equality

Hero or Fool

Fandango15 Comments

By all appearances, he was at the apex of his career. He was known as a collector of fine arts, a man of unquestionable integrity. He was regarded by many as the epitome of financial success and many watched him to see what his next accomplishment might be.

But then something really bizarre happened. He gave away his collection of fine arts. He liquidated most of his personal assets. He even sold off all of his business interests.

His friends and colleagues were flabbergasted by the man’s sudden change. And his wife and adult children were furious with the loss of their potential inheritance.

When asked why he took such drastic action by a member of the press, he said that he was done with the material world. He said that he was surrounded by greed and unenlightened self-interests that were destroying humanity and the planet, and that he could no longer sit back and quietly or passively condone what was happening all around him. He said it was time to change the orientation of humanity and society from selfishness to compassion. It was time to save the planet.

To that end, he said that he would be donating all of the proceeds from his art collections and the businesses he sold to various charities that would focus on restoring the environment and promoting equality for all citizens of the planet. And then he pledged to reduce his own carbon footprint to zero by living a modest life in solitude in a rustic cabin high atop a hill and deep in the woods.

Some thought of him as a hero. Others thought of him as a fool. But he felt that nobody ever heard his concerns, nobody ever listened. They thought he had his head in the clouds. And it got to the point that he believed being thought of as a fool on a hill with his head in the clouds was better than wallowing around in the muck that surrounded us all.

Written for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (appearance), E.M.’s Random Word Prompt (apex) Your Daily Word Prompt (integrity), Ragtag Daily Prompt (watched), Word of the Day Challenge (bizarre), My Vivid Blog (collection), and Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (orientation).

Song Lyric Sunday — Everyday People

Fandango12 Comments

This week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme from Helen Vahdati is “unity.” What better song to reflect the unity of our humanity is there than one that points out that, while we are all different, we are all the same and that “we got to live together”? That song is “Everyday People” by Sly & the Family Stone?

This 1968 song, written and produced by Sly Stone, was the first single by Sly & the Family Stone to reach number one on the soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Everyday People” is a plea for peace and equality between differing races and social groups. The line, “I am everyday people,” is meant to reinforce the notion that each of us should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole, not of smaller, specialized factions. The song’s message of unity is that “we are the same, whatever we do.”

An interesting tidbit about Sly & the Family Stone is that, with black, white, male, and female performers, it was the first major integrated band in rock history.

Here are the song’s lyrics.

Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in
I am everyday people, yeah, yeah

There is a blue one
Who can’t accept the green one
For living with a fat one
Trying to be a skinny one
Different strokes
For different folks

And so on and so on
And scooby dooby dooby
Oh sha sha
We got to live together

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same, whatever we do
You love me, you hate me, you know me and then
You can’t figure out the bag I’m in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a long hair
That doesn’t like the short hair
For being such a rich one
That will not help the poor one
Different strokes
For different folks

And so on and so on
And scooby dooby dooby
Oh sha sha
We got to live together

There is a yellow one
That won’t accept the black one
That won’t accept the red one
That won’t accept the white one
Different strokes
For different folks

And so on and so on
And scooby dooby dooby
Oh sha sha
I am everyday people

One-Liner Wednesday — Gender Equality

Fandango9 Comments

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Too Sexy for My Shirt

“Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer belly and still think they are sexy.”

Who am I to judge? (And no, that’s not a selfie!)

Written for today’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill.