Ode to An African American Patriot - And His White Brothers In Arms

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
 

Ode to An African American Patriot - And His White Brothers In Arms

A retired Black disabled vet said,
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"...to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem causes conflict within me. I grew up watching Cowboys vs. Indians every Saturday morning, John Wayne war movies, and the Combat TV program. In a nutshell, I knew early on it was my destiny to become a 'fighting man' who would proudly wear the uniform of MY country because I would make my fellow countrymen proud. I would die, with honor. Taps played at my funeral, followed by a rifle volley...
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"Then I learned all my countrymen didn't have my back, in fact, many could really give less than a damn about me, simply because I am Black. Well, being the proud Black man I am - I love to stand tall in times of adversity, I ain't backing down. My favorite line is, "nobody can ride your back, IF you stand up straight," and that's all I do.
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"I am a retired Navy disabled combat veteran. I was selected to join 32 other Americans, out of thousands of other military members, to seek, discover, and return the remains of our fallen to their families. I witnessed the full circle of war, from enlistment, to serving, to combat, to returning the fallen to the longing, loving arms of their family, and I came to the conclusion war really is folly. I believed I was helping provide for the common defense of my people, some who would rather see me dead, than happy. I like to believe I have been blessed with a modicum of intelligence, so I am conflicted when time comes to say the pledge or sing the anthem.
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"Did either the Allegiance or Pledge provide cover for my son, Michael? No he's not my birth child, but had we selected the first name of Michael for one of our sons - he would have been. Millions of people rejoice in his demise. Until this country does right by her Black citizens I will refuse to sing the allegiance or pledge my loyalty and fealty to a land and certain residents who countenance a difference in how people are treated simply by skin color. Well, I ain't playing this game no more. I'm taking my ball and going home. Call me when things change, but know I won't be holding my breath waiting."
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My good brother,
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Don't even think about giving up on this country. That's exactly what the domestic enemy of the United States wants you to do. We need people like you more than ever. As a "former" Marine (if there is such a thing - the Marine Corps insists there’s not) I often felt the very same kind of frustration that you are. But then it occurred to me that what we're actually watching is Jim Crow's dying gasp.
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It may seem like this country is going to Hell, but we've got to remember that the people who are raising all the hell are a small, desperate minority who's going crazy because they see the writing on the wall - their heyday is rapidly coming to an end. 
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The vast majority of Americans truly believe in this country's values. If that weren’t the case Barack Obama could never have been elected President - twice. Black people only make up 13.2% of the population in the United States, and Barack Obama needed over 50% of the vote to win the presidency. Where did the other 36.9% come from? A lot of White folks had to vote for him - the majority of them, and that speaks volumes. And even if we go back as far as the 19^th century, SOMEBODY had to have Frederick Douglass’ back for him to have the courage to tell the American people that he considered their Fourth of July celebration a "mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages!" - and that was in 1852!, nine years BEFORE the Civil War.
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So while there's undoubtedly a lot of bigots in this country, they are far from the majority; they're just so loud and obnoxious they sound like the majority.  But even though they are in the minority, they're a dangerous minority, with a vested interest in keeping the rest of us divided, and keeping you feeling just like you are.
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That's why it's so important for us to know our enemy - and even more important, to know who's not. Because this battle is no longer simply about race.  We are currently knee-deep in a CLASS war, and race is now only being used as a TOOL of that war. The enemy that we're facing, the global corporatists, don't care any more about poor and middle class White people than they do Blacks. They're only using race as a device to keep the poor and middle class divided. That makes it next to impossible for us to mount an effective defense. They keep us so busy fighting one another that it gives them a freehand.
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The corporatists' ultimate agenda is to lower the American middle class standard of living to conform to the global economy, where in many countries workers are virtually slaves. But in order to do that they have to fundamentally change our democracy, and the "Citizens United" ruling is a perfect example of how they're going about doing that.
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This isn't speculation on my part. A Princeton study declares that America is no longer a democracy; we are now an oligarchy, controlled by the rich (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/21/americas-oligarchy-not-democracy-or-republic-unive/), and there's clear empirical evidence of the direction we've been heading since the Reagan administration duped us into accepting the scam of "Trickle Down" Economics.
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Currently the top 5% of the population controls 72% of the nation's wealth, and the bottom 80% of the population only control 7% . What happens when that 7% becomes 5%, and then 2%?  I'll tell you.  Essentially, we'll be slaves - both Black people, and White people. The corporatists will be able to leverage their wealth, and our poverty, against us, and force us to do anything they want us to do, because if we don't comply with their wishes, they'll simply starve us to death, like they've already started doing. So the only difference between the situation that we're rapidly approaching and actual slavery is, we'll have to provide for our own housing. Thus, the American people are currently engaged in the most desperate struggle in this nation's history, and many of us don't even realize it.
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But many forward-thinking Black, and White people, do recognize this fact. They understand that if Americans want to maintain the kind of life that we've come to know, and if we don't want to be subjected to a corporate feudalist state, it is essential that we put aside our racial animosities and come together as allies to face America's most insidious foe - that's why President Obama insists on being President of ALL of the United States, and refuse to allow idiots to divide us into segments. He understands that terrorists

