Honoring Service

The mantra of law enforcement is to protect and serve. Patrolling our streets, responding to emergencies and keeping us safe from the dangers of society is the oath taken by these service professionals. . A uniform, a badge, a fire arm and a title are symbols of control that are given to posers. The delusion that justice and equality can be generated from a tradition of oppression is ridiculous. What about the institutional dangers of poverty, unemployment, disability and illness? Who will protect us from those hazards? If you answered welfare agencies then I regret to inform you that such an impression is deceptive. County Social Service agencies have become a stadium for miserable, self-indulgent, skeptics that seek to antagonize and frustrate its patrons rather than honoring their oath to serve them. Here is a first person account of how a system intended to be a haven for those in crisis evolved into a sterile machine fixated on budgetary concerns. Once upon a time in the year of 2011 I accepted a full time position as a Service Advocate with a non- profit organization. A promise was made to devote my abilities and experience to empowering others through learning. I made this pledge while staring at my surgical scar tissue the year before. Drainage tubes dangling beneath me were like balloons filling up with truth serum. This decision was a vital part of my recovery. I flourished in my role as Service Manager for this then respected agency for change. Connecting to the students and families that received tutoring, turkeys, truth and time reinforced that my survival had a purpose. Life has a way of bringing forth obstacles that can challenge faith, reason and security. Most often we find that money is the common current that surges through these challenges. I will not slander an organization whose once in-tact mission sustained its operations. My observations and reaction to its dismantling will not be printed. The choice I made to remain loyal to my professional commitment despite not being financially compensated could be viewed as reckless even self -destructive. I on the other hand found no value in abandoning a team, mission, schools, and the families I was contracted to support. The difference between ordinary and remarkable is tenacity. The transition I made from being a service provider to an agency client was overwhelming. Appealing denial letters, rejection notices; institution resistance, and service interruptions all while maintaining sanity demands dedication. The American Economy is brittle. Frail is the job market and non-profit organizations are the most delicate of all. Integrity is a costly virtue in a scrupulous world. Let the saints and the sinners read the bottom line self-preservation is paramount, and the provisions for your family are non-negotiable. Each of us have that in common, as such we are a global community. Amnesia is the collective daze where descendants of brilliance wander the earth believing the myth of inferiority. When society accepts the suffocation of poverty, bigotry and the criminalization of an entire group’s identity humanity has been poisoned. What remains at the core of information is to instill knowledge. This quest for truth is meant to empower the learner. Asking for a small portion of consideration is like feeding a starving man an orange peel. What minimal nutrition value that is consumed will not satisfy his gaping hunger. A single drop of rain in the midst of famine may seem like salvation but, unless it becomes a rain shower the drought will continue. The hidden gems of African Civilization are the unearthed archives of innovation, intellect and ingenuity. These scrolls must be given the same legitimacy as plagiarized European text known as the classics. Enhancing our Nation’s collective wisdom with buried truths that deny access to African identity does not render all Western Education as invalid. It could only expand the perspective in order to include all the wonderful, cultural, spiritual, and academic variations that are human. That is honoring your purpose. That is serving a planet that continues to withstand the havoc waged on its surface and beyond.