The Truth is a Skanky Bitch

I snatched the below snippet from Clutch. It says what I have been ranting about, only in a more refined way. I am not refined. I am a fool. The good thing about being a fool is the ability to say a lot of outrageous shit, because one aspect of the truth is it's outrageousness. Lies are always smooth and flowing. That's what draws you in. The smoothness. No matter how many holes can be punched in lie, you want to believe it, you're compelled to believe it, because, well...it sounds like the truth.

A lie makes the truth seem boring, especially when there's a tiny germ of that truth buried within the lie. Those are the good ones. It's a funny thing. A lie can be shown to be a lie with all manner of proof to back it up and the truth laid bare for all to see. But the truth is often so over the top outrageous with it's twists and turns that the majority of people would still prefer to believe in the lie and will be happy to kick the shit out of you in its defense.

Isn't human nature the funniest thing? It. Is. Hilarious. Anyway, the four paragraphs below were taken from the original article: Towards An International Black Identity and was written by Lexis B. who I hope doesn't sue my ass. Hey, you can't sue somebody who's not right in the head, can you?

We have thought of ourselves as separate for too long. This thinking has brought war at its worst and a waste of our richness as a group on an ongoing basis. As children of Africa we cannot remain divided, preventing cultural gold and intellectual silver that could be circulated for powerful growth from flowing because of the misconception that we are different. We must redeem our sense of unity to move ahead, because no one is going to help us, but us.

We are used to fighting to achieve our goals. But our final battle for oneness will be ironically be won only through the power of love. This story can help us make the much-needed switch in approach.

The first female president of an African nation, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was elected president of Liberia in 2005. At the time of her election, Sirleaf was a seasoned politician, but it was not her track record that got her elected. Sirleaf’s rise was fueled by the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, which unified a country that had been divided by civil war for 14 years. This small group of women sat in the middle of a war zone and refused to move until the warring sides put down their guns. Simple and successful, their movement put a woman in their nation’s top spot without throwing a grenade. President Sirleaf has used this power to rebuild her homeland based on the principles of truth and humanity. This amazing feat shows the power of the black woman’s spirit to heal and unite. The power of love to redeem old wounds and create oneness.

Self-value in our oneness as a people will help us recognize and purposefully utilize the African riches that have built up other countries for ourselves. No matter where we are on the globe, we are called by that familiar “Afro-“ or “African” preceding the nation where our ancestors landed — an eternal umbilical cord connecting us all to an immortal mother. No mother likes to see her children fight. Mother Africa wants to see us united and strong. We must see that no group of blacks is better than, less than, or immune to each others’ problems. We are seen as one, and we can achieve as one. We are one and we must unite.

Did you notice the use of the words, love, oneness, spirit, to heal and to unite? My favorite was/is "Children of Africa". It sounds much better than African American, at least to me. By default, I am an American. My spirit, through it's many incarnations is African. Thus I am a child of Africa. To any white person reading this, you can be a child of your country of origin too, whether it be the misty isles of Ireland, the white cliffs in England or the steppes of Russia. Children of the Sands sounds pretty good for the Arabian people.

I am reminded of a poem by Kahlil Gibran.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping; For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together; For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

This was a long post. But, I think, worth it.