Change Has Come

This photo of me was taken in Centennial Olympic Park on 20 January 2009 during the inauguration of President Barak Obama and I chose it on this day for a reason. This is the last Christmas Eve of the decade, a decade which started with me clinging onto dear life in the nether world of underemployment and culminating in a new career in Memphis, TN. For me, the move from Atlanta to Memphis is my Christmas present, one I know will keep on giving for years to come.

Some people, you know who they are, take the critical path when President Obama talks about change, but his message is one that everybody needs to let sink in and reflect on. Government can only change so much, it is the individual who must start changing themselves. Naysayers never want to change because they feel they have the upper hand, controlling the lives of others, but they are only fooling themselves because that control is ever so fleeting.

Ten years ago Ricky Martin, Kid Rock, Whitney Houston, Brittney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, etc all were riding on a crest, a wave of change in the music industry. Now, none of them are quite what they were. Recently, this bug hit Tiger Woods with a thump, putting his whole professional career at risk. The most important thing to remember is that: Just because you're in control and on top today doesn't mean you'll be there tomorrow.

To me, that lies at the heart of President Obamas message. Whether we like it or not, change is coming and whoever is the swiftest at adapting to that change will be the winner - for that period.

The Rolling Stones learned this fact long ago, that is why their fan base ranges from tween to seventy somethings. They kept their core, but changed the fringes. In order for our nation to progress we must harness the change of the 21st century. Now when I see a bunch of silly looking middle aged white men take the podium railing at President Obama I laugh because that is so 20th century. You can use Twitter, FB and other social media outlets all you want but if your message is one of the past, well, you are still a fossil.

America is not in decline, but in transition and we as a people and nation have to come to grips with that reality. The rest of the world is changing rapidly with a population fast approaching 8 billion souls. If you continue to believe global warming is not man-made you're living in the past.

President Obama never had the lock and key to change, he was the messenger. We The People hold the key and we must acknowledge it and act. Naysayers love to talk about how all this change will affect future generations. Doing nothing versus doing something is not only worse, but dangerous.

The time for change has come. We must seize the day.

Have a very Merry Christmas