The paradox involving these persons with their music disturbing us always is that they are very very ignorant and very very poor.
Their music loud is an attempt to suggest to us and to themselves, that they know something about something – about music; and that they have something; money enough with which to overwhelm us.
But if they had knowledge they'd know that there was far more to music - far more music than what they seem determine to deafen themselves and us with.
Had they the wealth, the economic might they wish to suggest they have, they'd be far more subtle about it, probably out upon a yacht somewhere or traveling the world.
Do we hear even a squeak from who owns Kelly’s or Starbucks or Solomon’s or Pritchard?
So quiet are these persons we often don’t even know that oftentimes a number of these successful, big businesses in our midst, have the very same owner. Norman Solomon at one point owned eighteen stores.
Haven’t we sense enough to make and to operate such entities as Solomon’s, as these malls we can only work in and shop in, happy to do so? Are we instead so foolish that all we can make is a big noise, a big nuisance of ourselves?
The fools among us, without end disturbing the peace, have little sense and little else.
As I am close to these persons in very many ways, and love them dearly, how very badly I wish our circumstances were otherwise.
Though we haven’t a national library. Though many educated among us would suggest that outside of C.O.B., we haven’t a good library; to my thinking, all libraries are good and we have several dozen in New Providence and scattered among our family of islands.
There are in any one of these libraries, thousands of books waiting to be read, capable of transforming lives, capable of providing anyone with initiative, an education: to be self-educated, even as Malcolm X was, reading the dictionary from cover to cover while in prison.
James Baldwin transformed himself, his country and his century. He read all the books in a library, near enough to walk to from where he lived in Harlem.
Mandela’s 27 years in prison, were not spent in prison, they were instead spent in books.
Frederick Douglas, born into slavery in 1818, was by law not allowed to learn to read but he did learn to read and he wrote books. His was a mighty voice and his a mighty act against the institution of slavery.
We with our freedom, too many take for granted, much of it bought with blood of so many and bequeathed to us, what are we doing in response? How are we ourselves laboring to add to these freedoms and to add to the light in our dark world?
These irresponsible noises, this disrespect for neighbor and for society, indicate a lack of civility, a criminal disconnectedness to those who fought and died for what we have been handed upon a platter and therefore squander.
There is everywhere and always a lack of reverence in our land. We need all available hands, still working on the building, building the temples of our liberation and freedoms.
Obediah Michael Smith.
July 16, 2007
2:15 a.m.
