Thursday, November 06, 2008

changes

"and although it seems heaven sent
we ain't ready, to see a black president"
-changes, tupac shakur

we tell ourselves that our life is one of opportunity. of unlimited choices and unlimited horizons stretching as far as the mind can dream. and that to reach them, all we have to do is believe and commit to working to achieve them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44omSH6K9V8



but things aren't always that simple. life has a way of always proving otherwise. obstacles, hurdles, obstructions, challenges. expected and unexpected. accidental and intentional. many annoying, some frustrating, a few unyielding, and all of them all together overwhelming. or at the very least, more than enough to show us that opportunity is a myth.

and for some more so than others.

which is why it's so important to see dreams fulfilled. so important to see them manifested beyond our belief and past the efforts of our work.

because you need more than myth. you need reality.

because you have to do more than talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.

because dreams are just dreams, belief is just belief, and work is all in vain, if opportunity is nothing more than a figment of the imagination. they, just like the human spirit, will starve without the sustenance of substance to nourish the hungry heart. or worse, they will implode in the self-destruction produced by the bitterness of their own resultant anguish and alienation.

which is why it's so special to see what's happened now. so special to see dreams made manifest. so special to see that the myth of opportunity is now the reality of opportunity.

and to know that it exists for everyone.

this is why it's so special that we can now wash away the bitterness, provide the sweet sustenance of nourishment, and re-write the lyrics to finally say:

"and it must be heaven sent,
we're finally ready to see a black president"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tupac’s song “Changes” really captures the emotions of the time. The song was written in the early 90’s and we’re now here at this monumental time in history more than 12 years later. There have been changes, but we have to recognize the fact that Obama is a self-identified African American although he is biologically biracial and was raised by white grandparents and was elected after (and perhaps because) GWBush ruined the country. So are we, as a voting public, really over all of our prejudices? No. Absolutely not. This is one giant leap towards erasing the discrimination all minorities feel, but we’re still very far off the goal.

jonathan starlight said...

yeah, this country is a little slow that way. it's a big ship, and it takes time to turn.
but at least now there's tangible evidence that given enough time, big changes can happen.