Sandy Banks on a community-building ceremony

There’s an African proverb that goes, " To live together is to have a common fate."

Dear friends,

Almost all of the problems in our society are based upon the fact that, generally-speaking, we have no sense of “community” anywhere in this country. This is largely due to the simple fact that: in this market-driven, possession-oriented society of ours, people do not think in terms of “we”.

Now, that notion may sound like a platitude; however, such a seemingly trite proclamation is very necessary, because those who control the “market” make a point to have people think only of themselves, even within their individual households, not just our society at large.

There’s an African proverb that goes, " To live together is to have a common fate." In other words, as a community, in the grand scheme of things, as it were, we need each other, regardless of the extent to which we are physically-able or whatever social differences that we have - like gender and age, for example. But if people, in any specific community, share a common fate, as mentioned earlier, then it only seems fair that all parties involved should have a voice in their destinies. Unfortunately, for all of America’s brave words of "freedom and democracy", when do our children ever experience either of these lofty ideals, particularly, democracy?

What young people actually feel is that they are controlled, having little or no input, regarding decisions that directly affect their existences. That, to be sure, makes them feel powerless.

As a consequence, they become angry and frustrated. Moreover, in their feeling of powerlessness, quite intelligently, they rebel. Yet, the problem with much of the rebellion of our youth, particularly in inner cities is: young folks often protest in ways that are self-destructive. Of course, this is largely due to the types of options available to them.

Consequently, we should no longer ignore the anger and frustration that our youth must necessarily express in a negative way, if we do not provide them with opportunities to make good choices, through positive support.

The participation of our youth, in both the decision-making and application processes of building our communities, will help young people to look inside of themselves and resolve the anger, fear, sadness, and frustration which results from their feeling of powerlessness here-to-mentioned. As well, they will then discover their inner powers, through the personal strength of positive energy and group support.

Mastering skills in most activities, whether for business or pleasure, requires using energy in a positive way, relying upon focus and concentration - each being human powers just as energy itself is. We must help our youth develop these skills. Therefore, for instance, affording young folks educational opportunities through scholarship programs, is a great method for enhancing the progress of our communities.

In any case, with the piece on the link below, through an incredible journalist, Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times, we get a chance to have a vicarious experience that shows how each of us can help young people build progressive and productive futures for our communities. Enjoy!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/me-banks15-20100615,0,5203647,full.column