The Burden

  According to multiple reports and outlets over 3.3 million Americans have signed up for unemployment. Everytime you look at the DOW Jones chart a recession can be seen a mile away. Looking for a sense of leadership and voices of reason is out of the question because Congress is in recess (besides mayors and governors). Those that work for the MTA are dropping like flies (RIP William Scott Jr.) due to the virus known to us as COVID-19. As we all know the dark circumstances that have hit this nation are catastrophic. But, "We The People" that live at the bottom of the American caste system have been through tragedies for forever and a day. To simply put it we will be the one's to carry the burden.  

  The minute I heard that the most vulnerable group of people to be hit by COVID is the black community I wasn't surprised. Unfortunately, this is easy to believe at the phase that we are in. Not just because the black community has some of the highest rates of asthma, high blood pressure, and heart disease. But, due to the fact that most inner-city communities are food desert in lack of Whole Foods type of establishments. Laughter and getting high are the only two remedies the black community has at their disposal. Being a member of this community I am a voice out of a million that can tell tales and stories from angles unexplained. Raised as a young black man in the "hood" is something most people don't achieve successfully (especially in Edenwald Houses).      

  Living on this earth for twenty-five years, five months, and ten days all of the experiences that I've been through can be seen as life lessons to teach those to come. I take them all in- the good, the bad, and the ugly.          

  Writing this I am certain that the only force that truly can get us out of this devastation is The Most High God. Following the philosophy of seeking counsel from your local bishop or deacon in times of need and recommending a phone call to a sister or brother in Christ will be necessary. For the best couple of days Psalms 91 has been my favorite passage to read (on a daily basis). A plague that came from one small area in China caused one of the only surviving superpower's to crawl on her knees crying for help.    

  Capitalism as a system and as a structure will never be destroyed no matter how much resisting some of our citizens do. Essential workers such as FedEx and UPS workers still have to work under harsh conditions and have to brace themselves against the spread of the COVID virus. Re up's on stocks has always been more valuable than the state of humanity. Settling for this truth is hard, but it's better to admit it.      

  Everybody is saying that they wish things can go back to normal. Well, if you were to ask me normal wasn't working. Situations like these helps us see clearly the work that we have to complete (internally and externally). People you like to call friends showed their true colors and feelings about you. Those that were with us yesterday aren't with us today. It's as if the world as we once knew it paused and a resume button was never pressed. I personally won't pat society on the back for relief, but I will just sit back and leave the scene so I could see the plot that's at hand. [4/11/2020]