“Mining Fools Gold…” (Thoughts For The Thoughtful)

I believe it was Pope Frances who once said that the relentless pursuit of “predatory capitalism” is the “devil’s dung.” I am almost certain that it was he! However, no matter who said it, in my view, there is much merit in the statement. Likewise, Lord Acton, the British nobleman offered a slightly different version of the same principle. He said that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. There again, in my view, much merit in Lord Acton’s pronouncement. Note, he did not say “money”, he said “the love of” which, obviously, is a marked difference.

To agree with both men is by no means a negation of the use or the need of wealth in the lives of humankind. To do so would to deny the obvious… “only The fool says in his heart there is no God.” But, to transform the use or need of wealth into a “God”, a sacred set of principles; or similarly, view its pursuit and/or acquisition, as some are presently advocating by suggesting that the irrefutable path to the liberation of African people in America is the accumulation of personal and collective wealth is dumbfounding. It is a concept that I strongly suggest, is tantamount to “fools gold” – all glitter and nothing more– certainly captivating to the un-informed eye, but of no functional value in the real world.

Few progressive Blacks—if any, I posit, believed or expected that a Clinton presidency would have been the harbinger of social, economic, and political transformation. Neither would they ever promote the notion that such a presidency, by itself, would enhance the sociopolitical and economic status of African Americans.

Indubitably it definitely could have helped in removing some of the innumerable obstacles in our path; that is, if we, collectively, sought to see beyond the blind bend and the fog that covers our eyes.

To suggest or infer that the necessary steps towards our liberation is the “pursuit of wealth” denotes, to me, a grave incomprehension, if not fatal misunderstanding, of our historical condition. It is one that too often is rooted in the false principles of “Black Capitalism” heralded in the sixties by a few prominent Black folks. How many of us remember “ “Soul City”? Conceptually it feeds and fuels the fantasy of the poor and “working poor.”

Involvement in the “real world” should tell all those who can discern the unmistakable and ever present signs prevalent in their lives, for example, — the continued assault on our young men and women, the unending disrespect for our humanity, the humiliation and pain we feel, one that fills us with seething rage and, very often, owing to the circumstantial sense of temporary impotence we endure, a loathing of ourselves, the Trump victory — that we are still, believe it or not, “captives in a foreign and seemingly unchanging land” being asked, as in biblical days, to sing a song.

No amount of material wealth will collectively free us from captivity!

Only a thorough understanding of the terrain in which we fight; the true nature of our enemy, namely, those who forsake or have forgotten their humanity and seek to retain control and hegemony over our lives and, equally important for them, the resources of the planet Earth and beyond ; on our unshakable ingrained knowledge of just who we, as a people are; possessing a moral compass and a vision of where we want to go; the willingness, if necessary, to sacrifice our lives and our goods to achieve that end, and be prepared to organize, strategize, be disciplined enough to engage the “ enemy” and aligning ourselves with all those who share our common vision and goals. This, and only this, well lead us where we need to be.

Anything else is mining “fools gold”. I, for one, at this juncture in my life and history cannot sit silently or idly as my brothers and sisters in futility toil and farm in toxic soil and give Trump a chance. A chance to do what? I ask! “Trump” is not a synonym for “Peace”

I will always challenge them to “think things through”… even those things that I think and say.