My father left this earthly plain 5 years, 4 months and 23 days ago. He was the salt of the earth. He was an honorable man. Now more than ever the lessons he taught me resonate with me. There was a point in my life where I tried to impress him with how much money I made and the stuff I had accumulated. It was a vain effort because those things were never important to my father.
What was important was that I live an honorable life. As you can probably surmise my fathers approval and respect were important to me. Even now I often find myself wondering what he would say about the world we find ourselves in. He was a far more reserved even tempered man than I am. I can’t remember a time where he lost his composure. In the face of adversity he was always as cool as a cucumber.
I wonder would he would be thinking if he could see the country we live in now. I remember the first election I was able to vote in. My father asked me if I was registered. I told him that I wasn’t but it really didn’t matter since I didn’t plan on standing in line to vote. He gave me that look that said you dumb azz without having to utter a single word. He then proceeded to give me a history lesson. He talked about being a young man during the great depression. He talked about how FDR had effectively started the migration of blacks from the Republican party to the Democratic Party. He explained to me how blackmen and women had been lynched for trying to exercise their right to vote. In his calm tranquil way he educated me about the importance that my vote had.
The world has changed significantly in 5 years. I wish we had more men like him doing the teaching. I’m going to do my best to not let my temperament get the better of me. I’m going to try my best to teach the young people who cross my path how important it is to use this right. I owe it to my father and every other man or woman who lived through those dark times to offer them the same education I got. I understand that the system is incredibly flawed but for now its what we have.
By the way I did vote in that first election and I’ve voted in everyone since. Things do need to change and I recognize that that change can only happen if there’s something left to work with. That’s why none of us can get caught up in this argument that it doesn’t matter which one we vote for. With one we have a chance, the other one will burn it all down.
Think!!
Eyes Wide Open!!!