 A MESSAGE TO AMERICA'S BIGOTS

can only destroy buildings, but the Corporate/GOP Alliance is out to destroy the very foundation that this nation was built upon.
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So as Black people, we need to CLEARLY define our enemy instead of simply broad-brushing ALL White people as our foe, because in our current situation, it is essential that the ENTIRE poor and middle class population of this country come together to fight the most desperate battle of our lives. 
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Many Americans are making the mistake of blaming President Obama for this situation, but he's only President Obama, not King Obama, so there's nothing he can do in a free society to FORCE corporations to hire Americans instead of sending our jobs overseas. All he can do is create a business environment that is conducive to a thriving economy, and he's done that. Corporations are making more money than they've ever made in their history, so jobs should be plentiful, and the American people should be doing better than they've ever done before, but the Corporate/ GOP Alliance has decided that it's in their business and political interest to continue to keep America, hungry, angry, and divided.
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FORMER OBAMA CRITIC AND
NOBEL PRIZE WINNING ECONOMIST

And in response, the American people acted just as the corporatists planned. In spite of the fact that Barack Obama saved the nation from descending into a second Great Depression, rescued the American auto industry, brought Osama Bin Laden to justice, provided affordable health care to millions of Americans, and declared by many to be one of America's greatest Presidents, in the 2014 midterm election the American people slapped him in the face and left him to continue to try to protect their interest, single-handedly, against the most insidiously dangerous foe that America has ever faced.
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Thus, we cannot afford to allow fuzzy-headed people to continue to distract us, regardless to whether the fuzz is on their head, or in it. We've got to COME TOGETHER and fight back - not as Blacks, or Whites - but as Americans. Because the enemy that we're confronting are no longer Black, or White, or Americans - they're globalists, whose only loyalty is to the dollar.
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So we must educate ourselves and LITERALLY begin to recognize that everything is not as simple as Black and White. We must begin to de-escalating our racial animosities by recognizing that even during slavery, as brutal and immoral as some White folks were back then, there were many White people around who believed so passionately in the concept of "justice for all" that they gave their lives in the most brutal war that this nation has ever been involved in. Consider that. Who were these people who were so dedicated to truth and justice that many of them voluntarily left the love and comfort of their families to die horrible deaths on blood-soaked battlefields? Yes, there were other issues involved, but it was the issue of slavery that ignited so much passion that it caused fathers to go to war against sons, and tore entire families apart.

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THE LUCKY ONES
 

Yet, we rarely even mention these people today, because it’s not fashionable among many Blacks to give White people credit for decency - and with good reason - because we’re afraid that we may be mistaken for one of the handful of Black conservative lunatics that infest our community. But efficient thought requires that we follow truth wherever it leads, and regardless to whose ox it gores - and the truth is, as Black people, we not only owe ourselves, but we also owe those heroic White American idealists a tremendous debt that we can never even begin to repay. So the very least we can do is to continue to carry on the struggle for universal justice for which they gave their lives, in a clear-minded, unbigoted, and effective way.

