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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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I believe in you because you're YOU

My wife and my friends always tease me about the fact that I have a habit of seeing the good in people.  Like clockwork, they feel that I"m always looking to make the best out of a situation.

Well for me, it's a little deeper than that.

When I was growing up (and WELL into my twenties), I can CONFIDENTLY say that I was 'Steven Urkel'.  For those of you who don't know who THAT is, just know that I was a REAL nerd (or let some of my friends tell it, I still am. LOL)

When your self esteem about certain areas of your life is low, you tend to draw strength from other areas.  One of my strengths lied in my ability to listen others and share with my insight and belief that they are more special than they realize. 

So many times we find ourselves being beat down and looking for someone to listen and expound.  Someone who will give us the chance to speak about our inner feelings.

However, just talking is sometimes not enough.  You can talk about how miserable you are.  You can talk about how sad you are.  You can talk about how you just can't figure things out.

In the end, what I found worked for me in connecting with others and what people long for is for someone to sift through the forest of deep despair and focus on the internal light of their inner glow.  Yes, yes, I know that sounds corny as hell but you gotta look at it from a bigger perspective.

So many times, you want someone to believe in you because you are YOU!!  It doesn't have to be anything spectacular.  It's just YOU!  And you will be surprised.  Just because you're athletic, doesn't mean you have belief in yourself.  Just because you're gorgeous, doesn't mean you have belief in yourself.  Just because you're smart, doesn't mean you have belief in yourself.  Sometimes, you want belief in YOU!

Listen, we all grow up with different types of social and psychological baggage.  Some of it that we can get rid of and some of it we can't .  However, some of us just need someone who is willing to take a look, a SERIOUS look into what we're saying, what we're feeling, and what we're feeling and NOT give a superficial FLUFF ass response. 

Sometimes, we just want someone who can pull that light that is inside of us OUT and to the FRONT so that someone can make us feel as if they believe in US.  So remember, in the end, YOU are the one who makes it a REALITY and a FANTASY! The belief is YOU!