Tis The Season 2012

"Tis The Season..."

Greetings folks and welcome to another edition of “The Diplomatic Report.” By now, we should all be in the holiday spirit spreading joy to all we meet. If you aren’t in the holiday spirit and are instead spreading hate with your cantankerous attitude like the Grinch, know that Black Santa is watching you; he’s taking notes and will deal with you accordingly. So, straighten up or suffer the consequences. You’ve officially been warned!

I, like many others, love this time of year. I love the inordinate number of days off, the large amounts of comfort food and the presents. I also love the fact that, if at no other time of the year, people are generally nicer than they normally would be. If it takes festive lights, a Douglas fir and a jolly fat man in a red suit to get you to be nice, then I’ll take it. Whatever floats your boat or finds your lost remote.

Most of us associate this time year as being joyful, promising and reflective, as we should. The winter holidays are an opportunity for us to gather with family and friends, give gifts, show our gratitude for nearly a year of God’s favor, and reflect on all the things that make life worth living. However, this isn’t true for everyone. For every person who has their choice of houses to visit, there’s someone who doesn’t have any. For everyone who has a tree full of presents, there’s someone who won’t get any. It’s easy to look at our lives and our prosperity and assume that most, if not all, people enjoy the same comforts as us. Perception is reality right? Well unfortunately, the reality is that there are a lot of men, women, and children who celebrate the holidays alone, with no gifts, no food, and no bells to jingle.

For some, the holidays are a reminder of grief, suffering, and heartache. Imagine having broken up with your long-term partner and having to spend the holidays alone for the first time in forever. Imagine having lost a loved-one around the holidays, this time last year, or a previous year. Imagine being homeless, depressed, hungry and unable to share in the joy. Imagine having lost your young child in a horrific act of violence mere days before Christmas, which is the grim reality of the families in Newton, Connecticut.

No parent should ever have to bury their child and for most who do, it’s typically due to illness or reckless behavior of the offspring (drug/alcohol abuse, gang affiliation). However, no matter the cause, it doesn’t make it easy. I watched my grandmother bury 3 of her children and as she did, a little piece of her died every time until her own death. The deaths of those 26 individuals in Newtown, Connecticut should serve as a reminder that while we’re trimming the tree, enjoying hot chocolate and being merry, this isn’t the case for everyone. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the 26 victims.

While I know the hearts of most Americans are still wrenching from the pain of this tragic incident, we still have to ask the questions, “Why?” “How?” and “What do we need to do to prevent this from happening again?” Those who choose to ignore this as an outlier or refuse to speak on it so as to “not politicize” the tragedy are personally contributing to the problem and politicizing it. Not speaking can be just as loud a form of speech as a racial epithet shouted during a crowded ethnic gathering. If not now then when? If not this incident then which one? If the deaths of 20 young children can’t spark us to move, to speak, and to do something then what will?

Tis the season not just to drink and be merry, but to make a difference. I’m a firm believer in the right to bear arms; however, as with all constitutional rights, there are restrictions. The exercise of my right to freedom of the press is great but limited in the sense that while I’m free to write and publish what I want, I can’t publish lies about someone. The exercise of my freedom of religion is great but limited in the sense that while I’m free to worship who I want, how I want, and when I want, I can’t do so in a fashion that endangers the lives of others. Our rights have restrictions and freedom isn’t free. There are boundaries and they exist for good reasons. While I believe that I, along with most Americans in this country, should be able to own weapons, I also believe that there should be restrictions on who can own them and what type of weapons we may be able to own.

I know you’re thinking, “Why this subject? Why now?” and truth be told I thought the same thing, but if not now then when. My true goal is to get you to think about your contacts, friends, and family who, for one reason or another, may have a rough holiday season. Maybe they lost their job, a loved one, are depressed, or are angry the Lakers are losing like it’s what they get paid to do. Whatever their issue may be, take the time to call, text, email, or stop by and say “hey” because you never know just how big of an impact you may be making. And don’t let this holiday spirit stop in your circle but let it extend to Aurora, Colorado, Newton, Connecticut, Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C. and all over the world. Tis the season.

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their holidays and gets an opportunity to spend some quality time with friends and family. Merry ChristmasHannuKwanzaa! Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!

Don't Believe The Hype!

“Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

-Benjamin Franklin

Greetings folks and Happy Holidays! I hope you’re in the holiday spirit because I am. I haven’t purchased a tree or gifts yet but I still feel the spirit like a Baptist preacher. Truth be told, I’ve been working too much to make the time. However, rather than complain about not having the time to trim the tree, buy expensive gifts and get into fights with strangers over the last remote control car, I’ve just been thankful for the opportunity and ability to work. Today’s topic is about predictions. I’ve always believed that predictions are like farts, we all make them, however some stink more than others.

