What is my new reality?
How do you answer that question after "a shellacking?"
President Obama has had a tough time answering that question over the last week -- a press conference, a 60 Minutes TV interview, a global trip to 4 countries. At each stop, the reality of the Mid-Term election sets in with a different level of real impact.
Very much like the President, all of us have a new reality to face as well. How will we adjust to the next level of political and social change? How will the shift in the political arena affect us socially, economically, and personally?
My New Social Reality
The new social reality for me suggests that there is even more urgency associated with forging stronger alliances with others of African descent, and building a stronger online community at iZania.com. We have learned in recent times that there are no special interest programs targeting us. We have to become our own special interest group. That means self-help outreach to uplift more of our brothers and sisters. That means becoming a stronger voice for our need for better schools, housing, and community development. We should engage in extending "a hand up, rather than a handout." We have to answer the call to excellence. If not, we have no one to blame when we get left behind in the new global society.
My New Economic Reality
The need for Black self-help economics has never been greater. This does not mean we should isolate ourselves in an enclave of under-achievement. It means we should leverage every resource available to help our relatives, friends, neighbors and ethnic brothers and sisters to strive for prosperity. We should seek opportunities to help the best Black businesses grow faster. Black professionals should mentor our young bright achievers,and network to help each other make progress. It means we should consciously consider our economic buying power and use that leverage to assist other African Americans where possible.
My New Personal Reality
There are those whose goal to "take back America" really means they want to take back all the progress we have made, and erase the hope of a more prosperous future for us, and our children and grandchildren. That means I must resolve every day to resist this retreat to a generation less well off than our current reality. So I must vote, advocate, collaborate, network, and lend my personal skills wherever I can to make a difference. I must remember the challenge of Frederick Douglas, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will."
What is Your New Reality?
President Obama cannot create our new reality. But we can help support his initiatives to make our new reality better. More than ever, our future is in our hands. Let me know what your new reality is, and how we can work together to create a better new reality for more of us. Share your comments below.
Roger Madison
CEO, iZania
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