We can only unite our nation if we are all free. While certain sectors of the nation are shackled by the burden of poverty, they the people cannot participate in liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. Those who are sick whether mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually are not free to participate in the pursuit of healing if they do not get help and support in their efforts to get the best treatment. Health care for them is just not affordable at all. Right now the ill health of alcoholism is draining the brain power of our nation. Illicit drugs seem to be the only thing to numb the pain of this our most painful moment in our history. What are we doing if all we see is an increase in crime, pain and unhappiness?
Racism divides a nation. Classism compartmentalizes a nation. Political ideologies destroy a nation. Many people are in turmoil about the country that they love because it hurts when they are marginalized because of the color of their skin. I searched for an identity for a long while. If a person is a person no matter what; then how can I be a person if you treat me bad because of the color of my skin? How can you be a person if your treat other people badly?
This is a great time for nations to introduce a new cabinet position. We need a secretary of the nation in every country. This secretary of the nation should report directly to the head of state. The primary responsibility of the secretary of the nation is to investigate, design and implement nation building initiatives. These initiatives should be underpinned by the human dignity of all people irrespective of the color of their skin, their social standing, educational qualifications, health or geographic location.
I am growing tired of the ever widening divide between the haves and the have nots. I am growing tired of people who are losing the last ounce of self respect because they just cannot overcome the odds on their own. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. It is the weak links that will eventually bring nations to their knees. We will only ignore the plight of those struggling to overcome, at our own peril.
Nelson Mandela of South Africa is such a pristine example of what it takes to build a nation. Although he was physically shackled and imprisoned on an island by his oppressors, they could never barricade his mindset. He was always innovative in his quest to free his people. His life was the clarion call for others to liberate and transcend their thinking. He had to overcome the mindset of his peers. He had to overcome the views of his comrades. He had to defy the paradigms of his own party. He had to transcend his own past to create a viable nation for the future. He reached out to others. He engaged others. He liberated others because he was free. He did not just make a difference, he was the difference. He said that if my enemies want to alienate me, I will cross the bridge of forgiveness in order to be reconciled with them in our quest to build our nation. He was instrumental in bringing peace and reconciliation to so many other nations. He bears the scars of his marathon struggle for freedom for all people.
I guess that many of the world's leaders cannot lead the liberation struggle of all their peoples because they the leaders, themselves, are bound by partisan politics and ideologies. They are in the grip of their own past experiences. They still cannot give to others what they themselves did not have. They struggled to get to the position of leadership and now the people struggle to identify with their leadership. Many are just out for themselves or even worse to avenge themselves on their opposition or oppressors. Madiba was right when he said that if we do to them what they did to us, what better are we?
My friends, we need a new world. I mean a new attitude to an old world. We need to do more to help people. We need to develop policies that will help all people and not just some people. We can only imagine what next year will look like if we can make 2010 a year where we share because we care. How wonderful will it be to visit the sick and the lonely even if they are not related by blood? They are my neighbor. How wonderful will it be if we can share a meal with a family where unemployment is eating away their meager resources like a malignant cancer? We can lower prices to attend games and events and introduce family friendly pricing. Join the volunteer corps in your town before the last volunteer is a corpse.
So, secretary of the nation will you please use your president's last state of the nation address and concretize it. Let the common people on Main Street and Church Street, in our towns, village squares and cities all have a sense of belonging. Do not just make us feel that we belong to this nation. Show us through your actions. Let us experience our dignity, and patriotism will revive. Let the flag of our nation fly high on the throne of our hearts. Inspire us to do more than talk. Let us start on our street and in the place where we work or worship. Help us create the difference we want.
Please join me in this discourse about freeing our people in their thinking because the UNCF motto is right: A mind is a terrible thing to waste. A mind wasted is a life destroyed. A life destroyed is a national liability. Let us embrace our diversity because diversity builds a nation, stronger. I define diversity as the cooperative of people who bring a variety of biological, spiritual and social backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to groups and organizations in which they work together to energize and enact the organizational mission. In this context I would say that we work together to energize and enact nation building.
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