bookmystorysite

TheMILLENNIAL and THE   Z’S THE AUDACITY OF    HOPE 

​​
            Humans are creatures of habit rather than logic and defensive by nature, even when we are wrong. We perpetually destroy the moral fiber of our being as we try viciously to trump each other, “no pun intended.” The ultimate faith of America will depend on the unity of an interim new generation of thinkers void of offensive tactics. Millennials and the “Z” generations are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology-wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches; many, but not all, not only grew up with it, they’ve seen and been exposed to the smash-and-grab mentality of the rich and the poor, since early childhood. The rich because of greed, the poor because of survival, and the middle class torn between. Tactics of fear and hatred with a pound of alternative facts. A phrase coined in 2017. 
  Now with DYN (Dynamic Data Exchange), social media is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) with the help of FPU (Field Processing Units) and LANs (Local Area Networks). I love acronyms and the Military Phonic Alphabet because it brought clarity with every reading from the same page and listening to the same radio.
             Time is running out; outside forces are radicalizing our youth as we procrastinate to self-destruct in the name of self-initiated “internal fear.” A political philosopher named Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing.” No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning, as does the mindset of fear. 

             Millennials and the Z generation have a voting population expected to rise above 75 million, which can be a game-changer. The combined arrogance of a younger creative mindset, united, selflessly giving positive input with the power to vote, can germinate a new inside-the-beltway mentality. Millennials make up over 25% of the US population and have at least 21% of direct buying power, a massive influence on older generations. 46% of millennials have 200 plus friends on Facebook. These statistics alone would be a show of strength if unified in the mindset of eliminating divisive politics and racism. An old saying is, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” especially if the horse is old. At the age of 76, by physical standards, I am old, but through experience, my mental capacity is beyond reproach by trying hard to keep an open mind. 

             In these trying times, we must propagate our senses with knowledge rather than hate and with wisdom rather than hearsay. Void the mind of vile thoughts while empowering it with words of jubilance, exuding Love in the caliber of which becomes the ammunition from the chambers of our SOULS. Millennials, it’s your time. The “Z’s” it’s your future. Don’t allow money and divisive politics to dictate your and your children’s future. And to my older citizens, a reminder of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, he said: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”  I say: If you are motivated, compare and contrast the speech of March 4, 1861, with the insurrection of January 6, 2021. One was external, the other internal. Then, willfully read “The Soul of America” by Jon Meacham and ask your soul where you stand on the future of America.

Creeping Authoritarianism

Supremacy to the illiteracy of history:

The Past copies itself in such a cunning costume that we never detect the alikeness until the wounds are real.

Slavery, The Indian removal act of 1830, the internment of Japanese during WW II, Jim Crow laws, Gender bias laws, banning books, Gun control, Stand your ground, Birth control, Voting Rights, Transgender bias, and the list goes on. The frivolity. 

Slavery in Florida was more central to Florida’s history than to almost any other state in the union. Florida’s purchase from Spain was primarily a measure to strengthen the system of slavery on Southern plantations by denying potential runaways a haven of safety.   To enhance the system of slavery, anti-literacy laws were passed between 1740 and 1834 in plantation states against teaching enslaved people to read.

In 2023, Flanked by NRA lobbyists and other gun lobby allies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a dangerous permitless carry bill into law—behind closed doors—that will allow people to carry hidden, loaded guns in public with no permit or training. In the wake of Parkland and 146 mass shootings so far this year, defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed. These mass shootings have led to 209 deaths and 563 injuries this year.

The United States Supreme Court has taken a constitutional right recognized by the women of America. Here’s the thing, one does not have to abandon their faith and their rights with deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling women what to do in decisions about what is in their best interest.

This year, across the nation, there have been 498 anti-trans bills with a Republican-led ban on transgender student-athletes passing the US House, moves to Senate, and to beat all, Michigan Republicans Fight Lifting Ban on Unmarried Couples Living Together.

Creeping Authoritarianism

Patriarchal values with the harboring of alternative truths, with heterosexism added to the internalized hatred in the quest for domination.

Call it Creeping or Snaring, but to the Soul I’ll keep sharing!

Thoughts from the heart through God we must start.

