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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Standing ground, being accountable, and working to be better individuals

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There’s something to be said about a person who can stand their own ground, regardless of how uncomfortable or tense a situation they may find themselves in.

Standing your ground, being accountable for your actions, and resolving to be a better person (or doing a better job) are basic premises that we all can live by.

An excellent example of someone who doesn’t have a problem standing her ground is U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

To the elation of many, Snowe was the only Republican to vote for the Senate’s health care plan. As her Republican counterparts strongly opposed President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill, Snowe carefully examined the legislation, stood her ground and eventually voted in the manner that she felt was most beneficial for Americans. Not only was Snowe courageous for voting against Republicans, but she is also to be admired for not cowering under the pressure of a male-dominated Senate.

Snowe’s staunch determination to vote for the best interests of her constituency and Americans in general takes us one step closer towards ensuring that everyone in the United States of America has access to quality and affordable health care.

Standing one’s ground essentially means feeling so adamant about your beliefs and actions that no one can sway you, no matter how unpopular your convictions may be.

Because there are people who aren’t strong enough to voice their concerns or support what they believe is right, there tends to be more conformity in today’s society. For instance, the Black community is known for not “snitching” on one another…even in extreme cases where there’s a loss of life. Rather than report certain criminal behaviors, we conform to our surroundings and what’s expected of us by not releasing imperative information that could contribute to the enhancement of our community. While I certainly understand that there sometimes may be a fear of retaliation, as a community, we have to strategize and discover ways to combat violence or other intimidating factors in our lives.

Imagine how different the world would be today if people like Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t stand up for what they believed was right. I shudder at the thought.

In standing our ground, it’s also important for us to be accountable for our actions. Unfortunately, being accountable individuals is something that not everyone does.

Frequent readers of this editorial may recall the one thing that truly irritates me is a person who isn’t accountable for their actions. I’ve never quite understood why a person thinks it’s OK to be unaccountable…maybe it’s laziness, a sense of entitlement, total denial, or maybe the person is completely oblivious to their unaccountability. Whatever, the reason, it’s an irritant of many people and something that can probably result in a lack of respect for the unaccountable person.

We are all works in progress, so none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. The key to making mistakes, however, is to learn from them and move forward. My mother used to always stress the importance of not only learning from our own mistakes, but also the mistakes of others. This is a lesson that I’ve tried to implement in my life time and time again.

In learning from our mistakes, we first must take ownership of them. After we take ownership of our mistakes, we then have the choice to either harp on them, or move forward. Sadly, not all people choose the latter.

Despite the obstacles that we face or the mistakes that we make, it’s important that we all resolve to be better people. Being better, more caring and responsible people make the world a much better place. While I know that statement may sound cliché or even corny, it’s true.

I once interviewed a life coach and she shared advice that has stayed with me for years. She said every so often we all should to do a self-analysis. In doing a self-analysis in an honest and objective manner, we may learn things about ourselves that need improvement. Once we learn of the areas in our lives that need improving and work to correct them, we’ve evolved. Doing a routine self-analysis will always help us in our attempts to be better people.

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