Accountability

by Kenyon Campbell

The reason I started with accountability is because of what the United States are going through right now. I am from Chicago where politics have been messy for a long time. A city where gangsterism ruled for a long time. And even though the politicians were sometimes crooked and were choosing sides, it was needed. And in Illinois they made sure you knew and understood politics, government and the judicial system. You literally could not graduate from 8th grade to high school, or get your GED without taking a 100 question constitution test & passing it by getting 50 questions right out of 100.

I was born in 1971 and black street gangs were running the city. We were fresh out the Al Capone era and coming from where we as black people have come from, we had the nerve to continue the hate towards each other. And I contributed.

Now in the process of all of this, I was looking, listening, and learning the ways of the world. The differences between democracy & communism is the power of a vote but also the power of the electoral college. I m not a racist but I hate those that hate in any form. I am a people's person by nature. I was in a gang called the Gangster Disciples who were about growth and development. And it was mandatory we voted. Which brings me to accountability, standing up being accountable for, Each one teach one, being responsible even when you didn't think you had to. Now in the mix of all this I've witnessed a lot of people my age, some older, they for some reason felt negative towards politicians & both political parties. They felt like if it didn't effect them personally they could care less. Not knowing not only did it effect them it effected their families, their friends, etc. It was a selfish outlook. Also I feel like people to be governed to a certain degree, without it there would be total chaos.

Now I understand not everyone will agree on everything. But that's when you find the person or party that you agree the most with & you vote for them. Now I won't go into my political views but with accountability we could stop or limit what's going on today.

I come in peace & leave in it. Thank you.

Who Are You Anyway?

by Kenyon Campbell

Who are you, really? When you consider who we believe we are, it affects every aspect of our life, how we feel about ourselves, how we treat others, who we gravitate towards as friends, how we use our time, what kind of goals we reach for and what kind of choices we make. The first step in discovering who you are is to take stock of who you think you are and what you believe about yourself. Many just live with limited beliefs about who we are and who we can become. We must examine these beliefs or ideas about self in order to move beyond them. It is really easy as 123, all you have to do is “Do It” like Nike and be able to live with the results. Because life is gonna do what it do with or without you but you can apply yourself and move with it.

Most of us struggle to be ourselves..but rarely do we understand what that really means. We were all born into this world with unique personalities, unique qualities and traits that make me- me, and you-you. We were also born with a free self, a core of awareness and a creative will whose job it is to help us fulfill our true nature to become truly confident, loving, caring, and wise. In the midst of trials and tribulations your core self has never been and never will be absent and cannot be taken away, regardless of what you have done or what has been done to you. But it can be totally forgotten. One could identify with a belief like the “I’m never gonna make it” sub-personality or the “I know it all” sub-personality or the “Nothing is ever gonna change” sub-personality. Some of these may be both facts as well as acts, but some of us use these as an excuse for justifying certain feelings while not making the effort to change and move on as best as you can. Like being angry; which sometimes we have reasons to. But getting lost in the emotion of anger all the time, that prevents you from being open to other feelings. You basically lock yourself in, becoming a prisoner of your own anger. In order to grow into our full human potential, we need to become aware of the roles, emotions and beliefs with which we identify. Bottom line, find out who you are, know who you are, and own it. It’s easier than we think. Life is shorter than we think, so try and enjoy the journey along the way.

Peace!