Vexation ©

What is the life of man! Is it not to shift from side to side? From sorrow to sorrow? To button up one cause of vexation only to unbutton another?  

Laurence Sterne

A Google search of the word Vexation gives you the following definition:

the state of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried.

I think that it’s safe to say that any rational thinking individual has found himself or herself in this state more often than not lately. Vexed by the ever increasing attacks on people’s civil liberties. Vexed by the disconnect between elected representatives and their constituents. Vexed by male lawmakers weighing in on a WOMAN’s right to choose.  Vexed by the US interest in the business of countries half a world away while it’s own infrastructure is in decay.Vexed by the outright disrespect currently being shown to the Office of the President of the United States (If any of the previous 43 presidents had suffered the sort of indignities being tolerated by the current administration the perpetrators would have been labeled as traitors and dealt with accordingly).Vexed by the seemingly blatant disregard for a people’s inalienable rights promised to them by the US Constitution. 

For the uninitiated:

inalienable

adjective

1. The definition of inalienable is: unable to be taken away or to be given to another.

Ex. The right to life and liberty are examples of rights that are described as inalienable.

Now just as taxation without representation was championed by the colonists that founded this great nation of ours to prevent unfair governing practices and demand  impartial treatment from those in positions of authority across “the pond”, we as a new generation of pioneers and trailblazers must demand clarity surrounding the things that have an impact (albeit directly or indirectly) on our quality of life. Now let me be clear, vexation without clarification  is about as bad if not worse than taxation without representation. For you see vexation without clarification leaves room for misinterpretation and assumptions to cause breakdowns in communication. It also allows for loopholes to be created that allows the haves to persecute and hinder the growth potential of the have nots causing a distrust of authority which in essence sows the seed of disenfranchisement. 

Need some examples? 

Sure thing….

Baltimore, MD - The disenfranchised made their anger with and distrust of authority perfectly clear. They are still picking up the pieces. Don’t be deceived. Baltimore’s struggles started way before the Freddie Gray incident. That incident just simply provided the spark to light the fuse on an already combustible environment.

Ferguson, MO - Blatant racial disparities that have caused tension between the residents of this city  reached a fever pitch with the murder of an unarmed teenager by the name of Michael Brown (May he rest in peace). Now sadly enough, the residents of Ferguson were more outraged than surprised. Which in and of itself is a testimony of just how desensitized the rest of the American Populace has become as it relates to race relations in this country. The ability of a law enforcement agency to operate in a manner that deprives residents of this city of their inalienable rights and even in some cases their lives with total and absolute impunity speaks volumes about just how dire our nation’s straits have become.

Detroit, MI - Government misconduct drove the city into bankruptcy leaving the poor and disenfranchised to pay for the sins of those in authority. If the powers that be had been more concerned with keeping jobs in the city and maintaining their status of an Automotive industry juggernaut instead of lining their pockets for their own personal gain, the city’s current dilemma could have easily been avoided. I mean come on...How do you not try to save a city that gave you Joe Louis, Motown and the Mustang.

Chicago, IL - Easily on it’s way to becoming the murder capital of  the country with no end to the killing in sight. Chicago is an example of what happens to a city when the disenfranchised’s hopes are extinguished (as is the case with the other aforementioned cities). While other sectors of the city appear to be flourishing, there is still a segment of the city’s residents that have  become collateral damage of the continuing struggle that rages between the haves using up every available (and sometimes unavailable) resource at their disposal while the have nots just try to hold on to what they have. If Chicago city officials aren’t careful, they may be the next city to witness an anguished outcry as recently witnessed in the cities of Baltimore and Ferguson.

But I digress….

Now in order to keep down confusion and avoid unnecessarily vexing others, I’m careful with the words i use  and for what I believe are three very important reasons:

• Words once spoken can never be taken back
• Words have the power to alter destinies 
• Oxygen is precious and should not be wasted

Thomas Jefferson (One of the founding fathers of this great nation of ours) put it best : The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. In order for us as a country to get to a place where resources are properly distributed amongst the masses - Notice I didn’t say equally distributed, that will never happen in my lifetime. Not being cynical, just realistic. For those of you still waiting on that 40 acres and a mule, i suggest you move on from that school of thought. Other cultures that now call America home  have circled the wagons and are working collectively to control their own destinies by becoming economically responsible and influential by letting their resources do the talking for them. These cultures are quickly  making strides and progress for their people by supporting one another and showing a unified front when an assault on their culture arises whereas sadly certain cultures and races (one in particular) haven’t made nearly as much progress in almost quadruple the time.

Which brings me to a particular topic that has vexed me ever since I became old enough to read. In case you’re wondering…. that is a very long time...

