The Fuel of Life 3.0: Put the Shovel Down

“It was once said, if you’re tryin to make it out of a hole, stop diggin first”.

I’m not sure who it was that originally said that, but the inspiration came to me in the form of a song lyric. The lyricist is an old friend of mine from Kent State University. I met him while being trained to be a media insect at the Daily Kent Stater, and simultaneously getting some of the most useful education of my entire life in the Pan African Studies department at Oscar Ritchie hall (ask me what I learned there, I dare you).

His name is Sam, but most who know him know him as “Blitz”. He was originally born in Ghana. While I was pretty close to him for a short time in Kent, I am not sure what brought his family to the US. I do know that there were military coups that were taking place between the late 50s and late 70s in Ghana, but I’m not going to speculate. Anyways, Blitz was an up and coming hip hop artist in the Akron/Cleveland area. Just to clear something up, that means about as good as being an up and coming hip hop artist from Juno Alaska, or Lincoln, Nebraska. Not much is happening in the Akron/Cleveland area in 2004. Blitz was inspiring, his lyrics were deep and inspired and transgressed lines that kept most people separated. I had a good feeling that this was one of those special people that were gonna put a big mark on this world.

Recently, when I heard Blitz’s song “Black Market”, that included the aforementioned lyric, while having some people over for a weekend stress release, I decided to look him up and see how he was doing, which of course means Myspace. Took me about 5 minutes to realize what I expected. Blitz took himself out of what was keeping him from his dream, packed up his shit, made his way to New York City and has since opened for legendary acts like KRS-One, Public Enemy and the more recent legends, Dead Prez. These are hip hop artists whose names will never be forgotten; mold breakers, idea shakers, history makers. If you play guitar, these are your Hendrix, Page, Townsend, B.B. King types.

Blitz was in a position where things that, for the most part, were out of his control, were keeping him from his goals and he took the huge, necessary steps needed to make his ultimate goals happen. You could say, he was in a hole that he needed out of, so he put the shovel down and started making some rope.

Blitz was one of those people you like to have around because he doesn’t have goals, he has big, ultimate goals. You know ultimate goals, the ones where everyone around you tells you you’re crazy for going after them. You know the people that have them; the artist, the dancer, the fashion designer, the globe trotter, the base jumper, the writer, the humanitarian, the activist, the poet, the physicist, the “every once in a while” politician… I’ll get back to that. The people that take this structured system that we’re working under, and they put dents in it, the really pesky kinds of dents that you just have to deal with. When enough of these people get together and through some space, time continuum act of the universe, are pushing at the same time, those dents turn into cracks that spider and get bigger, joining other cracks until the system can’t take it anymore and some serious shit happens.

I’m a 27-year-old American. That means I’ve spent my entire post high school life under the Bush/Cheney regime. If there’s ever been a period in post slavery America, where we’ve dug as deep as we possibly could without as much as stopping to wipe the sweat from our foreheads, it is right now. The world hates us, we’re weak in thought, spirit and pride. Not to mention structurally weak; the economy, strength of our military at home and abroad, education, health care, unity and our class structure. I could ramble on and on, but then my positive point will be lost in this muck.

I have been inspired lately as an American more than I can ever remember in my life. I’ve had a presidential nominee bring me to tears on multiple occasions. I’m not too sappy a guy. I mean, who didn’t cry and the end of “the Pursuit of Happyness” right? But the tears that well up in my eyes are a kind I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing. They are the tears of true inspiration and hope. Frankly, I wish I’ve never had to experience such tears. It says a lot about where we’ve allowed us to go as a country. Hope that brings you to tears, is a sign that you feel near rock bottom.

It’s finally happening to the people of my country; blue collar, White collar, white, black, brown, red, male, female, young, old. We’re finally showing that we want out of the hole we’re in and we’re gonna stop digging. We’re putting the shovels down, looking at one another in the face, sharing the rations of water we’ve got, and addressing the real problem, how are we getting out of here? I know such a drastic, beautiful, necessary change scares some people, I can even understand why. The cool, temperate, controlled confines of the hole have become comfortable. Well, kind of… We’ve been scared into thinking that the hole is protecting us from some big, dangerous, monster that’s waiting outside, and who doesn’t enjoy a comfortable, protected space when what’s outside of that space is waiting to eat you alive… right?

I’ve been hearing a lot of those scared people saying a lot of the same things lately. “Well, he needs to be careful. He’s gonna fill the American people with all this hope and excitement, and he’s gonna have a lot to live up to.” Or… “It’s all just talk, I mean, what’s he actually gonna be able to do once he gets elected?” I guess for me, it goes in one ear and out the other. I’ve been force fed fear since my first day as an adult in this country and this time, you’re gonna have to try a bit harder than that.

I’ve found myself in some holes lately, whether it be on a personal level or just looking at the overall picture we’re in as a nation, and it is friends like Blitz (among many, many others) and inspiring leaders like Barack Obama who remind me that it’s time to put the shovel down and start coming up with a solution. So I’m gonna get as much dirt off my hands and see if I can’t turn this shovel handle into a ladder. “Who’s comin’ with me?”

Please check out my friend “Blitz: the Ambassador” on his myspace profile here for plenty more inspirational lyrics.