Basic Human Goodness: Finding the Good Within Yourself
I have been a part of this remarkable organization for almost a year now, and I have witnessed firsthand the power and immense depth of the human need for compassion and ability to give it as my fellow artists, writers, and thinkers incorporate this declaration in their daily lives. I say this because just a year ago I suffered from a terrible notion myself, which I have come to realize plagues us all in one way or another; the very issue of finding the basic human goodness within one’s self, which is something that I was struggling with for a very long time. We work hard to combat hate and ignorance in the lives of others, but what of the hate and the ignorance within us?
Stained Glass (A Remembrance of Kristallnacht)
Fractured Fragments of crystal on a night full of shattered screams
Hatred and evil doomed persecution
Vindication was an illusion of one with imagination,
I stood there,
Way of life Ransacked along with my pride,
I was a Jew and didn’t apologize for it
My Life After Hate
Following my shadow predecessor
I am gentle
No longer an aggressor
My understanding now broadened
Eyes now opened
Heeding a new calling
My life now replenished and renewed
State of Affairs: The Tragedy After State Fair
I was sitting in the barber’s chair at Sphinx barbershop getting my usual haircut. The barbers and fellow men in the shop were continuing an already heated discussion about the black youth involved in mob violence at the Wisconsin State Fair just 2 days earlier. The intensity and emotion in the air was palpable as I bore witness to the opinions of my elder African American brothers.
My Father’s Identity
They tell me when you search for answers that there are none, But when you least expect to find one it comes, It hits you, takes you in like a breath of fresh air, Awakens you like morning’s light, Or like flicking a switch, And God turns on a light, For years I‘ve been [...]
Where I Come From
From the shadows of broken homes, misplaced dreams and fragmented futures, From the darkest corners of public schools, condemned buildings and hardened jails, From the dimmed lights of police cars, To the murky desk of a congressman, From the cryptic motives of leaders and kings, and obscure hopes from slogans on change, Peace seems fuliginous, [...]
Run Along With My Run ON
Let’s see where I will start for those who have heart and in this end we will part from those who may take this kind of sour or tart in me lies the entity of a divine identity and beyond through infinity I am the product of animosity brought about through the atrocities of the [...]
Sammy Rangel “FOURBEARS: Myths of Forgiveness”
FourBears: The Myth of Forgiveness: isn't a simple memoir; it is a graphically illustrated guide from tortured child, to remorseless beast, to healing and change. This book is about helping others find their way out of their history and into the here and now. Proof that what once held you down can now hold you up. After the book reflects on a horrific upbringing it looks to offer key and ground breaking insights of the inner workings of the mind of a victim and later a perpetrator of hate and violence. Service providers working in treatment centers and institutional settings would greatly benefit from this work. Anyone facing issues with forgiveness and change might find a process toward healing and recovery.
Recommended Reading
Frank Meeink—Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
TJ Leyden—Skinhead Confessions
Arno Michaels—My Life After HateMusic
Wizard Fingaz & Soul Sathe embarked on a collaborative project known as Tribal Sorcery · deep conscious hip-hop