Race.

The debate on the status of race relations in this country has me totally exhausted.  Every time i turn on a television set, pick up a newspaper, flip through a magazine , or log on to a social media site i see indicators of just how fragile the state of race relations is in this country truly is. I don't have to list them. You see them just like i do.

Well i’m exhausted.

People say we're regressing back to a time of segregation and racial divide.  I  say the division never was properly addressed in the first place. In order to regress back to a former state, the environment in question has to have disappeared or improved. Now while there have been great strides made in equal opportunity for those of different races, creeds, colors and orientation….. as long as there are individuals harbouring animosity towards  people's differences and individual’s God given right to live life as the Most High has seen fit to bless them with and the US Constitution has guaranteed them,  we as a society will never move past the plateau of ignorance that currently restricts us from moving away from a painful bookmark in the annals of this nation’s history.

Now I know what some of you are going to say, here we go again. Someone spouting off an opinion about discrimination against blacks and white privilege....as if we don't have enough folks out there spewing their opinions all over the place.

I couldn't agree with you more.

But i hate to break it you.... racial discrimination is real and so is the idea of white privilege. I mean a dialogue is necessary. Now i don't WANT to have it. As a matter of fact, i just want everyone to go to their corners and chill for second. My ideal state of existence would be one where people's skin color, sexual orientation, address and zip code or financial status didn't dictate how they were treated. My idea of a Utopian society is one where people are not automatically labeled as something just because of  their appearance or "presentation". Where people are allowed to be themselves free of society's attempts to kill their individualism and their spirit. And be not deceived... racism and classism strike at the very heart of individualism.

For the uninitiated:

Racism 

the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

Classism

prejudice against or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class

Now,  I am not an expert on race relations in this country. I do however pride myself in having an open mind and an unbiased perspective due to having an understanding of the fact that the two aforementioned items (discrimination and elitist principlism) tend to be at the forefront every decision made (or not made in this country).

Now, as for me…. i personally am sick of ALL of it. The endless discussions pertaining to racial divide, the blatant disrespect of various segments of this society's culture and history, the outright disrespect currently being shown to the Office of the President of the United States because the current occupant just happens to not look like the previous forty-three, the killing of unarmed citizens by poorly trained law enforcement officials (we'll just roll with that for now.... but trust me.... I'm not delusional ), the perpetuation of incendiary rhetoric by our "media outlets" to keep our fears and people's hatred front and center  as well as the constant trolling of the ignorant and uneducated on social media. The droves of people willing to march for numerous of city blocks for “justice” but unwilling to extend a hand in friendship to the cat living next door. The hypocrisy of our “leaders” who speak loud and carry a big stick...well….. at least until they start making their sponsors uncomfortable.

I'm sick of all of it. I'm tired of discussing it. When does this ride stop. 'Cause I'm ready to get off. The unfortunate thing is that society won’t let me get off. As bad as I would like to. You see I’m born with a rep. As nice a person and upstanding citizen as I attempt to be, I will always be immediately characterized until I open my mouth (If I get the chance).... And even then there is no guarantee that my word will alleviate your worst fears. 

I think the thing that vexes me the most is the fact that all of the aforementioned things are regularly entertained by or tolerated by people. Heaven forbid  if you decide for yourself that you no longer wish to tolerate or entertain people’s foolishness. Then you are somehow labeled as mentally disturbed,  antisocial, socially awkward or worse. Being an individual thinker makes you a target of those that have chose to surrender their individuality and in some cases their logic. A wise person told me long ago that common sense is not really that common. I didn’t know exactly what they meant when they first said that to me. Now I absolutely understand the message they were trying to convey. One or two minutes of scrolling through your social media news feed or 15 minutes of watching your national as well as your local news and you will understand as well. It’s absolutely laughable what passes for the “right” thing these days:

• Duct taping a dog’s muzzle shut 
• Using glue as lubricant for sex (No….. I didn’t make that up)
• Politicians saying that they wish they had said they were transgender in high school so they could have showered with girls (Kind of wish I had made that up...but alas i did not *sigh*).
• Calling a transgender woman heroic (Others have done it way before they did with no fanfare to speak of)
• A church allowing their minister to purchase a 65 million Jet (Jesus rode a donkey, sir… a borrowed one I might add)
• The Charlie Challenge (Jokes on all of you that tried that ish. It was a marketing ploy for an upcoming movie).
• The “Hold a Coke with your Boobs” challenge (No explanation needed)

And the list goes on and on…. and on…..unfortunately.