Human beings are creatures of habit rather than logic and are defensive by nature, even when we are wrong. We perpetually destroy the moral fiber of our being as we try viciously to trump each other, “no pun intended.” The ultimate faith of America will depend on the unity of an interim new generation of thinkers void of offensive tactics. Millennials and the “Z” generations are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology-wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches; many, but not all, not only grew up with it, they’ve seen and been exposed to the smash-and-grab mentality of the rich and the poor, since early childhood.  The rich because of greed, the poor because of survival, with the middle class torn in between. Tactics of fear and hatred with a pound of alternative facts. A phrase coined in 2017. Now with DYN (Dynamic Data Exchange), social media is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) with the help of FPU (Field Processing Units) and LANs (Local Area Networks). I love acronyms and the Military Phonic Alphabet because it brought clarity with every reading from the same page and listening to the same radio call.

         Time is running out; outside forces are radicalizing our youth as we procrastinate our way to self-destruction in the name of self-initiated “internal fear.” A political philosopher by the name of Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing.” No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning, as does the mindset of fear.

          Millennials and the Z generation have a voting population expected to rise above 75 million, which can be a game-changer. The combined effrontery of a younger creative mindset, united, selflessly giving positive input with the power to vote, can become the germination of a new inside-the-beltway mentality. Millennials make up over 25% of the US population and have at least 21% of direct buying power, a massive influence on older generations. 46% of millennials have 200 plus friends on Facebook. These statistics alone would be a show of strength if unified in the mindset of eliminating divisive politics and racism. There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” especially if the horse is old. At the age of 79, by physical standards, I am old, but through experience, my mental capacity is beyond reproach by trying hard to keep an open mind.

          In these trying times, we must propagate our senses with knowledge rather than hate and wisdom rather than hearsay. Void the mind of vile thoughts while empowering it with words of exultation, exuding Love in the caliber of which in turn becomes the ammunition from the chambers of our SOULS. Millennials, it’s your time.  “Z’s” is your future. Don’t allow money and divisive politics to dictate your and your children’s future. And to my older citizens, a reminder of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, he said: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” If motivated, compare and contrast his speech of March 4, 1861, with the insurrection of January 6th, 2021. Then, willfully read “The Soul of America” by Jon Meacham and ask your soul where you stand on the future of America.

In 1961, I enlisted in the Navy. I reaffirmed my oath’s commitment by reenlisting in 1965. But then bloody Sunday happened. In 1967, a page 1 story in most major newspapers was about Muhammad Ali and his refusal to be drafted. His words ‘I Ain’t Got No Quarrel With Them Vietcong’ were astounding. As a black man, mixed emotions abounded me while trying to live up to an oath in a country where I felt third-class citizenship. Then in 1968, came the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From 1955 to 2012, from Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, the helplessness I felt in their killings produced deep anxiety. Reflection on those years made me feel powerless. In the wake of Dr. King’s death and John Lewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, over the years, reflecting on their courage and commitments were the cornerstones of building this website while crystallizing John Lewis’s call to arms. “We must find a way to get in the way.” “Get in Good trouble — necessary trouble”

​ THE VOICE

In my youth, during Jim Crow, I learned the mannerisms of swallowing the bitter pill of racism in order to physically survive. In my leadership as an adult, I’ve recognized my voice and the weaponry of my words.

​

America, in general, cannot or will not compare and contrast President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better Act” to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (WAP)“Works Progress Administration” because, as a nation, we are too busy with states banning books, voter restrictions, Congress denying women their rights to abortion and the list goes on. The FWP …. Federal Writers’ Project was within the WAP, a program established in 1935 as part of the New Deal’s struggle against the Great Depression. It provided jobs for unemployed writers, editors, and research workers to help lift the country out of the great depression. Records that are now part of the Library of Congress.    History repeats itself; it’s only the wording that changes.

