LEADERSHIP INQUISITION
I have long suspected that the modern term, "conservative," was an insidious nostrum, a veiled, verbal hood for covert racism . Its acceptance was equivalent to allowing the camel's nose to venture inside of the tent; camel's entire corpus soon followed. The loss of intellectual and philosophical leadership is one cause of this usurpation of momentum by forces of "conservatism." They emerged from their lairs after the spate of assassinations in the 1960's, which left less-talented black leaders in charge of our freedom movement.
Leaders make or break freedom movements, history has shown. Leadership may also dissolve the momentum of movements by idling their engines, when they should be throttling them; or compromising principles for the sake of gain, be it by moral concupiscence or by material corruption.
I do not that imply that any ethical wrongdoing may have befallen the black freedom movement in America due to any person or organization. Perhaps such things must need to have been, independent of dynamic and indomitable leaders as earlier. War is hell. Soldiers die in battle. That is why leadership training must always continue, apace.
Although we were essentially leaderless, we have made progress nevertheless from the halcyon days of the 1960's. "Is your family now better off than it was in the 1960's? Are you now better off?"
If both answers are affirmative, well done. If one is negative, inquire where your own leadership faltered, and why?
Progress is relative, like leadership. It is relative to how it has helped you and yours.
As historic structural minorities in a malevolently exploitative white world, with but minor exceptions, we, as black people in America, have had a lot to overcome, with more to go. But we know, we sense, that somehow, in several ways, very soon, our relief, our respite will come from very many indications, from many directions, within, and without, our people, our nation, and our faiths.
LEADERSHIP INQUISITION
I have long suspected that the modern term, "conservative," was an insidious nostrum, a veiled, verbal hood for covert racism . Its acceptance was equivalent to allowing the camel's nose to venture inside of the tent; camel's entire corpus soon followed. The loss of intellectual and philosophical leadership is one cause of this usurpation of momentum by forces of "conservatism." They emerged from their lairs after the spate of assassinations in the 1960's, which left less-talented black leaders in charge of our freedom movement.
Leaders make or break freedom movements, history has shown. Leadership may also dissolve the momentum of movements by idling their engines, when they should be throttling them; or compromising principles for the sake of gain, be it by moral concupiscence or by material corruption.
I do not that imply that any ethical wrongdoing may have befallen the black freedom movement in America due to any person or organization. Perhaps such things must need to have been, independent of dynamic and indomitable leaders as earlier. War is hell. Soldiers die in battle. That is why leadership training must always continue, apace.
Although we were essentially leaderless, we have made progress nevertheless from the halcyon days of the 1960's. "Is your family now better off than it was in the 1960's? Are you now better off?"
If both answers are affirmative, well done. If one is negative, inquire where your own leadership faltered, and why?
Progress is relative, like leadership. It is relative to how it has helped you and yours.
As historic structural minorities in a malevolently exploitative white world, with but minor exceptions, we, as black people in America, have had a lot to overcome, with more to go. But we know, we sense, that somehow, in several ways, very soon, our relief, our respite will come from very many indications, from many directions, within, and without, our people, our nation, and our faiths.