By JuJuan Buford
So what is commitment?
It’s the decision to persevere long after the excitement has dissipated; after the warm fuzzy feelings have evaporated; after the sun sets and the horizon fades. It’s a walk of faith. It’s a decision to continue the journey, when there is a paucity of evidence; an acknowledgement in something greater than yourself; more salient than the limited scope of your eyesight, your fear, and your anxieties.
It’s a decision. In life, business, and love: commitment is what is required to achieve or experience greatness.
Think about it. Did not Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. opine, that he may not live to see the day when people would be judged by the content of their character as opposed to the hue of their skin. At a time when there was little reason to believe that we would ever know a POTUS by the name of Barack Hussein Obama; King committed.
The 16th POTUS lost 13 elections. Thirteen! He lost a wife, suffered from mental issues, and was a huge failure as a businessman. Abraham Lincoln.
So much has been made of the extent to which forced bondage (slavery) destroyed any semblance of love bondage between African American men and women. Those who believe such nonsense have never read the testimonies of men who under the cover of night sprinted miles and miles after being sold down the river to see their loved ones.
Commitment.
The reason why Brother Malcolm died for us; the glue that holds together marriages that last 40 years plus; why Thomas Edison (he didn’t invent the light bulb) was able to help to create an instrument (the network) that brought us the light bulb; the reason why a basketball player by the name of Jordan, after being cut by his high school team proceeded to become the GOAT.
In its absence, there is confusion, uncertainty, and doubt. You can’t build a business without it. You can’t build a legacy without it. Love is an empty promise without it. Commitment drives one to continue after innumerable setbacks, wrong turns, and mistakes. Its best friends are humility and faith.
It’s the undying love of a parent. It’s the willingness to travel 40 miles on foot just to experience her smile, the feel of her skin, and to know her embrace. It is her willingness to wait. It is the unflinching determination of a human being with a vision to create.
Absent it, any type of relationship to anything is simply a thread bear lie.
It’s a decision to decide. Kinda like a homicide. A suicide. Insecticide. When you commit, other options, alternatives, and ideas other than what you have committed to dies.
Still wondering what commitment is?
Random Facebook Ruminations on Malcolm X
by JuJuan Buford
So a fellow facebook friend (and genuinely beautiful person) asked the following question of me. The words came rapid fire full of grammatical errors, however I thought the question was interesting. Here's my take.
Hey JuJuan, if Brother Malcolm were here today, what do u thinking he would be doing now? I always wonder about that. Whatever it would be, it would be extraordinary, but what do u think?
It's difficult to project because Brother Malcolm was transitioning (maturing). He would have definitely been operating much more on an international playing field as opposed to operating primarily in the U.S. The pressure he would have bro...ught to bear upon the U.S. internationally for the conditions that exist in this country would have been a real headache to the US government. More time focused in and on Africa. Given the demographic shift that was rapidly occuring during his time, Brother Malcolm's influence in urban centers would have been something to marvel at. His gritty style, yet excoriating sophistication would have appealed to alot of disaffected, frustrated citizens.
It's so hard to tell. Black America would be so much different now, if the homicidal tendencies of this government were fettered. Malcolm & Martin receive the most attention. But so many were cut down...so many. The psychological trauma of ...watching so many get cut down did the most damage to freedom movements in this country. Coupled with the outright war on black men (the conditions of the warfare have become so common place now that it's normalized for us, and that's scary as hell), the black community has become demasculated. Brother Malcolm's presence, among us others would have offered their voices up in such a manner to offset the psychological offensive.
Remember as well. Back then, our leaders were willing to take people to task. The type of nonsense that occurs today wouldn't have much space. Malcolm that the street cred and the intellectual chops to really put his foot in someone's ass.
Posted at 09:11 AM in Social, Political, Cultural Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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