http://www.bookmystory.net/What-s-in-A-Picture.html

When Senator Warnock was entering his senior year of college, little do many people know that Rev. Porter and the congregation of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, invested in America through Rev. Senator Warnock, helping him in “Becoming a Morehouse Man. Chap. 3 of “A Way Out of No Way. Although the Democrats have maintained control of the Senate, it is imperative that America monetarily invest in Georgia, and the people of Georgia must get out and vote. Do not wallow in the swamps of character assassination, the hallmark of a man with a fragile sanctimonious personality who got us here in the first place. Compare and contrast their efficacy of dictation and the dominion of their souls. Research roads traveled, which brought them to prominence in the first place. Understand the party’s purpose in their nominations and ask yourself. Was it for the sanctity and blessedness of America or one-party control, diminishing democracy? America, as a twenty-two-year Navy veteran, I beg, enlist, and employ of you, donate and inundate the people of Georgia to get out and vote. Copy/share this message or one of your own, likening to the trumpets at the Walls of Jericho.

Other arms reach out to me Other eyes smile tenderly

Still in peaceful dreams I see

The road leads back to you

  Woh oh oh oh Georgia __   Georgia

No peace, no peace I find

Just this old sweet song

Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)

      In a democracy, opinions matter, but selfishness, topped with ignorance, hatred, and greed, are the progressive enemies of the people. A mindset that leaves not a skidder for compromise. Because compromise, in the mind’s eyes of an autocrat, can be a sign of weakness. And the price of compromise would be the acquisition of empathy and shame, a communion in the unity of souls. The only reward in 2022 would be the rebirth of a nation that is sinking into the abyss. The handwriting is in the ketchup on the wall.

Selfishness & Greed vs. Compromise is what’s really on the November ballot. As a facilitator, I challenged biases through the art of salesmanship, getting people to listen to each other. As a recruiter, I canvassed for attentiveness in America’s youth, the presents of mind, and the sparkle in the eye. Never striving to convince anyone for the sake of winning. Nor the need for a body to fill a quota. As a recruiter-in-charge, I lead by example while excepting nothing less. As a Zone / District manager, I canvassed communities where the welcoming was cold and brutal because of the color of my skin. Commanding my appearance, my uniform, and my pride in wearing it while being approachable was the first nuance to open communications.

For the last six years, my communications have been and will continue to be canvassing, not in divisiveness. With a challenge to the media in its propagation. A Bookmark for Life (The Child) and Grandparents in Unity 2022 (The Adult). Letters to the community, the church, John Hopkins, educational boards, and elected officials, along with six years of social media posts. Paragraphing each, could be converted into a book. (Don’t Limit a child to your learning, for they were born in another time.) If scrutinized, then peaceably banded under the auspice of critical race theory.

The biggest challenge for Republicans is not to abandon their party but to rebuild it by voting in this election in the affirmative, the mindfulness of we the people and not he the man. Take a page out of Liz Cheney’s playbook, who’s endorsing a Democrat. Rep. Slotkin (D-MI), Bringing the country back into the realm of together we stand—forsaking the fear of retaliation of choice—expelling the macronucleus need for power by one man, allowing the return to the sphere of one nation under God with bipartisan leadership. A mental procurement of liberty and justice handing it to our children and children’s children.

Henry L Faulkner Chief Navy Counselor USN Ret.

Righteous minds must travel in unison. In a divisive world, truth through knowledge is paramount, with factual history as the cornerstone for growth. Then, and only through sharing from the Seat of our Souls, be the gateway to amalgamation. Circumventing or hiding facts is the same as building a wall, a virtual wall mightier than the walls of Jericho. With this mindset, I employ the autobiography of George Dawson, “Life is so good,” which has come into the limelight of critical race theory. A Texas school district has deemed parts of his book inappropriate for middle school students. . The growth of inquisitive minds must travel the road of truth. Mr. Dawson’s strength and serenity can be commanding, factors that can be encouraging from a man at the age of 98.  

I read the hard copy some years ago and recently listened to the Audible version. Mr. Dawson and I were of the silent generation but years apart in age and demographics. The morality of our existence seemed to parallel. His work ethic mirrored Grandpa Charlie Hurt. When I spent the summers, I never saw Grandpa sleep, not even a nap, and he self-taught himself to read through the Bible. The difference between Mr. Dawson and myself is that I got to go to school. This book is a must-listen for more than one reason. Noting in the story gives it an R rating, but the causality of rejection becomes apparent as you listen.

            I believe the ultra-conservatives don’t want students in their formative years to read challenging literature about this nation’s history because seeing the world through the eyes of the oppressed and marginalized people. Creates understanding and empathy, causing their children to ask questions. Questions that would be uncomfortable to answer.

HOWEVER! One man’s lies could mean the fall of democracy.

Life comes in a multiplicity of nuances and innuendos. Perception of things will not always equate to the truth being told. Beliefs and faith are often likened to experience rather than the demonstration of Godly Love. All in all, the best example of truth is in the consciousness, which resonates in the power of Love, consistently displayed from one to another, and more so than ever by thy mother. Mother’s Day will be upon us in four weeks, a time of reflection on the exquisiteness of their Love. I’ve searched my mother’s archives and could find only one picture with both of us in it. (Please, take a profile with your mother if you don’t have one before her heavenly days be upon you.) This picture was taken in 1953 at a roadside stop. Me, being an adolescent, not having a clue about the obviously pictured discontent. During the Jim Crow area, blacks traveled in motorcades for safety in numbers. The country did not start the Interstate Highway system until 1956, and the rest stops were few to none. And the Negro motorist green book was the Google Map of the Times for Blacks. Making long travels for a black woman was very monotonous and extremely unpleasant when it came to womanly needs. But, regardless of the displeasure, the splendor of the soul will always prevail in the potency of Love. Mind over matter will always equate to the truth, and an idle mind will always be the devil’s workshop. Paraphrasing my mother’s words, “Go read a book and occupy your mind,” she would say whenever I would get on her nerves, but not in a scolding way. Developing in me a fixation, an obsession with reading, a passion grown from the seeds of her Love. Like planting a crop in the spring of life. Producing an annual harvest of words pollinated by ideas, accentuating this need in me to plant a stake through writing. Thus, cultivating feelings and reflections on others from the seeds of my soul. Leaning on the African American proverb, “Each one teaches one.” By this, I share a call to battle across the nation. “Each one teaches one” by sharing the beauty of your mother’s Love on this Mother’s Day through a picture, a poem, or a short story. An arsenal of Love is a pesticide in the arena of divisiveness.

In my childhood on my grandparent’s farm, it was the rooster’s crow at dawn, which encapsulated the nature of God’s creation in the serenity of a loving family. This was God’s intention before giving Adam the task of working and caring for it. The Earth has evolved now to an invasion by Russia, beforehand by an insurrection in this country.  January 6^th, 2021, I was awakened by the sound of a train off in the distance and my dog Raven as she barked, my new morning rooster. The dawn erupted with the blast of a whistle. Its encroachment, giving warning to its tonnage by the roar of its engines, racing louder until it passes, leaving in its echo the clanging of rail cars, wheels churning upon the railways of the times. The sound and my reading of history jelled, slithering my mind into the reverberation of sledgehammers, pounding in unison, chiming to the words of Lightning- Long John (An old song by a chain gang). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5KtQynWvc    Listening to the beat on YouTube carried me back to the 70s. The birth of Rap in New York. The 80s. The days of my kid’s high school years where school administrators refused to let blacks Rap in the school talent shows, claiming it was not music. Suppressing our cries by inserting divisive tactics, repressing believers to their only haven, the shield of the Church. Others to the streets in procurement by any means, reparations for atonement. All in a nation whose growth was upon the free acquisition of labor, the physical muscle of a people, grinding out history, building the networks of a nation that would become the most highly productive, leading to the most powerful economy in the world. All the while through demagoguery, the subjugation of minds, the embodiment of who we were as people. The powers to be, marching in cadence with non-judicious prudence, with laws that produced snuffing. From Jim Crow to segregation, until Doctor King’s “I Had A Dream” speech. A threat to the status quo, as his demise was a means to an end. In 2016 it became “Make America Great Again.” A college degree is not needed to connect the dots.  Pessimism is not in my vocabulary, and Rome wasn’t built in a day, but our nation is drawing closer to an impasse. The seeds I share point first to the book, the word of God, the unity of souls.  Through the armory of knowledge, as a pesticide, we in unity can become Joshua and the walls in “A Colony in a Nation” will crumble. “When there is no enemy within the enemy outside cannot hurt you.”