The Conversation: Grace Lee Boggs

[Smiley and West]

		95 year-old activist Grace Lee Boggs looks ahead to the next 95 years in her new text The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.

[Shelly AS]

Tons of wisdom and insight to be gained by listening to this conversation. Mrs. Boggs made some powerful references along the lines of greed, negativity and growing our souls-guided missiles, misguided souls; and, change our thinking if we want to change the world. Thank you for having her on!!

[Denise Harris]

Fantastic dialogue!

Great to hear sister Boggs spell out the agenda for our revolution. Intercultural interaction and communication is what will create a beloved community. This can be done if we focus on the philosophy of what it means to be human.

[Marvin Zalowitz]

Sustainable Activism, 

There are question that need to be addressed if we the people are too move forward... Are we humans born free or are we MADE FREE through the COMPULSIONS of an ALMIGHTY GOD??? Life is god answers that question through common sense... The FEAR of GOD was design by KINGS unequivocally...? Today's exploitation of human resources, the unconscious WORLD of BIBLICAL DOGMATISM...? ALL the KING's in the BIBLE were SLAVE MASTERS> True or FALSE??? ABRAHAM FEARED GOD more than his love of his son ISSAC> True or FALSE??? GOD wasn't happy with all that he MADE so TORTURE and PUNISHMENT was his only SOLUTION> NOAH's ARK> SODOM & GOMORRAH> True or FALSE??? MYTHOLOGY has STRANGLED HOLD the human brain through BIBLICAL POLITICAL GARBAGE> In GOD we TRUST> WILL over reason??? The unconscious WORLD of HERO WORSHIP> WINNING *is* EVERYTHING> THE POLITICS of FEAR> 10000+ NUCLEAR BOMBS> INTELLECTUALIZED MADNESS unequivocally the BRAINS of the DINOSAUR...??? Peace love & be strong, marvin z

[Michael Brito]

Miss Boggs is a fountain of true wisdom. There are many of us who "know" that the  evoluyion/revolution of the human being is taking place. That a grat paradigm shift is welling forth. This evolution/revolution is taking place from the inside out. There are many of us who are shutting off our TV's, ending our cravings for the material, growing our own food growing our own souls.

What Smiley and West must begin to understand, is, "we are entering a time of great individual responsibility, and community". This is a new paradigm. The old paradigms will no longer suffice. Holding on to the past, thinking in terms of this happened or that happened will not create a perfect today. Only through the evolution/revolution of the individual can it take place in the present."

The present is the only constant. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not here. It is through the works of Dr. Boggs, Dr. King, Eckert Tolle, Prem Rawat, and Depak Choppra, that this evolution/revolution is taking place. Not through any political process. Politics has become corrupt, and impotent, and is not a valid agent for change, but the individual, well thats where we begin and end. The world you see is a reflection of your inner self.

 

[Penguin Board of Directors]

Mama Grace: The gist of her message

Mama Grace validates a number of issues some of us have raised consistently. Here are a few of them: 

* Revolution belongs in the grassroots; not in DC or the hallowed chambers of Capitol Hill from where power will never be voluntarily surrendered. Power must be yanked away from usurpers to be restored to its rightful place; “we, the people.” That takes commitment; it takes organizing people. Tavis and Cornel tasked Mama Grace on whether the American people are ready for that change; that revolution. The fact is that when the people are ready, the Master will appear. The Master is always there, inside the people; I mean inside, not just among the people. We only need to tune in; as the  Kingdom of God is within you and me; not in the clouds.  

* Revolution starts with individuals taking responsibility for their actions; holding themselves and others accountable in the social context. You cannot lead others without first leading yourself (self-leadership).