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So again, brother, never even THINK about walking away from this battle, because it is the ULTIMATE struggle of good over evil. Far too many - Black, and White people - have sacrificed far too much to win this battle. And we've got to always remember that it's not about Black people against White people; it’s about good people against bad people, and the bad people are using our division against us. It's their most effective weapon.

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So continue to sing the Anthem with all of the passion you can muster, good brother, because you’re not just singing about a country, you’re serenading a CAUSE for which many great, and often, nameless people have died. Those were your true brothers, and THEY, are the ones that you're singing to, and you're singing for. So it is not America that's causing you pain, it's the enemies of America, and they must be defeated.

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So as you celebrate this Thanksgiving, forget about the American myth, and celebrate the true patriots who died to make that myth a reality . . . and "loved mercy more than life."

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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.  

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WHY I LOVE BEING BLACK - REVISITED

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

WHY I LOVE BEING BLACK - REVISITED
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During the sixties we used to say, “I’m Black and I’m proud,” but we never said why we were so proud of being Black. I’d like to correct that.

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I absolutely LOVE being Black - and I'm not just saying that because it's expected of me. While I have the ultimate respect for the unique character of every race and ethnicity, if I'm reincarnated a thousand times, I want to come back Black each and every one of them.
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Being Black in America gives one an education and perspective on life that you can't get anywhere else. That's not widely recognized, because public attention is often focused on the most dysfunctional in the Black community. But contrary to popular belief, that might not be an altogether bad thing, because that allows the excellence within the Black community time to incubate, unmolested by the public eye. That's what allowed Barack Obama to explode upon the world stage as a fully developed powerhouse, and there are hordes of others just like him who are currently incubating in Black cocoons in suburbs and inner cities all over America.
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Another thing that's not widely recognized- even by many Blacks - is, what they call “soul,” that Black people are so well known for, extends far beyond music. What's commonly referred to as "soul" is actually creativity, and as any cognitive scientist will attest, creativity is a primary indicator of advanced intelligence.

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Since Black people are some of the most musically inclined people in the world, the ramifications of this newly discovered scientific information is not only astounding, but it also serves to validate what many of us in the Black community already knew. While it takes utter stupidity to suggest that one group of people are intellectually superior to another (it's like trying to suggest that a Black Cocker Spaniel is innately superior to a White one), it's been a long accepted scientific concept that adversity triggers evolution, so it is far from outrageous to suggest that after over four hundred years of being subjected to the very worst kind of adversity, that adversity has served to make Black people more, rather than less.
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While many White people don't realize it, every day of a Black person's life they're forced to deal with some sort of bigotry, either blatantly overt, or subtle and covert.  It's generally the latter. That's why many White think that Black people are being overly sensitive when we complain of racism.  But, by just going through life having to routinely outwit bigots on a daily basis constitutes a constant workout of our intellectual abilities.  Many Black people don't even recognize this.  As a result, many take the growing power of their intellectual potential for granted.  They don't recognize their growing intellectual power. They simply think racists are dumb, so they often squander their intellectual potential.

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That's why Black people simply laugh to themselves when White conservatives assert that the only reason Black people support the Democratic Party in such large numbers is due to handouts, when the actual fact is, unlike poor and middle class White conservatives, Black people support the Democratic Party because they're not stupid enough to support a party that's out to cut their throats. Another fact that White conservatives should consider is the only reason that America is in the dire economic condition that it's in is due to their decision to vote for George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections.  In addition, the only reason they're not currently in the grips of a second Great Depression is due to one Black man - Barack Hussein Obama, who they hate so passionately. Thus, if they had followed the lead of the "intellectually challenged" Black population, they wouldn't be in the shape they're in today.      

