Torontomatic

What is a highway? What is its purpose? Is it simply a transportation mechanism that allows us to travel at high speeds? So, what is our highway? Where is our direction? What are we headed to? For Canadians, of African / Caribbean origin, I am optimistic that our future is bright in this country of ours. However there is a lot of work to be done. For a group a people I feel that we can do better. However, under the circumstances, this is not to say that there has not been impediment to our development, as a people in general. From the time of slavery, until recent, we have lived in the shadow of our former greatness. We have been easily whipped into submission, and indoctrinated so well by our former masters. The images we have seen for years did not include us. With the conditioning of our minds to believe that we can reach no higher and go no farther. This is changing, but again there is still work to be done.

We can go as high as any other group of people or race. We do not have to believe that we cannot. Do not yield to the feeling that you are not great and you cannot go to the top. We are all important; however there is a cycle that must be broken amongst our people. At some point we, as individuals, must realize that we must help each other and ensure that a difference can be made in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Those in our community who are stuck in the gang life, uneducated and lost must be pulled off of that lost highway. Education a key to freedom and once those facts of life are passed to the next generation the cycle is broken. There will be a destination and a purpose to life. But we must acknowledge that there is a problem to be fixed. Just telling our children that an education is important is not good enough. Lead by example and show our children how important it is. Let is not continue to complain about how “marginalized” we are. Of course there are problems and obstructions to our development. But this is not an excuse and we cannot depend on someone else to fix that problem for us. Let’s not loose another generation, just because we could not see the destination ahead. Let us not focus on ourselves, leaving no investment in our own future generations of Afro-Canadians. A highway is a way for us to quickly move from one point to another, hopefully by-passing the traffic and obstacles in the way to that end. I do not really believe that we are lost. It’s just that some of us just need a little help to get off of that highway.

By: Torontomatic