As I look at all the things going on, I think about the Temptations famous song, “Ball of Confusion.” Back in the civil rights era of the 60’s and 70’s, songwriters and singers with Motown were very inspirational yet controversial. Drenched with Black visionaries, their lyrics were descriptive of the times and their struggles
Sing along with me.
“People moving out, people moving in
Why? because of the color of their skin
Run, run, run but you sure can’t hide
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Vote for me and I’ll set you free
Rap on brother, rap on
Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the preacher
And it seems, nobody’s interested in learning but the teacher
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation
Ball of confusion
Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today Woo, hey, hey
The sale of pills are at an all time high
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky
The cities ablaze in the summertime
And oooh, the beat goes on
Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything
And the band played on......”
We are in an ever changing society, but we’ve heard the sages of our times say, “There is nothing new under the sun.” White supremacy organizations have the audacity to become overt again. Voting rights and Women’s rights to choose are once again being challenged. Is history repeating itself? Just read the lyrics. Fighting for gun control, taxes, education, drugs and race. I believe society has to know history its downfalls and its successes. Not knowing is why history repeats itself.
As a young person, this is an excellent time to begin taking notes and saving money because you will probably live to a ripe old age, say 85 to 100 years old, witnessing history repeat itself more than once. glean from this! Young people, expect some hard times ahead. Housing, Policing, and Education will be difficult in your future if you don’t confront it now. It is imperative that you exercise your right to vote, you may not have it for long if you don’t. The right to vote is world changing. While you may not see it or believe it, history will show you. This year’s elections will tell us just what we can expect for the future of our families. Exercising this little power that we all have as citizens, makes us awesome as a collected voice. Find out ALL YOU CAN about your candidates, what they truly stand for. Know what it is you really want from your country and demand it with your vote. In the immortal words of John F Kennedy, “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. What you can do for your country now is vote.