Curt Flood

There are no obvious monetary or physical perks to being the grand-daughter of Curt Flood. Most people, even baseball fans, don't know who he is. My family doesn't get to ride in parades, or have their names mentioned when people talk about great moments in sports history. I'm no trust fund baby, my grandfather was never paid the kind of monumental yearly salary that pro-athletes enjoy today, despite being one of the greats. All I truly have left of him is his legacy... which is what?

The truth.

The truth is, many of the greatest people in the world, the movers and shakers, the innovators, the ground-breakers, have their names banished from the annals of history and/or popular culture... There are probably a million people out there who's life's work we enjoy the use of today, and yet we have no idea who they are. What does this say about us? Have we truly become that disconnected from the processes that create all this luxury we enjoy? Do we forget when we, as African Americans, sit at the front of the bus that people died to get us there? Do we remember the Native Americans whose blood is spilled all over this stolen land when we build on top of it? Do we celebrate the scientists and inventors who create the Hybrid's and iPods and even the very Internet I'm typing on right now? The answer is, quite simply, no. We do, however, celebrate the celebrities who advertise them. What's wrong with this picture?

It wasn't always like this.

There was a time when America was the land of the process. The assembly-line state of mind that reminded us all that hard work and team work were equal partners. Now, machines do all the work, and we get fatter and lazier, and less reverant about the hardships we've endured in pursuit of the end result. Suddenly the couch-potato world from Disney's WALL-E seems less like an animated story, and more like a viable vision of the future. The characters in that story seemed perfectly happy and content sucking on their giant sugary soda-pops, weighing 300 pounds, flying around in an easy chair while robots do all the work for them. Does that sound like progress to you? It sounds like the only progress we will make without the use of the tried and tested "blood, sweat and tears" recipe for success. How can we move forward if we don't treasure and support the risk takers, who put everything they hold dear on the line to blaze a better trail for all of us? The answer is, we can not.

It is up to us to shape the future.

No one can do it for us, we have to take the initiative to do for ourselves and our children what our parents didn't know how to do for us. We must redefine not only ourselves, but our world. Each of us must stand up and say I want to live in a world where a healthy woman with curves is on the cover of every magazine, hip-hop is not a cliche, defined by how much money you have or how many skanky women you can fit in one video, Barack Obama is not the first Black president, but the first President to successfully challenge the status quo... a world where health care and education are not privileges, they are human rights, where color, or sex, or gender are not classifications, but expressions of the diversity and unique beauty that IS our earth... a world where love is the only acceptable spiritual practice... a world where my Grandfather would be remembered, not for the court case he lost, but for the principles he represents... Integrity, courage, and a willingness to sacrifice, even the thing you love the most, to make the world a better place.

Goodbye 2009.... Thank God.

I am always thankful for another minute, another day, another year... but looking back at 2009, it makes me wonder, where are we headed people? I know there are many out there who contribute towards a more positive vision of the future, the problem is, I don't see them! All I see is the worst of society, displayed at the forefront like the best.

I'm so tired of Celeb-Reality shows -- I don't give a damn who loves Ray-J or who Paris Hilton's new BFF is... and given our current state of afairs as a global nation, I think it's time more people started caring about reality instead of reality TV.

If I hear one more song about some girl's ass, or who has the freshest car, or chain, or house, I think I might just jump off the biggest cliff I can find..... AND THEN shoot myself. You can't take it with you people... I highly doubt that God is gonna ask you what kind of car you drove or what your credit score was when you reach the pearly gates. Maybe it's time to think about what God WILL be asking you, and ask yourself, will you have the answer?

In the words of one of the few artists who I actually still respect, Amel Larrieux, is there nothing sacred anymore... when celebrities are deified and we're still calling some countries third world? We have ALL got to wake up and look ahead... the present only lasts while its here, but the future is always looming. Where will this road of oblivious anti-intellectualism, and excessive over consumption lead us? The Roman Empire springs to mind.... We are staring at our demise, everytime we look at a TV instead of the real world, or play a video game instead of going outside and playing, or look to celebrities as though they are the coolest people in the world, when in fact the coolest people are the ones who are out there making changes in the world WITHOUT celebrity status.

Michael Jackson had it right... This Is It people! This is our chance to come rallying back, to show ourselves and the rest of the world that we do stand for something besides self destruction. Let's make 2010 the year that we change as individuals, and as a nation.

good morning america

what an interesting thing it is, to hate and fear what you don't understand... in truth, we all started off this way: infants, who come kicking and screaming into an unfamiliar world where they must learn how to do absolutely everything... somewhere along the line we lose that willingness to learn, to be an infant, torealize and admit that none of us really knows a damn thing. there are just those who manage their ignorance better, who combat it with knowledge and question everything, even their own ideologies.

unfortuantely, while america may in fact be the land of the free and the home of the brave, its is often not the land of the free thinker or the home of those who are willing to brave the unknown... change is hard for america. our president is trying to do something positive and groundbreaking, int he midst of an extrememly tumultous time in the history of our country.... but i have to stop and ask myself at this point, is it really all that groundbreaking? i mean, other countries have been doing it for years! the vast majority of citizens in those countries are beyond happy with the way things are working for them. they don't ever have to worry about getting sick, because they know if they do they're covered!

i can't even imagine what that must feel like, to not have a worry about your health. i can imagine that if i had had this option when i was growing up, i'd be a much healthier and happier adult today, instead of one, desperately in need of a physical, with medical bills dragging down my credit score.

good morning america, it's time to wake up!