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Editorials/Columns
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Get What You G.I.V.E.
mpowered Greetings.
In life you get what you G.I.V.E. There are a lot of peo- ple that want more out of life than what they currently have. There are those that want to make more money. There are those that want better family relationships. Then there are others that want to live in bet- ter neighborhoods or drive nicer cars. There are those that want their business or ministry to thrive, while others want their careers to flourish. How- ever, no matter what you want you got to understand the law of reciprocity. You get what you give. If you want more than you have, you’ve got to G.I.V.E. more.
Here are the 4 steps to G.I.V.E so you will get.
Go. The first two letters of the word goal spells go. If you are going to reach the goals you set for yourself, you’re going to have to dig your feet in the ground, take a stand to make a plan and go after it. Direct your
path by taking action. Every day you waste on going for your goals is a day that’s’ gone and you’ll never get back.
Go get focused. Where your focus goes, is where your en- ergy flows. If you don’t go after what you want, you will never have it. Stop wanting and start doing. In other words, LET’S GO!
Intentionally. While you are in the process of going be sure to do all things intention- ally. To live life powerfully and purposefully you must be in- tentional. When you are inten- tional, you begin to take control of your thoughts and recondi- tion your mindset for success. You step up to the plate and take responsibility for your life by choosing what you do, how you do it and with whom you do it. It means you gain clarity about you and your life. You think before you do, consider- ing how will a decision serve me or add value to my life. When you are intentional you
raise the standard of what you expect for yourself and are de- termined to accept nothing less. Don’t just go but Let’s Go Intentionally!
Vision. Create a vision for your life. Don’t just want a change but be the change by setting a course for your life through your personal vision for yourself. Your vision will be what guides you as you move forward to obtain the things you desire in life. As you em- bark on your journey to GO INTENTIONALLY and do it with your VISION in mind.
Expect. You’ve made a de- cision to go after your goals. You’re going to do it with inten- tion because you’re focused on making your vision visible. Now expect what you’re work- ing for to happen for you.
For more information on creating the life you want or to have Selphenia facilitate, speak or train at your next con- ference, retreat, organizational meeting, school or event call 813-603-0088.
Stay connected to Selphenia on social media. Facebook: Success
Coach To Women
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cess1
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2016 Election Issues That Matter
isten to a prospective voter who promised, “The next
time a political candidate sends me a “smear” political advertisement, I’ll make sure my entire family and circle of friends do not vote for that candidate. There is no need to send out advertisements that malign another candidate, be- cause I intend to vote only for those candidates who tell me their views on key issues.” That voter and our editorial board feels the same way, especially regarding the race for Legisla- tive District 19 and our support of candidate Ed Narain.
In fact, since the 2008 election, politicians know that the Black vote is to be reckoned with, especially in races where the margin of error for winning an election is razor-thin. The upcoming 2016 elections are more critical than when Presi- dent Obama was running for office.
We believe, therefore, that all political forums should focus on responses to at least eight key issues as a means of helping Black voters decide for whom they will vote. Those issues for state and federal office candidates include, but are not limited to a candidate’s support of a ban on the purchase of assault weapons and high capacity gun magazines, stand your ground laws, a permanent Voting Rights Act and voting rights for ex-felons who have completed sentencing parole/probation, an understanding of the goals and need for the Black Lives Matter movement, support for standard national /state protocol for handling traffic/street stops of citizens licensed and in possession of the gun at the time of the stop, increasing the levels of toxins in our water supply, reducing regulations for protection of our environment, and support of laws that require millionaires and corporations to pay comparable citizen tax rates, and the repeal of big-oil- type subsidies.
These are the things that should matter for all Black vot- ers. Pass it on.
Blue On White Makes Red
very four years I look
forward to the premier sporting event that is the Olympic Games. And, like mil- lions of other people, I made it a point to catch the opening ceremonies Friday night.
While the event was the spectacle I expected, when the U. S. team was introduced and I noticed the substantial num- ber of Black faces smiling and waving their American flags, I couldn't avoid the irony of the moment.
For much of the day, prior to the opening ceremony, the national news cycle involved a story out of Chicago where an 18-year-old, unarmed, Black male was shot and killed by members of law enforcement. Like many of the previous vic- tims of police shootings, he was a kid not too much younger than some of the Black male athletes who signed on to represent the U. S. on the world's largest stage.
As I sat there watching the television and reflecting on the tragedy in the "Windy City" it became more and more obvi- ous to me that the only differ- ence between the young man who was murdered and those
competing in Brazil was the level of talent afforded to the latter. And the only thing that kept crossing my mind was the fact that these Black men and women were preparing to give their very all in the hopes of bringing pride and glory to a nation of individuals who con- tinuously show that they could care less about them other- wise.
The situation reminded me of the story Muhammad Ali once told about how he threw his gold medal from the 1960 Olympics into the Ohio River after returning home to Louisville and realizing that, regardless of his accomplish- ment, he was still treated like nothing more than a second- class citizen. I wondered if the athletes today understood that, 56 years later, they were also subject to facing that same kind of hypocrisy?
For a number of the Blacks chasing medals in Rio, who may be unaware of the bigger picture, what happened in Chicago probably didn't war- rant a second thought. But, I assume, it couldn't be easy for any conscious Black athlete, who knows about the history
of this country and who has witnessed multiple examples of just how valueless Black lives can be considered, to proudly display an American flag on his or her back. I mean, how comfortable could it be to hear chants of "U.S.A.-U.S.A." when the white and the blue are constantly causing you to see red?
Of course, some people hate when sports and politics are mixed together as I'm doing now. But the truth is that sports, particularly the Olympics, have been politi- cized since Jesse Owens crushed Adolf Hitler's ideals of white superiority at the 1936 games. So why should 2016 be any different?
After all, not much has changed. Black athletes are still expected to showcase America's greatness and dom- inance while ignoring the racism constantly being thrown into their faces.
My hope is that, at least, one of the Black competitors who wins a gold medal this year will have enough courage to use the platform as a chance to make a profound statement about our current state of dis- content.
The demonstration may not be well received, but it will be a reminder to all that we re- fuse to be silent when our lives and our futures are literally on the line.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can TEXT C.B., II, at (+18133080849).
May He Never Get Out Of Prison!
e are told that forgiveness is the glory of God. But
may we be among the many to admit we at present have neither the grace nor the glory to forgive Thomas Edwin Blanton, Jr., and his crimes against humanity. Perhaps, you forgot, because it happened 53 years ago, but we can’t forget what Blanton and several of his fellow Ku Klux Klansmen did to four little girls in 1963, at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The little girls’ crimes were nothing other than the color of their skin. Blown to bits by Blanton’s bombs, their names still haunt the conscience of our nation: Lisa McNair (age 11), Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley (each 14 years of age). But just the other day, Thomas Blan- ton, Jr., who is now 78 years old, went in absentia before an Alabama parole board requesting to be set free from prison and forgiven for his crimes. Having no one to plead his case and facing the four little girls’ family members who begged he remain behind bars, Blanton was denied clemency. No doubt, he will die in prison.
But was the verdict virtuous or vengeful? In a Judeo- Christian nation who prides itself on the tradition of forgive- ness, and who recently freed a madman who tried to
assassinate former President Ronald Reagan, is our unwillingness to forgive a doddering old man so feeble that he probably cannot remember his own name a contradiction of our spiri- tual ethics?
A former U. S. attorney says, of course not, recalling that Blanton has yet to accept respon- sibility for his crimes. So, this former Klansman is entombed in the amber of an unmerciful history. Certainly, a kind and forgiving God is displeased. Forgive us Lord, if this time, we question whether or not we should care.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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