My Perspective: WE Can Do Better & WE Must Do Better

America,

WE begin this year with so much hope, high expectations and high energy. Now WE find ourselves 8 months into President Barack Obama first year in office and our economic issues still linger, our unemployment rate is still high and healthcare reform seem so close but not quite there yet. America, WE are have seen billions if not trillions of dollars go to the financial institutions and auto industry while our educational institutions are finally getting the type of funds it needs to create the 21st world class educational system that all children should receive. WE are at in point in history people where our future has not yet been written and our hope for change can happen.

WE are at a point where we can finally reform healthcare in a financially sensible way while at the same time providing coverage, prevention, and reform that includes health insurance stability, affordability, quality, and patient choice. WE are at a point in our history where we can finally give our education institutions the type of funding it needs to provide updated textbooks, technological resources and better school buildings equipped with state of the art equipment for teachers to teach as well as are more conducive to students learning needs. WE are at a point where we can make higher education more affordable and accessible to all Americans no matter their age, race or gender. WE have seen progress in these first 8 months of President Obama’s presidency but there is still much WE have to do America.

WE have come far, WE have seen too much and WE have to much more to do for us to forget that this nation was built on the backs of all Americans who believe in the red, white and blue but we bleed the stars and stripes. WE can just look at our raising national debt and our national deficit to see that in the greatest country in the world WE have so much more to do to get our nation on the right foot.

WE can’t turn a blind eye to the issues that plague not only our present but our future. WE can do better and WE must do better not just for ourselves but for future generations of America.

WE have to step up and deal with the high unemployment in America and the fact that millions of Americans who have jobs today work two or three jobs to make a decent living. WE don’t need a minimum wage in the greatest country in the world but WE need a living wage that is adequate enough for all Americans to have a chance at the American Dream that we all speak of.

The American Dream is still alive and well despite what the naysayers may say. WE can own our own homes, own a car, have a family, and have a good job with a livable salary while also obtaining that higher educational degree. WE can obtain the American Dream despite the fact our economy is still shaky and our economic future is still in limbo. WE can improve our economy and making owning a home affordable again and jobs more available and accessible to all Americans.

WE have dealt with these economic issues before and WE have defeated it but now is not the time to just defeat it but WE must beat it for not just another decade but for several decades. However this task won’t be easy but it is a task that WE must be willing to face. WE first have to put our country back on the gold standard and off of the Federal Reserve System which since its existence our nation has dealt with a Great Depression and some form of an economic recession every decade since 1913.

WE have to put a dent in our national debt and our dependence on foreign investors to buy our debt. WE have to start building up America’s own resources in order to release our dependence on foreign nations for minerals such as oil. WE have to change America and WE have rebuilt ourselves before and WE can do it again.

America this is the moment where we all have to take responsibility for not just our nation’s future but our own future. In fact this is the moment where personal responsibility shouldn’t just be rhetoric but it should action. WE can do better America and WE must do better but it starts with each us taking care of ourselves first and lending a hand to our fellow neighbors.

WE have seen what our nation can do when a village raises a child. WE have seen what our nation can do when WE believe in a Dream that many might feel are unstoppable. WE have gone to the moon, WE have won our independence and WE have made history time and time again since the time we were 13 colonies until now. When WE believe in a dream and when WE fight to make that dream possible, WE can achieve it.

WE are the future, America. WE are right here, right now and that is why we need to do better to rid our nation of poverty. WE need to do better to rid our nation of racial and economic inequalities. WE must do better in choosing our words in describing situations, people and things.

WE can do better people by not judging our neighbors if we don’t understand their situation. WE can do better people and WE must do better at being more compassionate toward our fellow citizens.

America, this is time for us to step up to the plant and mentor our young, take care of elderly and lend a hand to the less fortunate. WE can do it and WE must do it America.