People make predictions about everything from the fate of your favorite sports team to elections. Oddly enough, most times people are wrong. I’ve been reading a book “The Signal and The Noise: Why Most Predictions Fail” by Nate Silver which has been really enlightening. Silver is the creator of the website FiveThirtyEight and is notable for his statistical prowess, especially when it comes to elections. In his book he talks about why so many experts get their predictions wrong. In an attempt not to over-simplify the answer or trivialize his brilliant work, I’ll just give one of the many reasons he covers as to why. Nate states that one of the reasons why so many predictions are wrong is due to our inability to take ALL of the facts, only the FACTS, make an OBJECTIVE assessment and then make a decision based on history, indicators and present circumstances.

Take for example the 2008 Presidential election. On the show “The McLaughlin Group” only 1 out of 5 expert panelists accurately predicted that Barack Obama would win the election. Alone this isn’t that big of a deal, even experts get it wrong sometimes. However, at the time of their predictions, precisely two weeks before the election, Barack Obama was leading in every major national poll, every key swing state, including two the Democratic Party hadn’t won in the prior election. It appears as if the panelists took the FACTS, IGNORED the indicators and made a SUBJECTIVE decision. Looking at the totality of the predictions of the panelists over a series of nearly 1,000 predictions, they were found to be just as likely to be wrong as they were right. They’re about as accurate as a coin flip.

Why do we make so many predictions and why are so many of them wrong? I believe the answer to that in part is because we’re eager to be first; first to the moon, first to the finish line, first to the buffet line. Whatever it is, wherever it is, we, especially Americans, want to be first. Furthermore, we’re biased. Every last person on this planet from the Pope to the pauper is biased. We’re all born with certain inherent ideas, which are cultivated through childhood through adulthood and refined by our experiences. No two persons’ experiences are the same, not even twins who share the same bedroom, classes and interests. Therefore, we are fundamentally different people who see things differently. In isolation there is nothing wrong with that. The world thrives on these differences. I enjoy various opinions from different people when I’m faced with a difficult decision. If I only solicited advice and information from my friends who have similar thoughts and beliefs, I would be getting the same opinion as mine and would be likely ignoring key facts. I’d much rather NOT be wrong then to be right. If that means admitting that my initial assessment was incomplete and that my conclusion was wrong, in an effort to get it right, I don’t care.

So many people are predicting when the world is going to end. I think some people are actually beginning to get scared. Can you blame them? The Mayans have a history of being correct and if we look around at all the death, murder and mayhem, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that the end is just around the corner. But what if they’re wrong? What if we’re all panicked for no reason? What if we’re missing out on valuable time we could be spending with family, friends and trying to save the world as opposed to building our fall-out bunker?

Had President Obama listened to all of the pundits, he’d still be just a senator from Illinois, if that. Had Michael Jordan listened to his coaches, he would have been a baseball player or just another kid in North Carolina. If, Abraham Lincoln had listened to his advisors this country may still be divided. The moral of the story is that no one knows when it’s all going to be said and done. No one. Rather than listen to the faulty predictions of others, I’d much rather “run on and see what the end is going to be.” I’ve never been an overly trusting person and I’m not going to start now. What I will do is continue to live my life the way I believe God wants me to and hope and believe that they’re wrong. If they’re right, chalk one up for them. I’ll hi-five them in the afterlife. Until then you should do like Public Enemy and “Don’t Believe The Hype!” Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!

Never Would Have Made It

Never would have made it without you.”

-Marvin Sapp “Never Would Have Made It”

Greetings folks and Happy Holidays! I hope by this time all of you are in the holiday spirit and if you aren’t, you better get there soon or Black Santa is going to deliver a beat down of epic proportions. Just so you know, Black Santa, as opposed to Jolly Ole Saint Nick, is the enforcer. And no, he’s not the enforcer because he’s Black. He’s the enforcer because he’s 6’-3”, 250 pounds and has a serious mean streak. Most of you have probably never seen or heard of him and you should thank Sweet Baby Jesus that you haven’t because he’s a bad mother…shut your mouth. But I digress.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter (@HUSLDiplomat) you may have heard about the good news I’ve been sharing- that I’m drug free, not pregnant and happy. You also may have seen me proclaim the fact that I received a job offer that I accepted yesterday. If we talk regularly or you follow the blog then you know that the last few months have been trying, to say the least. After leaving my last job the next one wasn’t immediately waiting for me, something I wasn’t accustomed to. I’m the guy who always has a plan and has 10 more just in case the first doesn’t work out. I’m the guy who always accounted for the “what if’s”. However, I failed to account for “what if there’s no job waiting when the current one ends.”

