President Clinton's Ubuntu Vision - We're All in this Together

For those of you who are new to my blog, or don't have the sense to read every post...please read this blog about the concept of ubuntu before continuing.

Now that you've been introduced to this concept.  I want to talk a little about ubunutu philosophy outlined in the speech by President Bill Clinton last night at the Democratic National Convention.  Okay, so he didn't actually talk about ubuntu, but some of the ideas he mentioned were in the realm of the ubuntu concept.  Think about these two quotes:

"A person is a person through other persons." - Desmond Tutu

"we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'" - President Clinton

Can you see how this philosophy could easily be translated into the ubuntu concept?  The idea that we each don't only worry about ourselves and let everyone else be damned, but we are here to help each other, and we improve by giving each other a hand.  Here are some more quotes from the speech that I thought fit into the same concept:

"When times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world is cooperation."

"President Obama's approach embodies the values, the ideas, and the direction America has to take to build a 21st-century version of the American dream, a nation of shared opportunities, shared responsibilities, shared prosperity, a shared sense of community."

Say what you want, but I believe the United States is a nation founded on the idea of ubuntu.  Maybe not in so many words, but in the spirit of what our founding fathers created.  We have had to struggle and fight to live up to that spirit.  We have had to abolish slavery, fight for women's rights, fight for civil rights, and we still fight to live up to the spirit of ubuntu today.  Sometimes the fight is against our own prejudice.  Sometimes it's a struggle with our greed.  Sometimes it's a struggle to include those who believe and live differently than we do - even in so innocent an area as who they love.  Through all of this struggle, we will prevail.  As President Clinton said:

"For more than 200 years, through every crisis, we've always come back. People have predicted our demise ever since George Washington was criticized for being a mediocre surveyor with a bad set of wooden, false teeth. And so far every single person that's bet against America has lost money, because we always come back.  We've come through every fire a little stronger and a little better. And we do it because, in the end, we decide to champion the cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor, the cause of forming a more perfect union."

Liam Lyon...Gone Too Soon

I’m taking a break tonight from the politics, government, and social discussions to honor a little man who left us today after a long and difficult fight for life.  There are no words that can comfort a family who has lost a child.  As my wife shed tears for Liam tonight...she said to me in a broken voice, "It's not fair."  The only answer to that is...no, it's not.  Not in any way.  This little man did nothing to cause the suffering that he experienced during his far too short life.  Some of you believe in God.  Some of you don't. 

This is the type of situation that almost makes me understand those who can't believe in God, because I can't fathom why a loving God would allow a little man like this to suffer and die while we have people out there who live to destroy the lives of others.  Then I remember that, God never promised us a life free from pain.  He never said life would be fair.  What he did say was, "Let the children come to me and do not forbid them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."  This gives me hope.  Hope that innocent children like Liam will someday inherit the Kingdom through a life that they were denied on Earth.

I took a minute tonight to honor Liam with a slideshow of some of the pictures his family shared with the tens of thousands of us who have followed this little man’s struggle.   If you haven’t followed his story, take a minute to check out these Facebook pages:
I Love Liam Lyon
Lights for Liam

In memory of this incredible little man…here is a slideshow honoring his life.

Today the Earth trembled, the skies wept,

And the angels sang as they welcomed home

One of God’s own warriors.

 

We were blessed to have Liam inspire our lives

With his smile and laughter.

If only for a little while.

 

God has called him home to prepare for the day

When His return will be trumpeted

By the sound of Liam’s roar!

 

Until that day we thank God

For the little man

Who touched the heart of the world.

 

For the rain that hides our tears.

And for the thunder in the skies.

That reminds us to fight through the pain.

 

So that one day we will walk side by side

Through the fields of heaven

With God’s little Lyon.

 

 In loving memory of Liam Lyon.

February 18, 2011 – September 3, 2012

In My Studio

The wife and I were just watching television and saw a commercial with Nick Cannon.  That guy cracks me up.  Of course, any time we see Nick Cannon it makes us think of one of the brightest moments from America's Got Talent.  While the contestant, Sponjetta Parrish, didn't make it through...this performance and song will live forever.