The Proper Perspective
In this day and age, there’s so much going on around us. Between the “natural” realignment of finances and the shifting of personal and corporate priorities, there’s quite a bit on everyone’s minds. Considering such, one has to ask, “What’s Alpha’s relevance?”
This morning I came across an article on Bro. Charles Wilbur Florence, former Dean of Students at Virginia Union University (circa. 1920’s). As I read the article from the Pitt Magazine (originally published October 19, 2008 and printed here http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08293/920792-109.stm), what came to mind is “this is Alpha Phi Alpha!” Alpha is the epitome of all that’s good in America.
As noted in the article, “At the height of his career, Florence was listed by a biographer of Benjamin Mays, the brilliant leader at the black-male college Morehouse, as one of the finest minds in the country. History shows us that Florence was a serious scholar who, through grit and determination, reached for the highest accomplishments in a world of expanding opportunities for black Americans.”
Bro. Florence proved, that while amassing personal accolades and fortunes, its our responsibility to show our peers a geek or one with geekish tendecies does not lose cool points, but remains ever admired and revered through their body of works. Its our responsibility to serve as role models to young boys and girls, proving that s/he who is the “Academic Animal,” as Bro. Dr. Russell V. Kelley (retired Morgan State University Biology professor of Delta Lambda chapter) would say, will always rise above the fray to become the “Crème de la Crème.”
You might be thinking, “what in the heck does this have to do with what’s going on today?” Everything! We’ve all gotten so caught up in the “I gotta get mine syndrome” that we’ve forgotten the basic tenet of what allowed us to withstand horrors witnessed or felt by none and blossom into a “quasi-monolithic” force ever ready at the slightest nudge.
As we move forward, its our responsibility to make “The Way” more pallatable for those behind us. All we do in Alpha is for the benefit of tomorrow’s children. Its that simple.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having a good time, just as the next Brother; however, if we place everything within its proper perspective, it becomes increasingly obvious the service we provide to others is our (re)payment for the blessings we’ve received. Its our responsibility to continue the Alpha Legacy. Its our responsibility to give back 10% – our time or our possessions, it doesn’t matter.
The events such as those of recent months – that is the collapse of financial institutions and injection of government funds into private financial institutions – are never pleasant and serve as a reminder that the Universe keeps all we do balanced overtime. The accumulation of wealth is magnificent for the immediate pleasures of life, but the legacy we leave for those we touch will serve them more than paper money, that can disappear within and without a moments notice.
This is the call we must heed.
Kindest Regards.