Allow myself to introduce...myself

As we all know, the last few months have provided more than enough subject matter to provoke discussion on any number of social topics. Quite frankly, I'm a bit weary of discussing or even thinking about it all. Perhaps as a result of working through Labor Day weekend, (how ironic) my attention span is shorter than usual. So, as a result, I'll keep my thoughts short and fairly random, in an effort to give you an idea who I am, and what kind of things you can expect hear from me. Without further delay, here's a few things that come to mind now.

- "Quite frankly," isn't a good way to start a sentence. If I have to tell you I'm being frank, are you to assume that everything else I've said was less than "frank?"

- Perhaps this is a false "back in the day" perception, but it seems black people were more driven and focused when opportunities for success were more limited. Now that we have more access to the opportunity structure in our society, we appear to be apathetic and distracted. Our collective attitude seems to parallel what many of us have experienced in personal relationships. When the relationship is new, and the extent to which you will win the affections of the person you're interested in is uncertain, your thoughts and energies are focused on that "special" someone. When the relationship has reached a point of stabilty, and you've become comfortable in your knowledge of the level of emotional attachment and commitment of your "significant" other, it's easy to become complacent, disinterested, and unappreciative of the person whose affections you once made great efforts to attain.

- Yes, I went off on a personal tangent. But what's the fun of reading a blog if you don't get a look into the everyday, personal things that we all spend a lot (some of us too much) time trying to figure out about ourselves?

- I'll wrap up this first post with a thought that perhaps may lead to further discussion. I think we have too much black culture in our community. As a matter of fact, there's too much community in our community. I think we all should have an understanding and appreciation for the history of people of African descent in this country, and, by identifying with our shared history, feel a strong sense of love and kinship for each other. But I think our sense of culture should pretty much stop there. As an individual, the way I think and act should have everything to do with what I know to be right, based on whatever system of values I have, not anyone's definition of black culture. I try to do the right thing in everything I do, not because I want to be a good black man, but because I want to be a good man. If we, as individuals, do the best we can for ourselves and our families, then many of the problems we face collectively we be alleviated. I'm not saying that the larger social structure is perfect - we must continute to push for equitable opportunities for social mobility for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds - but I do know that, just as in personal relationships, if we can't appreciate what we have now, we will eventually lose it.