On the search for a Forescee.
Between the Lines
The power of truth rests in our desire to seek its source. Whether that truth is the reality of our current circumstances and desires to understand why things are the way they are, or the truth in the reality that there is a better way, a better life, a better reality that can be attained if we choose to see that reality as one we desire to attain.
Part of changing a reality is having the capacity to change it. Another part is having the desire to change it.
We live in an age of change. We know all things must change, but it is a different kind of change than what we’ve seen in recent years. People are no longer infatuated with the idea of change. They’re committed to the reality of change.
They are no longer hesitating on status quo rhetoric. They no longer allow friendships and forged loyalties to get in the way of real, concrete opportunities to make change happen. People no longer care what you’ve done in a different time. They want to know what you are going to do now, if it makes sense, and if you have the capacity to make it happen. That’s what change is about today.
So, who’s Forescee (pronounced 4-S-C)? I’ll get to that in a minute, but now back to change.
Change isn’t abstract. It’s concrete. Change isn’t happenstance. Change is by design. We change ourselves because we desire to improve the reality of our lives. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. We, as a rule, tend to practice insanity.
We have to opt not to be insane and instead create opportunities for the change to replace our insane lifestyles (realities).
So, what’s a Forescee? It’s something different than what most have been used to. It’s a different kind of truth, a different kind of capacity to bring about a different reality. A different reality for whom? I’ll get to that in a minute.
Let’s talk about why change is so difficult. It’s behind the politics of change that people become confused. People cling to what is familiar, whether it’s good for them or not. People also tend to fear anything new or fresh.
Not knowing is not a reason to avoid trying something new, but confusion reigns when political sentimentality gets in the way of seeing a reality for what it really it is. Sometimes new is necessary, particularly when things get desperate.
Desperation tends to make us see a lot clearer. It is also a time when we tend to examine our options and pursue opportunities we normally would not have considered. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but for poor people, it’s always desperate times. We’ve witnessed several instances around the nation where a new idea, a new face, a new concept was introduced in a time of political desperation.
Three of note were President Barack Obama, who when first introduced outside of Illinois, most people responded with: “He can’t win because nobody’s ever heard of him.” But America was ready for a new face.
The same with the first Black and first woman attorney general of California, Kamala Harris. Nobody knew who she was outside of San Francisco, but they liked her ideas about being smart on crime.
The Tea Party movement, as conceptually abstract and ideologically twisted as it is, came out of the American people’s frustration with the two-party system (and their objection to electing a Black president, though they will never admit it), so we’re likely to see a third party (not a totally new concept, but one that works at refocusing the two major parties and getting change to occur) in 2012.
In 2011, some people will say, “Never heard of her,” when introduced to this new face, new idea, new concept called Forescee. But it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t stop, listen and learn about an opportunity for change, and a new option for political representation. Forescee will open some eyes.
Life is about two things: chances (opportunities) and changes (options). To be successful in life, you need one or the other going for you all the time. One must be given opportunity, and make the most of it, or receive additional opportunities when merited. The more opportunities one has, the greater chance to change the direction (reality) of life. Or one must have options. The more options one has, the greater ability one has to change the direction (reality) of life.
If you have both opportunities and options, you most certainly will be successful. You will also find that opportunities and options tend to run parallel to one another. The more opportunities one has, the more options they have. The fewer opportunities one has, the fewer options they have. But when you have no opportunities and no options, you are in trouble. Why? Because that’s a no-win, dead-end situation.
There are no greater dead-end situations in the city of Los Angeles than in the 8th District. The residents of the Eighth just can’t win (and haven’t for a long time). It is the poorest (per capita income) area of the city. It has the city’s highest poverty rate, even while including the most affluent Black community in the nation (Baldwin Hills). It has the city’s highest unemployment rate. It has the city’s highest crime rate. It has the city’s slowest rate of economic development, and it is the most undercapitalized section of the city for business capital and new business start-ups. Most would call this a desperate part of the city, in a desperate, no-win, dead-end situation. But there is also an opportunity to win for the residents and business people. There is a change option in a time when change is the order of the day for do-nothing politics.
So, who is Forescee? Well, the full name is Forescee Hogan-Rowles. Go to www.forescee.com and find out how the residents of the 8th District have as an opportunity to change their community and an option to get to know over the next few months. If you don’t know her, get to know her. You will be glad somebody bothered to ask the question. Forescee is the change the 8th District is looking for. Eight years of desperation doesn’t have to continue.
Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum and author of the upcoming book, “Real Eyez Race, Reality and Politics in 21st Century Popular Culture.” He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com.
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