What A Great time to be Alive
This is a great time to be alive. You can hear it in the music of Beyonce and Will.i.am. It’s a new day full of opportunities that are unleashing our individual expressions and evoking waves of change. It feels like a tsunami has overtaken the world and we are being bathed in the sea of hope that we haven’t seen in quite some time.
In the book “Pedagogy of Hope”, written by Paulo Freire. The author takes dead aim at the principle of hope His thesis is about the teaching of hope and the impact that hope can have on the world. It is the follow up to his book, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, which discusses the teaching of Oppression. I read and constantly refer to both of these books as my personal guidebook to understanding my role in the world. The one important principle that Friere addresses in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed “ is the responsibility of both the oppressed and the oppressor to bring about change. Friere speculates that the oppressed have to learn how to love the oppressor and the oppressor has to learn how to let go of power. I feel Obama will Sheppard this change with his leadership and heart.
“Freire reminds us that a critical understanding of oppression will not succeed in and of itself in achieving liberation from oppression. Nevertheless, the comprehension of oppression is “indispensable” to a new vision of the world based on justice and freedom. Hope helps us to “understand human existence, and the struggle needed to improve it.”
With the economy in the crapper, job uncertainty at an all time high, and a 700 billion dollar bailout that seems flawed at every turn, there still seems to be a spirit of hope that resonates much louder than the problems themselves. Change is similar to death, and I am not sure that the American people fully realize this. The tidal wave of change that we are anticipating will come with some casualties. From the Civil War to the Civil Right Movement, we had to endure loss to realize the victory. Victory is here, it’s at our doorstep, awaiting us to take up arms and embrace the new battles of Gettysburg and Selma.
The conscience has brought about this great change in the form of President-Elect Obama. He is a symbol of a new day that brings with it new opportunities and hope. For there to be a real change and not just s shift in the ways we do things can’t happen without some bumps and bruises.
I am very happy to be alive to witness the spirit in action. Have you noticed that more people mention spirit now than ever before? We can call feel it and it’s hard to deny. Our failing companies need spirit more than a 700 billion dollar bailout. The mind has run out of options. It has nowhere else to go, other than to the conscience. America voted for conscience over the mind when it elected Obama as President. I have hope that we all will get though these tough financial times with a greater appreciation of each other. It is time for each of us to expand our luvving and to seek the freedom that has long been lost. Luvv has gotten us through tough times before and it can do the same thing again if we allow it.
IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE ALIVE. ENJOY IT, EMBRACE IT AND LEARN FROM IT.
Tags: Beyonce, Gettysburg, Hope, Obam, Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of Hope, will.i.am