Give a damn.
-- Alice Walker

Give a damn.

Give a damn about children who are poorly educated for they miss out on life-long affirming choices granted only to those who’ve had access to innovative instructional programs, bright and inspiring teachers, and a myriad of social and cultural opportunities. Give a damn about people who cannot read, who cannot decode words because their phonological and whole language skills were not developed, and who, thus, have difficulty getting and maintaining gainful employment, adequate healthcare, and respect from society. Give a damn that the least educated have higher rates of poverty, poorer health and social well-being, and lower economic stability. Give a damn that you will have to care for them.

Give a damn that each day a child is abused physically, emotionally, sexually, and/or through neglect and that they are powerless to break from of their abuse. Give a damn that tons of women and men are abused and abandoned, that each day they suffer physical and emotional horrors in their homes, and many don’t have the wherewithal to remove themselves from their conditions. Give a damn that HIV and AIDS is growing at phenomenal rates in many communities the world over; in the US alone, the CDC estimates that each year, approximately 40,000 people become infected with HIV, this number not reflecting the countless others who have no idea they are infected. Give a damn that ministers don’t preach about abuse, sex, or the prevention strategies what we need to hear about, frightened and threatened by such taboo subjects, opting instead to contain their surface and packaged messages to prosperity gospels and bringing in the biggest financial offerings.

Give a damn about dilapidated communities full of clap-board houses in need of repair. Give a damn that mortgage interest rates are rising again, leaving those of us who didn’t get a house during the nation’s economic boom and subsequent interest rate lowering further away from our dream of homeownership. Give a damn that some of us who got a lower interest rate during that time were serviced by predatory lenders and are now in jeopardy of losing our homes.

Give a damn that African Americans don’t spend their hard earned money with Black merchants. Give a damn that Black merchants don’t sell all the items that a family may need.

Give a damn that the rhetoric over illegal immigration sounds very much like that used against African Americans prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Give a damn that bashing anyone who isn’t American-born is a free-for-all. Give a damn that America calling itself a melting pot or salad bowl is the biggest lie ever told.

Give a damn that the ozone layer is real and depleting and that the air quality keeps you from enjoying God’s earth. Give a damn that 7 astronauts are up in space, waiting for one of 5 days to return to earth. Give a damn that many of us have no idea why they were up there in the first place. Give a damn that it was not to plug the ozone layer.

Just give a damn.

Sadiqqa © 2007