Today's MOZEN: I Will NOT Be Silent!

F LoBuono

People chide me all of the time: "Frankie, why do you bother with trying to change peoples' minds"? And, "stop wasting your time".
Well . . .
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Of course, it took the genius of Martin Luther King, Jr. to express the type of moral commitment needed to achieve social justice for all. Its brilliance lies in its pithiness: just one, simple, short sentence.  It implies that if we witness injustice and do nothing about it, we are as guilty as those who perpetrated it in the first place. It challenges us to commit to social justice, not just as a fad, but as a way of life. We must make it part of our DNA.

But, inspirational slogans are just that - slogans - if we don't transform the words into actions. To accomplish this, you must believe in the ethos of the statement in the first place. Otherwise, it is just so much horse shit.

When I was a kid, I loved playing football. Now, in hindsight, I see what a foolish and violent game it really is. But, at that time, there were few, if any, things more important to me. And, I bought into it totally. For a time, it defined me. I loved the physical AND mental challenges. It's a sport that knocks you down - literally - emotionally as well as physically. The main point of the game is not that you will NEVER be knocked down but how many times can you get up AFTER you have been! And, that meme was reinforced by the coaches OVER and OVER again.

Now, at some point, either you buy into that mindset or you don't. If you do, it is a lesson that you will take with you your entire life. If you don't and see it as just so much bull shit then that's the way it will stay. I choose to believe it and have incorporated it as a part of my life.It's no different with the MLK quote. You can choose to make the theme of that slogan a part of you or you can see it as just so much palaver. I've made my choice.

And, YOU?