If It Is To Be It’s Up To Me…………..

“If it is to be, it’s up to me….”.  A simple yet profound statement. These words are about assuming personal responsibility for our circumstances.  They suggest that with God’s help we can make a difference.  They implore us to shed the victim mentality.  They should motivate us to do something.

Organizing for America, the successor organization to Obama for America is about individuals getting involved on the local level, taking it upon themselves to help bring about change.  At one time the  African American community was the symbol of this philosophy.  We’ve lost that fire somewhere along the way.

We can seemingly be  bombarded with a  variety of issues everyday,   but we can’t  allow ourselves to fall into a mindset of helplessness;  we have to  adopt the mentality that we are change agents.   I’m not  promoting a “Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps” philosophy.  I’m not that naive or idealistic.  Some things are simply out of your realm of control.  But the majority of the problems I see on today’s landscape are completely within our power to resolve.

If you’re dissatisfied with your child’s school join the Parent School Association or volunteer in your child’s  classroom.   If crime in your neighborhood is spiraling out of control start a neighborhood watch group or join an existing one.   If you’re dissatisfied with your city council representative or school board trustee, vote them out in the next election. The list of problems that we face can be a long one,  but so is the list of solutions.  ‘If it is to be, it’s up to me.”

It’s almost as if  we  have  a co-dependent relationship with the ills of  society.  We scream that we want things to change and get better but our actions don’t support that longing.  It’s  become much too easy to complain and point fingers, but in my 46 years I have never seen a problem resolved that way.    Mahatma Gandhi said “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”  In other words “If it is to be, it’s up to me.”

P.S. In a previous post I confessed that I have not been a responsible voter.  I made a commitment to improve my voting record and took the first step by voting this past weekend.   They wouldn’t allow me to take pictures inside the polling location so the picture below will have to serve as proof.