WE must find a way to make sure we deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic right here in America. We must make sure our family, our friends, our neighbors and even those we don’t care for much strap it up if they are going to indulge in sexual activities. WE must teach our young how to be safe while being sexually active but most of all WE must teach our young to practice abstinence first but if they don’t let’s make sure they practice safety.

WE can do better with dealing with poverty, HIV/AIDS, unemployment and education in this nation but it will take all of us as Americans helping each other out to teach one another how to do live better, how to do better and must of all how to live better.

WE can do better with dealing with the issues that plague our communities. WE have to build better relationships with law enforcement and law enforcement must build better relationships with us the people of this great nation. WE can do better at working with law enforcement to reduce crime in our neighborhoods and WE must do better at working with police end the senseless violence in our streets.

WE can do better and We must do better in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives that send to gun violence and other senseless acts of violence that can be prevented.

WE have to talk to our youth to put down gangs in pursuit of a better future by way of education. We can do better at connecting with our youth on a social and economic level to teach them that gang violence is not the violence and that it only leads to innocent lives lost who could have been the next Johnnie Cochran, the next Oprah Winfrey, or the next Dr. Benjamin Caron. But we will never know unless we need the gang violence and violence in this nation.

WE can do better and WE must do better.

WE have to have fathers take responsibility for their children and stop this trend of fatherless homes and single parent motherly homes. Men need to be man and that starts with accepting responsibility for the children you bring in this world. Men have to man up and realize that although financially you might not be able to provide for your child, being a child’s life can go a long way.

However women cannot continue to make excuses for not providing children with all the love and support that doesn’t deal with finances. Women must be woman and must step up to the plate like many single mothers have done to provide the best for their children despite not having the father of their children’s lives like Isaiah Thomas mother did, Dr. Benjamin Carson mother did and President Obama’s mother did.

Still those women alone didn’t do it alone because they had a village to assistant them in raising their children. That is why WE all need to cheap in to provide support to those single mothers who are trying to do the best they can to raise their children. WE must be a village if we are going to change the feat of a child’s future to see a brighter day.

WE must change the dawning of a child’s future from dark days and gloomy nights to brighter days and peaceful nights. WE can do this and WE must do this not just for the present but for the future.

Tupac Shakur had a saying called “THUG LIFE”, which stood for “The Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everybody!” It is that saying alone which proves all the more reason why we must love our youth now before they grow up not hating their fathers or mothers but us a nation. It is the love we provide our youth now which can lead to them not getting involved in gangs, which can lead to them not blaming the whole world for their shortcomings and most of all it can lead to them having a better future.

WE can do this and WE must do this now for our youth. WE must uplift our young, WE must encourage our youth, WE must inspire our future with hope, with kindness and with love.

WE can do better for youth if we provide them with options outside of the living conditions that they grow up in. WE can do better for our nation if we all work together to uplift one another.

All of this must begin now. WE control our own destiny. WE always have and always will. Dr. King said once said, “He might not get to the mountaintop with us but WE will get to the mountaintop.” Well I’m here to tell you that we have not reached the highest peak of the highest mountain in America or the world but WE can get there, WE will get there and WE must get there.

Once WE have reached one mountaintop, WE must continue to look for other mountaintop to reach. That is why WE are a nation of not quitters but a nation that looks to win and overcome all odds. WE don’t run in the face of adversity but instead WE face it head on. WE are a nation that looks for solutions to not just our problems but the world’s problems.

That is why we need to do what Walt Disney once said which is, “All our dreams can come true, if WE have the courage to pursue them.” Well it is time to pursue our dreams America. It is time to make our dreams a reality. WE can’t run from our dreams and WE shouldn’t hide our dreams. Erma Bombeck said, "It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else." Well let’s be courageous and show our dreams to each other so WE all can achieve our dreams.

This is the moment of truth for us as a nation and WE must face it head on. WE must not just face it but WE must conquer it. WE must be able to raise above all adversity to achieve success and if we work together than WE can achieve all of our dreams.

WE can do better America and WE must do better but it starts with us being ready for the task. So are WE as a nation ready to conquer our fears. Do we love our nation enough to overcome what lays ahead for us?

What many of us must realize is that it is the love of this nation and for this nation that gives this nation its strength. It is the men and women of our armed forces who fight for our freedoms and safety while sacrificing their lives that gives our great nation its strength. And it is their courage that allows us the right to love who want, when WE want and how WE want. However WE should and WE must love our armed force and take care of our veterans because if it wasn’t for them WE wouldn’t have many of the rights and freedoms WE enjoy today.

WE all need to practice the courage that the members of armed forces practice every day. Nelson Mandela once said that "He learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Well America it is time for us to conquer all of our fears once and for all in order to achieve success for all Americans.

Bill Cosby said, "In order to succeed, one’s desire for success should be greater than one’s fear of failure." Well America, let’s not be afraid to success. Our will to succeed should be greater than our will to fail. Failure is only temporary and failure should not discourage us as nation from achieving energy independence, healthcare reform, a world class 21st century educational system, the highest rate of post-graduates in the world, or nation debt relief.

When WE arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve America & the world and a desire to enjoy America & the world. It is a desire that WE should embrace as Americans because WE can have both while many in the world aren’t fortunate enough to choose between making the world better or enjoying?

WE must not give up, Americans; WE must never ever give up as Jimmy Valvano once said. WE have just begun to fight and WE must continue to fight no matter what. WE are a nation of born to succeed and WE must succeed no matter what.

WE cannot doubt ourselves no matter what. As Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: Indeed it's the only thing that ever has." It is true. WE are stopping ourselves from being an energy independent nation. WE are stopping ourselves from dealing with poverty. WE are stopping ourselves from providing our youth with a world class educational system where all youth can learn another language while being able to compete with the likes of students from countries like China, India, Great Britain, France, Australia, etc.

WE are the ones stopping ourselves from universal healthcare or healthcare reform that coverage, prevention and reform that includes health insurance stability, affordability, quality, and patient choice. WE are the ones stopping ourselves from being on the gold standard and getting rid of the Federal Reserve System.

That is why if WE are to achieve success and excellence in this nation than WE can’t continue to do things the same WE have always done it. "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." WE have tried every other way to reduce our nation’s deficient and national debt, now it is time to do things in an uncommon way to solve our nation’s problems. WE can’t continue to do the traditional liberal, conservative, and moderate way of solving things in this way.

WE can do better America. We must do better for not just ourselves but for future Americans. WE can do better, WE will do better and WE must do better. It all starts today for us America. WE can’t turn back now. WE must continue to move forward. WE must achieve success. WE must uplift one another. WE must help one another. WE must reach each mountaintop and WE must strive for excellence in everything we do. WE must be successful in all that we dream to achieve and WE must conquer our fears.

WE can achieve energy independence. WE can achieve healthcare reform. WE can decrease crime, poverty, unemployment, the HIV/AIDS rate and the national debt in our nation. WE can guarantee our youth a world class 21st century education. WE can stop gang violence and senseless violence. WE can be better and we must do better.

WE must not be dependent on oil anymore. WE must get rid of the Federal Reserve. WE must have coverage, prevention and reform that includes health insurance stability, affordability, quality, and patient choice in our healthcare system. WE must get back on the gold standard. WE must put down our guns and our fists and learn to solve our problems but talking it out and agreeing to disagree. WE must be a village in order to raise our nation’s children. WE must support our nation’s leaders but also be willing to let them know when they are wrong.

WE can do better in making sure we vote in every election. WE must do better in choosing our political leaders on the local, state, and national level. WE can do better in being involved in our neighborhoods and communities. WE must do better in terms of holding each other accountable for our words and our actions. WE can do better America and WE must do better but most of all WE will be better no matter what, no matter how, WE will.