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Charles Darwin would call what's referred to as Black "soul" as a unique adaptation to adversity, and the most insightful within the Black community recognize it as being much like a sixth sense that reaches the very depths of human understanding. When fully developed, it provides Black people with a unique grasp, empathy, and insight into the human experience. That's why Black people are so effective in conveying human emotion through music and the arts - so effective, in fact, that "soul" has been confused with emotion itself.
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So Black people don't just live life, we experience it. We experience life in the exact same way that we experience music. As a result, we actually feel our environment, with the exact same passion that we feel a lonely bass struttin' through the back alleys of a slow and funky blues. That accounts for our swagger, but our "soul" also accounts for making us far more than swagger alone - a point we must get across to the more frivolous within our community.

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You see, the very same swagger, or soul, that goes into the making of a Ray Charles, a Miles Davis, or Areatha Franklin, under another guise, is also responsible for the power and solemnity of mind of a Colin Powell, Johnnie Cochran, or Michelle and Barack Obama. Thus, the very same soul that allows Black people to excel in music, can also be directed towards physics, politics, philosophy, or engineering. The only reason it's been reflected primarily in music up until now is because music was one of the few activities that Black people were allowed to freely engage in. But the rise of Barack Obama has signaled a change in that regard, and America is going to begin to feel that change.
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So this is an exciting time for Black people, because we recognize that the world is about to discover what we already know - that there is nothing in the human experience more impressive than watching the development of a Black child, who's been dragged through the pits of Hell and the brutal experience of “American Exceptionalism,” then emerge on the other side as a well adjusted, uniquely eclectic, resolute, and learned product of his or her environment.
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These are society's unsung heroes, and there are many more to come. They've been tested by fire, and they've prevailed. By the time they've reached thirty, they've faced down more adversity than the average American at eighty. So simply having survived America unscathed, by definition, makes them special.
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So when I come into contact with the "strivers" in the Black community, I may not say it, but my heart whispers, "Thank you for your service." Because, in my heart, I know that these are the people who have been selected by nature, and circumstance, to blaze the trail of a new reality, and move America forward - and considering America's history, these young people represent the very height of irony. But as the old folks used to say, "God works in mysterious ways."
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So just watching the collective journeys of these young people have inspired me to recognize that, I too, can take great pride in being the product of adversity, because the lessons of adversity have served to make Black people  more, rather than less.
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Simply having survived the trauma of being Black in America speaks volumes. It represents an independent source of knowledge, and an unassailable credential - a credential that none of the great institutions of higher learning can possibly provide. And while we must strive to attain it, we don't have to rely on sheepskin to attest to those credentials. Due to the tremendous adversity heaped upon us here in America, our beautiful black skin says it all.
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So yes, I'm Black, and I'm very, very proud.  I'm proud of who I am, and I also take great pride in my history - and that even includes slavery - because adversity constitutes knowledge, and that knowledge is what made me, me.

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A Slave’s Prayer
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I was stole from Eden, an innocent soul,
crossed seas and centuries, chained and cold;
My mother was raped and beaten to death,
my daddy was sold, and my sister is kept.
So how they praise God and brag dat they free,
and even sing songs about freedom, 'din look upon me?
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I was chained to 'dis land, 'dis "Land of the free,"
by people with a God, who sho must can't see.
But a change is a comin', tho I won't no mo be,
but when it get here, Dear Lord,

please let my soul see.



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MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR:

A MAN WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

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The United States of America has honored only four men in history by declaring the day of their birth a national day of celebration - Jesus Christ of Nazareth, widely accepted as the father of all mankind; President George Washington, the father of this nation; Christopher Columbus, the man credited with discovering the Americas; and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man whose forebears were brought to these shores in chains.