Sometimes I just want to ask people….. so you thought that was the right thing to do, huh. I would actually wait for a response. I mean seriously, the stuff that passes for socially acceptable behavior worries the ish out of me. I wouldn’t even be able to handle non socially unacceptable behavior. Might even make me holla for my homies Smith and Wesson to give them 44 reasons to get some act right. Today’s society is full of disrespectful, rude, self-centered, narcissistic, and outright evil people. I mean just look at the headlines. Now granted, the media basically sensationalizes everything for ratings and website hits, but still some of the crap that people do these days defies sense and sensibility. Don’t believe me? How about a parent disciplining their child getting national attention. A teacher trying to maintain order in his class by disciplining an unruly child gets him a child cruelty charge (Man….where was this ish when I was in grade school), a man choosing to become a woman gets more attention than a man practically bringing electricity to over 600 million people in a third world country.

Need I go on?

Didn’t think so….

It is a sad, sad commentary on the state of rational thinking in this country….Hell I would even venture say across the globe. It’s no wonder there are nations around the globe that have an unspoken hatred for (However, some actually have been quite vocal as of late) towards our nation. Now, don’t color me as unpatriotic or my rhetoric as treasonous. I just believe in not ignoring the obvious. Call me the Elephant Whisperer. For the record……. I think that mofo is more Fuchsia than pink.

I’ll let that one set in for a sec….

So yes! A brother is vexed to say the least. However, just because one is vexed doesn’t mean that they can allow their vexation to turn into cynicism or skepticism. Now granted one has to be realistic when looking at the events of today in order to correctly understand the actual state of things in their environment. Nevertheless, this doesn’t have to cause one’s conscience to become seared. The minute we allow ourselves to become numb to what’s going on around us, is the minute when society’s moral compass becomes practically ineffective. I.e., it becomes ok to view things as normal that were once considered taboo. It soon becomes acceptable to take what you have no right to simply because you want it having not put in any sweat equity. Soon the definition of love becomes conditional upon your cooperation with things that fly in the face of what it means to truly love someone. Soon one’s words and actions regularly don’t align and this is deemed acceptable. Soon our children’s disrespectful behavior towards their elders is overlooked by their “parents” and as deemed ok or “cute”…..until they end up at the end of drawn weapon of an individual that has no regard for their life or their future. 

It’s high time that people of all races, creed, color or sexual orientation become more responsible inhabitants of this planet. Whether we all believe it or wish to accept it we are all connected. This universe we live in is vast and apparently infinite. We tend to occasionally act as if we are “it” in the universe. We reside on a pebble (Planet Earth) in a pond (The Milky Way)….surrounded by a lake that outflows into an ocean. Let that sink in for a minute. Now put that in perspective. The closest planet to us that even closely resembles ours is said to be 13 light years away (That’s far away in case you were wondering). So...no. I mean big up to Richard Branson and everyone trying to build space shuttles and what not but ummmmmm….. it’s not like another “Earth” is up the block. That being said, we as a species (just in case it’s lost on some of you that read this ….we are all human beings) need to do a better job of getting along on this little blue marble we’ve been blessed to inhabit. I mean after all...it is LITERALLY all that we have. Now granted,  we as a species have been extremely irresponsible with old Mother Earth. I mean down right disrespectful. I don’t have to call the roll. We know how we’ve mistreated and continue to mistreat her. We just need to do better. All of us...myself included. Trust …. i know my carbon footprint is ridiculous. A brotha is working on it though. And that in essence ladies and gentlemen is the key. We all have to do our part to make this world we live in better for us having been a resident of it. Every environment that you enter should be better  for you having been there both literally and figuratively. See trash on the ground? Put it in the trash can (These days it’s usually laying next to the trash can anyway...smh), Unplug the charger, turn off unused lights, carpool, recycle or perform a random act of kindness every single day (What you consider insignificant may just make someone’s day). The ways in which an individual can make this planet a better place for themselves and those around them is virtually endless. I promise you making the world a better place is not as difficult as one may think. It’s just a matter of everyone simply doing “their” part. Don’t you ever - even for one second- think that your contribution towards making this world we live in better for all is meaningless. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

One of the most lauded and influential Football Coaches of all time said it best:

Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work - the late great Vince Lombardi

The fortunate thing about vexation is that it usually precedes change. We as humans tend not to make an effort to change something that we don't like until it gets on out nerves. So embrace the anxiety. Use it to make the positive change you need to make in your life. Anxiety and nerves are only counterproductive when the energy is not put to use. SO! Is where you are in life making you uncomfortable? That mate, job, situation, condition tap dancing on your last nerve like Gregory Hines? 

Good.

Vexation often leads to audacity.

So I leave you with this question....

How bold are you?