my life changed when i realized that it is always we above I. it's has to be for any semblance of living a life, and not merely drawing breath as a means of survival.
if we take the measure of the truly great heroes of our society, and any other, we see a commonality among them.
they put the needs, not the wants, of the we that surrounded them above the needs and wants of the I that was them.
i use was because in order to fully grasp the concept, the individual that they are ceased to exist, merged completely into the we.
the greatness of malcolm x. he took on the surname of x in an attempt to relieve himself of the slave name imposed upon his forefathers by their owners. however, as his life progress, i believe the x took on a unintended meaning. the x meant that he could have been anyone of us. his struggle became our's. ours became his. intertwined until all lines we're blurred to the point that we questioned the existence of the line in the first place.
as we change from I to we, everything about us changes. our mind changes, and in turn, our mouths. vocabulary is transformed, and as vocabulary is the pre-cursor to action, our actions and behaviors follow suit.
our ego is sacrificed for we realize that there is no one without two. no individuality without a community.
3 comments:
When did you realize it was we above I?? I ask because I always assumed that was something injected in your DNA...Big Herb's legacy.
This is funny you publish this now because as you know, I just finished reading 'The Virtue of Selfishness' which is real condescending of this altruistic attitude.
That being said, how does this attitude fit in with your altered focus of not trying to change the entire world, but just changing it for your loved one??
ha. big herb.
my father was the paragon of we above i. he in some ways dedicated his life to the lives of others. or sacrificed it for. I'm not sure the length of time he was here with us was not adversely effected by his adherence to this belief.
I chose the word adhere because I feel that the word has the connotation of duty. dedication to actions that may be out of concert with ones desires. innate or acquired.
(my bad. I published the post in hopes of ensuring I saved it.
I didn't see a save button.
a nigga is high.
I'm doing this on my phone.
the three ingredients that lead to a non-existent post.)
it could have been a complicit actor. in my father's death. this potential duty. I didn't question its validity. I didn't question my whether my father saw it as a duty or a belief. I questioned whether it was my duty.
my belief.
if its validity wasn't embedded in the dot below the question mark (in question), then it's necessity was. if the weight wasn't mine, I wasn't toting it. if the freight wasn't mine I wasn't paying it. for years I didn't think I had a choice.
so I questioned. at times living a life I above we. fuck the we, its just me, nigga. it ain't feel like me. like driving a 3 series. ain't me. I am my father's son. I am my own man. it's belief and duty, as it was his. for me, its not altruistic. if was my belief and duty to fuck off on hoes, I'd probably be on and in a hoe right now as I write with my thumbs. I'm made to give I up for we. so I am.
the we I have decided to it up for has changed in scope.
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