* Individualism, as a twisted form of American macho and cultural pride,is a lemon planted, nurtured and sold to the public to facilitate ‘divide and rule.’ If individual Americans continue to preoccupy themselves with their own comfort and interest, they deaden their humaneness (their soul) and psyche to the deprivation and suffering of fellow human beings; their larger families of Americans in particular and humanity in general. They suffer and die individually. Such people only begin to scream for help when they begin “catching hell” (a la West). They begin to get it; that their hapless brothers and sisters have always lived in that hell while they (the new arrivals) did nothing to help! Now, the shoe is on the other foot; enjoy it!     

* Mama Grace recalled how electing a Black Mayor in Detroit failed to deliver people’s expected dividends of democracy. Crime still ran riot. Disease, underdevelopment, run-down education and other conceivable social drawbacks still assailed the people. People who still see color as the primary plank should begin to think again. That is not a new message; we have said it repeatedly. Let those who have ears hear. Color per se is not the issue; class is. There are honorable as well as despicable human beings everywhere; regardless of color, creed or race.   

* Activism is meaningless (talk less of being sustained) in the absence of thoughts and ideas. Thoughts and ideas do not grow wildly in the field; they come from conscious exercise of the intellect, cognition, reflectivity, and reflexivity; a nurturing of the culture of double, triple and quadruple learning and reflecting products of such endeavor in people’s everyday experience -- praxis.    

* Without giving vent to the innermost rumblings of the spirit (love), causing us to be concerned about the wellbeing of others and commit to doing something about it, sharing and helping others grow, human beings take themselves to lower rungs of the ladder in the Animal kingdom. As with many terms in the public domain, the word “love’ has been debased, commercially packaged, and disseminated as some ‘make-me-feel-good’ prescription. Tough love is as valid as gentle love, depending on individuals’ situatedness and the demands of the particular time and place.

* Two other items are worth exploring further in Mama Grace’s interview; i) Tavis’ and Cornel’s persistent quests to know how activists go about making the changes that need to be made in the imminent paradigm shift and ii) the place of politics in all of these. Additional to all that Mama Grace said prior, she stressed, in my own words, the role of humanity of man to man and equated soul to power. Without this soul awakening, the breath of life is virtually extinguished in human beings. Christ did not whip the money-changers out of the House of His Father out of sadism, but out of tough love. He did not sit there meekly preaching to these folks to have a change of heart; he took action. He whipped out foolery from their hearts and whipped some commonsense into their heads. God-consciousness is not about religiosity; it is about genuine love; tough love inclusive. The road individuals take to expressing that love may differ; the ultimate purpose remains the same. That is the reason that the Nation of Islam might deliver on some fronts things the Catholic or Protestant Church might not; and vice versa.

Mama Grace’s message is not about whipping up sentiments and getting folks on-the-high for a moment. It is another wake-up call. We have to make ourselves worthy vessels to be the sharp tools for realizing God’s plans in our own lives and in other people’s lives. Selah.         

[Angela Carter]

I thank God for her and my ANCESTOR'S my Grandafather just passed  May 27th @ 90 with the same insight as well as  how to be a Down Home Gal=South, knowing how to cultivate off the land & to think 4 myself ,becuase I was Taught! GOD is the Truth & Hold's the Power. AMEN! I would really like to see an interview indepth on TV/ dvd I prefer P.B.S.  Thank's

[johnetta lynn mcgee]

This is why we (older generation) was raised to respect our elders. The knowledge they drop is insurmountable! Revolution, evolution, devils advocates, government and souls it is all just a matter of time! Thank you guys and Mrs. Boggs!

[LibyaWest]

Part One:

The interview reminded me of the first program in the ZBS series, "Ruby, The Galatic Gumshoe (or sometimes, "gumption)" .....

There was a segment featuring a character named "Manet" who came from the utopian planet, Aurora.

The Aurorians solved the social and economic problems caused by unemployment when they concluded that unemployment was the SOLUTION, not the problem.

The Aurorians accepted the fact that automation and mechanization had made "work" as we know it, obsolete. Further, they came to the conclusion that "make work" jobs only contributed to the dissatisfaction of the human worker. So, work that was better done by machines should be consigned to machines.

