The Senseless Choices of the Black Experience

March 18, 2021

We have heard the quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over-and-over again, while expecting different results.” But we seem to be stuck on this trajectory…


How do we make it stop?!

This conundrum has become a reality for Fr. Jabriel and me. Communally, we see this conundrum of insanity illustrated in how we view ourselves. There are many of us who are not willing to put in the work to explore and evolve who we are and how we view ourselves. Believe it or not, the personal view of ourselves distort our view toward others. This is the center of this conundrum. 

Are we willing to start and continue the work of self-exploration and evolution? Are we willing to continue in this conundrum of insanity?

This is our exploration on this episode of Blacks With Power. After viewing this episode, share your thoughts and comments. How much deeper do you think we need to go in this conversation? What’s the single greatest question you have in response?

Your comments will shape the how we approach this moving forward…so, thank you!

What are Your Thoughts?

One comment on “The Senseless Choices of the Black Experience

  1. Alexandra Mar 19, 2021

    I listened earlier and hope I can remember all my thoughts…

    You make me want to define what Freedom is… And then make a vision board and create SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timeline goals. Then I can measure my progress towards what I have defined as important *to me*. Happiness is something I worked on previously and defining happiness is an interesting question – and maybe it is different from contentment or joy – but that’s another day’s discussion.
    But what is freedom – is it education, materialism, security, love? Is it self-actualization? Once we have achieved all the lower levels on Maslow’s hierarchy – and then we can be self-actualized and then to transcendence? I don’t know. I am not that deep.

    And I also think that God created the globe… so where would I want to live if I could live anywhere… We know lots of people come to America for the opportunities, which would suggest that the calculous was made that staying put in another country did not offer those things that anyone coming to America defined as freedom… or at least the life they wanted to lead.
    So, would I want to live in Iraq? Or Honduras? or India? or Sweden? Or France? or Guinea-Bissau? Or Somalia? or China? I guess the answer is probably not… I’d sure like to visit, see how other people live, but I think I want to live in America.
    So then that makes me think what is the alternative….? I don’t want to live elsewhere and America is where I find myself – so back to Pr. Jimmie’s serenity prayer…. Because if this is where I find myself, don’t I need to figure out what freedom looks like and then create it? And boy oh boy, that is going to take hard work where I might fall down, but I would need to get back up, because what is the alternative?

    Capitalism is a huge driver in America… Education, too. Can those be limited to one race or culture? Are there absolute truths… or absolute good? Meaning, does everyone on the globe agree that education is a good thing? Certainly some cultures do not want to educate girls…. So, is education a human good? Are cultures that do not educate girls bad?

    I don’t know. It’s hard to create something out of nothing especially when it seems like forces are working against one, but what is the alternative? I imagine leading is very hard… getting people to jump on board with one’s ideas and make something happen. I have volunteered with a progressive candidate in New Orleans… she has made something from nothing but drive. And I have volunteered for her…. and she just keeps going, trying to drum up support… she has never run for office, she is a business woman who just got sick and tired and *someone* had to do something, so she put her wine glass down and turned off Netflix (I’m referencing an earlier post, I don’t think she really did that.) And she is running for a congressional seat. That takes courage and determination. Being a volunteer for her campaign I see that she is making it happen with very little support, but she keeps going. I know I don’t have that kind of drive…. But that is the kind of thing that makes a difference and she is not waiting for someone else to do it for her.

    With respect.