Given the current economy, my line of work and my previous locale, finding work that paid me what I needed wasn’t easy. Initially, it was no big deal; you win some you lose some. But as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, it became disheartening. I began to feel demoralized and unwanted. I’ve really never been short of confidence but, here lately, I was panhandling for some. I was used to success. I was accustomed to things going my way, not because I was entitled to it but because I work pretty damn hard for everything that I get. To suddenly be devoid of the success that you’ve so regularly enjoyed as a result of years of hard work is like snatching a baby’s blanket away.

During my unemployment/job search process, it was hard to deal with people; it was hard to deal with myself. My pride and arrogance made it difficult to look at myself in the mirror. I kept telling myself, “if you’re so great why can’t you find work? Why is it taking so long? Why doesn’t anyone else recognize my greatness?” I had no answers to these piercing questions and things got worse. I sulked, I bitched, I moaned, I complained, I retreated from family and friends and I even shed a tear. However, in the midst of my strife, I found solace in knowing that I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t the only under-employed attorney. I wasn’t the only American constantly looking for work and finding none. I wasn’t the only black man in the world who was struggling. Once I was able to not take every rejection personally it allowed me to put things in perspective.

When things go wrong we have to first analyze the problem before we can solve it. The first thing I did was blame the economy, and rightfully so. However, the blame game didn’t end there. Next I blamed myself. After pointing the finger at myself I began to change the things that I could control, which I believed would help me in my search. I got help with my resume and cover letters and sought out contacts I thought would be helpful to me in getting my name and resume out there because I understood the power of networking. As a result, my resume is probably on the desk or in the office of nearly every Democratic Congressman, unless of course it’s been thrown out already. After analyzing the source of the problem I had to take the next step.

The next step I took was prayer. I had been so consumed by my quest and how it was my problem, my fault and mine to fix that I forgot about God. It didn’t occur to me that this was a test, a necessary experience, a “Job Moment” from which to learn and grow. But even as I prayed and trusted God to open the doors I couldn’t, I got desperate. I was so desperate that I began to apply to retail stores looking for help during the holidays. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working retail. I’d shovel manure to pay the bills and feed my family if I needed to. However, when you spend six figures on your education, you look for a bigger return on your investment. So I applied, but I couldn’t even get a retail gig. Macy’s declined to offer me a job because I couldn’t work Black Friday because my best friend was getting married. I never got to the interview with Best Buy or Sports Authority because I missed the phone call and the messages I returned almost immediately were never returned. After all of this craziness, all I could think was my how the mighty had fallen. My pride took another blow as it appeared that I couldn’t even get a job stacking boxes and selling merchandise. However, the setback of not being employed by those companies was an opportunity for God to set me up for the right opportunity.

Those missed opportunities allowed me to get an unexpected opportunity-a job doing document review. Document review is filled with attorneys who are under-employed like myself who review legal documents for various firms and agencies for a decent hourly wage. In most instances, it isn’t what we would make at a firm or federal government agency, but if it’s long enough and consistent work, it’s enough to pay the bills and treat yourself to a nice dinner. What’s funny is that I applied to several legal staffing companies when I first arrived in D.C. months ago. Here it was 3 months later that I had gotten my first hit. Look at God! This opportunity allowed me to work, pay the bills and be available for the next opportunity-my new full-time job starting in a few short weeks.

I’ve learned that some things can only be gained through experience. Patience, gratitude and faith are a few of them. Many of us claim to believe in God and His power, but where is our faith in our darkest hour? We think we have the patience to withstand any storm that may arise, but how patient are we when the bills are piling up and the clock is running out? It’s easy to play armchair quarterback from the comforts of our living room when we’re divorced from the intensity of the game. But where do you stand, what do you do in the heat of the moment when you only have a few moments to make a crucial decision?

We can prepare for life’s challenges through study and education but some of life’s joys may only be obtained by enduring hardships. Did the last few months suck? Yes indeed. Do I regret the experience? Not at all. Today I’m breathing a sigh of relief knowing that I can keep my phone on, eat and forego a life of crime to pay rent. Tomorrow, I’ll be more understanding of the next man’s similar plight and be able to offer a reassuring word that comes from a personal experience as opposed to an anecdotal teaching. Our trials and tribulations aren’t just about us. Our experiences give us a story to tell, a lesson to teach and a word to share with others. I’m humbled by the experience and thankful for the opportunity to share something with the world.

I’m not where I want to be just yet, but I have every confidence that I’m where God wants me to be right now. Thank you to all my family and friends for your love and support during these hard times. Just because things are looking up doesn’t mean I want you to stop loving and supporting me now. I’ve gotten this far with you and I don’t want to go another step without you. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!