That being so, they developed a socialist "let's share our resources" plan (Oh, like Colonel Gadhafi In Libya!) that took care of the basic needs of the population. Then each individual, now having the time to do so, was encouraged to develop his/her talents in order to aid the group as a whole.

It follows that the social problems would decrease if the parents now had the time to spend with their children.

Everybody ended up well-off. Everybody ended up satisfied.

THE END.

Now back to reality.......

[LibyaWest]

Part One:

The interview reminded me of the first program in the ZBS series, "Ruby, The Galatic Gumshoe (or sometimes, "gumption)" .....

There was a segment featuring a character named "Manet" who came from the utopian planet, Aurora.

The Aurorians solved the social and economic problems caused by unemployment when they concluded that unemployment was the SOLUTION, not the problem.

The Aurorians accepted the fact that automation and mechanization had made "work" as we know it, obsolete. Further, they came to the conclusion that "make work" jobs only contributed to the dissatisfaction of the human worker. So, work that was better done by machines should be consigned to machines.

That being so, they developed a socialist "let's share our resources" plan (Oh, like Colonel Gadhafi In Libya!) that took care of the basic needs of the population. Then each individual, now having the time to do so, was encouraged to develop his/her talents in order to aid the group as a whole.

It follows that the social problems would decrease if the parents now had the time to spend with their children.

Everybody ended up well-off. Everybody ended up satisfied.

THE END.

Now back to reality.......

[Penguin Board of Directors]

Johnetta,

I agree with you. However, at a minimum, it takes some commonsense and generally accepted level of sanity to appreciate wisdom when heard. Just by reviewing the conduct and utterances of some as a microcosm of the larger society, one can discern that, perhaps, not everyone necessarily needs education or self-development afterall; a few may be better off receiving some psychiatric ministering, if only for a season; for their own good and for the good of the collectivity.  
johnetta lynn mcgee said:

This is why we (older generation) was raised to respect our elders. The knowledge they drop is insurmountable!

[LibyaWest]

 

"common sense or commonsense?

Common sense is a noun, and commonsense is the adjective. Use your common sense and take a commonsense approach."

 

 

[Marvin Zalowitz]

Michael Brito said:

Miss Boggs is a fountain of true wisdom. There are many of us who "know" that the  evoluyion/revolution of the human being is taking place. That a grat paradigm shift is welling forth. This evolution/revolution is taking place from the inside out. There are many of us who are shutting off our TV's, ending our cravings for the material, growing our own food growing our own souls.

What Smiley and West must begin to understand, is, "we are entering a time of great individual responsibility, and community". This is a new paradigm. The old paradigms will no longer suffice. Holding on to the past, thinking in terms of this happened or that happened will not create a perfect today. Only through the evolution/revolution of the individual can it take place in the present."

The present is the only constant. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not here. It is through the works of Dr. Boggs, Dr. King, Eckert Tolle, Prem Rawat, and Depak Choppra, that this evolution/revolution is taking place. Not through any political process. Politics has become corrupt, and impotent, and is not a valid agent for change, but the individual, well thats where we begin and end. The world you see is a reflection of your inner self.

 

Dear Michael.
I agree with you, the revolution of the conscious human being is taken place... The political process has been corrupt right from the signing of the CONSTITUTION and way before that... This latest peoples nonviolent revolution started where it all began: EGYPT and it's very real... The Egyptian people want democracy, by the people of the people and for the people, they have had it with the KINGS WAY of LIFE... That movement is spreading and we here in progress America should support that all the way... I'm hoping that we here in America, start a life is god movement of nonviolence, that would open the conscience of of the people's all around the World... RELIGION's have failed, GOD the object has closed the human brain by using the concept of FEAR, ORIGINAL SIN the ONE WAY GOD the KINGS WAY... That WAY through FEAR is a colossal disgraceful FAILURE and it's we the people that will change how we conduct our lives through passive resistance... There are no contradictions in the concept of life is god... peace love & be strong, marvin z