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If I Were President
By: Ian
theanswer@eXcapethematriX.com
Photo by Quill Wordsmith (Marsalis Images)
One evening I sat watching an episode of the Dave Chappelle Show in
which Wyclef Jean was the guest performer. He sang, "If I Were
President" and the lyrics were so profound. Walk with me through my
thoughts.
The particular line which caught my ear went something along
the lines of, "We can spend billions on war; but why not use that money
in the ghetto?". Think about that statement for a second. Why can’t we
unite as a people to help one another? This of course would be a long
term goal; nothing truly important is simple and quick, but imagine the
caliber of people we could bring into the world. If we could treat one
another they way we do our best friends how great a day would we have?
Random acts of kindness just because, acceptance without a second
thought and open hearts.
We can come up with all that money when fighting yet schools are
still under funded. There aren’t enough homeless shelters with a
personal touch; a hot meal, warm bed and connections with unemployment
agencies. Why is welfare not the terrific system it should really be?
WHY isn’t college free? One day I want to see college recruits and
scouts searching all our schools for academic talent. What’s unity
without everyone having their chance to join in and contribute? There
are so many old sayings that seem to fall to the waist side. I bet we
all have heard, "give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a
man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime". Dang, how strong the world
might be if everyone gave their knowledge to make sure we all had
whatever we needed.
"United in the goal of unity and prosperity."
There is the notion that national defense is so critical in order to
keep us safe, no matter the cost. But the sentiment feels empty
when we have people suffering hardships every day. Why are there poor
and homeless individuals while homes are sitting vacant and businesses,
especially restaurants, can seem so understaffed? I wonder what the war
budget and even better, the lottery budget, could do for the
communities. Even something small; free health insurance anyone? I want
to work towards the point in time when there are no ghettos, because
every area is clean and developed. A lower rent/mortgage should not
equate to a lower standard of living.
It may sound simple but happy people, satisfied people don’t have a need
for violence. They share; they engage and help build one another. If
everyone had the opportunity, the positive outlook and the mass focus of
unity we could grow as a people, country, and world even faster. United
in the goal of unity and prosperity. Who knows, some untapped talent
could hold the secret to renewable fuel, faster computers or safer
travel. I don’t know about you but I want to see this dream in my
lifetime.
"Why can’t we unite as a people to help one another?"
Slow down, stop and smell the roses. While you’re there, talk to your neighbor, you might just find that you have more things in common than you’d think.