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That says a lot about this humble Black man. In spite of the fact that Dr. King began his life burdened by the inherent disadvantages of being blessed with Black skin in a Jim Crow environment, his words, his intellect, and his deeds so inspired the heart and soul of humanity that America saw fit to set aside a day for this nation - this world - to thank God that he was allowed to walk among us. 
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His was a soul with such strength that it served to lift the rest of mankind to a higher level of humanity. That's not only a testament to one Black man's ability to pull himself up from the dust of his humble beginnings, it's also a testament to the capacity of his people to meet the test of greatness.
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When one considers that even today some are engaged in a raging controversy over the intellectual capacity of the African American people, it only further emphasizes Dr. King s stature in this society, which speaks with flawless eloquence to the boundless potential of the African American intellect.
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Admitted to Morehouse College at 15 years of age and a Nobel Peace Prize winner by age 34, Dr. King rose to become one of the most honored men in this country's history. By his untimely death at age 39, it was clear that his was to be one of those rare voices that would speak to all men, for all time. Long after the bones of his detractors have turned to dust, this unassuming young man's name will continue to reverberate throughout the ages.
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That was the legacy of Martin Luther King. Through his moral strength and tenacity he demonstrated to America that the Black man was much more than just a beast of burden, and through his intellect, and his ability to personify all of black America, he inspired the world to embrace his cause. Thus, the legacy of Martin Luther King - like the man himself - stands as a monument to the depth and breadth of the African American culture.
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Too often we focus on the most negative aspects of African American behavior, while we totally ignore the great strides that are being made by the vast majority of Black people. We pay special attention to the relatively few violent, Black criminals, while we ignore the millions of Black law abiding citizens; we focus on the undereducated in the Black community, while we turn a blind eye to the hordes of African American students and professionals who are flooding our colleges and universities; we've become experts on those African Americans who are a burden on our society, while we remain blissfully ignorant of the multitude of African American doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, laborers, musicians, writers, architects, homemakers - and yes, now a president - who contribute their unique talents to making this a better world. 
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These are the people - the people who Martin cherished - who we truly honor in any tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King. Because as we honor Martin and Malcolm, and all of the other nameless Black heroes who have struggled, and in many cases given their lives, to move our people forward, we cannot help but honor ourselves. That is the true meaning of Martin's legacy.
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Thus, in any tribute to Dr. King, we also celebrate the African American culture - a new culture, conceived in pain, delivered into turmoil, and baptized in a sea of deprivation. We celebrate a culture that is only now in the Spring of its development, yet, a culture that has managed to combine the wisdom, strength, and spirituality of its African origins, with the sophistication, knowledge, and creative intellect of its new found home. 
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So on this day, let us also gaze upon the mountain top - inspired by the knowledge that our reach no longer exceed our grasp. Let us dedicate our lives to leaving the world a little better than we found it. And while we take a furtive look back - let it not be in anger, but with a resolve, and a sense of pride at what we ve overcome. And during this time, let us take at least one moment to thank God that Martin, this humble and spiritual Black man, was allowed to walk among us. 
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And finally, let us take a moment to listen to our hearts, as they quietly murmur, free at last!--every man, woman and child. Free at last!--from the sandy beaches of California to the shores of Maine. Free At Last!--from America’s shores to the tiniest village in Zimbabwe. THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, WE RE FREE AT LAST!

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Four Year-Old Anala Beevers: IQ 145

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"AWAKEN, MY CHILD, AND BEHOLD . . . "
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I Now stand firm. My dedication to the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free--free of anger, free of self-delusion, free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
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I now stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles, with a deep sense of pride, and a pride that flows deep.
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I now stand erect! The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, and oozed from the yoke around his neck, now rage with resolve, a sense of purpose, and tremble with passion, within my burning breast.
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I now stand as a new being–-neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being forced to be more than simply American, Just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
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Thus, I stand now armed—-armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified–with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
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I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves. I stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
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Yes, I Now Stand Firm--Firm, Black, and Free.

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"Thank you, Lord. I knew a change was a comin'. That boy talk wit enough schoolin' to live in town someday - if they ever let 'em.
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"What?!!! . . . President!!! . . . of the United States?!!! . . . Georgia too?!!! . . .
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"Oh, my God! How long I been dead?"

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FORMER OBAMA CRITIC
NOBEL PRIZE WINNING ECONOMIST

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Eric L. Wattree 

http://wattree.blogspot.com/ 
Ewattree@Gmail.com 
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA) 
.
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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