Isn’t it our time… to take the next shot?   

So It's Like That!

Call it wishful thinking or call it just like it is… people who live in some of most troubled urban neighborhoods want what every good law abiding person desires… a better quality of life.  They want to live in a great neighborhood, one that is safe, peaceful, with good schools, high employment, great shopping and of course filled with good neighbors.  However, a high percentage of these urban neighborhoods are in crisis, decline, and neglected and in need of long term solutions.  

The challenges include crumbling infrastructure, dilapidated housing, boarded up buildings, business flight, underperforming schools, high unemployment, lack of educational training, high poverty, a disarray of social services, crime and the list goes on and on.  No one solution can fully address any of these problems that have only grown over the decades. 

It is easy to judge and to make suggestions for change when you don’t live in those affected neighborhoods.  Some people would rather put their heads in the sand, look the other way and pretend that these problems are not there.  They are glad that the problems are in someone else’s backyard and so they don’t have to deal with them.  And each and every day, the media reports underscore the tragedies and challenges that are occurring in neighborhoods throughout the city.     

For those living in those neighborhoods their view and perspective are quite different, for they often ask... “Why is this happening?” and “will someone please help us?” Too often residents are so overwhelmed by the sure volume of ongoing issues, they don’t even know where to begin in solving a particular problem.  Some problems are not quick fixes, due to their sheer size, scope and complexity.   In other words, urban America residents need help to solve problems.  

  

They also want people who seek opportunities to work in urban America to also live there, it’s only fair.  It is one of the most effective ways to really understand what it will take to make urban neighborhoods better.  We have to remember that residents living in urban America deserve a chance to succeed, and an opportunity to make things better.   Then here is the deal…. if we can work together… then why can’t we live together?  Let us never underestimate the power of being on the same page…     

The Absence of Color

 

As a nation that is full of immigrants, except Native Americans, one should be grateful for the freedoms, privileges and opportunities they have.  However, the greatest nation in modern times continues to struggle with issues alone the color line.   Even with the advancement in modern technology, sciences, research and health care, achieving diversity in the work place, corporate board room, classroom, political office, administration, and even in the neighbor is a problem.  

Over the centuries many people of color in America have died defending the basic core beliefs of freedom and the promise of the land they love.  Many put on the uniform, march in the streets and participate in political campaigns, even when they were mistreated and were denied basic human rights.  Additionally, they endured being mislabel, misguided, abused, left behind, non-renewed, omitted, pushed out, disenfranchised, and looked down upon.  They believed in the promise of America… and that promise was more than the weight of gold.   

America is becoming a more diverse nation, just look at the last presidential election.  Diversity won the day and sends a message that has to be heard.  And with each passing day the world as we know it has become flatter, more diverse and integrated.  Overcoming the issues of diversity is a goal for leaders, CEO’s, administrators, and businesses that get it and understand what the big picture looks like.  The future is about diversity and it is about the world and no one wants to be left behind.  For it is also a world of innovations, ideas and solutions.  The public and private businesses, organizations, communities, schools and colleges who don’t get it or want to accept it will be left behind.  Diversity is here… and here to stay.

In the movie Color Purple (1985), Ms. Celie, (played by Whoopi Goldberg) is about to leave and travel with Shug Avery (played by Margaret Avery), when her husband, Albert (played by Danny Glover) appears and tells her… “…look at you. Your black, you’re poor, you’re ugly, you’re a woman, you’re nothing at all! In response, Ms. Celie, while looking up to the sky… makes this statement …“I’m poor, black; I may even be ugly.  But dear God! I’m here! I am here!

So… let’s pull off those shades and see the real world… it is a world and spectrum full of colors.