Turned Up - Defining Passengers on the Bus

A story inspired by hearing the phrase “Turned Up” about 75 times in one night.  I had to inquire about what it meant to be “Turned Up”.  My understanding of the phrase is to turn out the world, turn out someone who is aggravating you, turn out your thoughts about what’s right and wrong and inability to make a decision to do the next right thing, turning out the tug of war between one’s soul and the flesh.  Basically being “Turned Up” is way of escaping.  

As you and I travel on the “Bus” through our journey of this life, we must try to understand the roles of some of the other passengers.  If we don’t know who the passengers are and how to play the game our ride can become dangerous, un-satisfying, and we may find ourselves looking to something or someone to fill a need.  We will continue to place blame for our inability to get ahead on, “The Man”, our fathers and mothers for either not being available or lost somewhere in “drugville”.  We must stop looking to place blame on others for not reaching our goals, try pulling up our pants in front of an elderly lady or man, try to stop getting “Turned Up” every weekend for no apparent reason, try stop blaming our mothers and fathers not being there.  Stop sitting in the pile of shame and guilt looking for some man or woman to come and rescue with “deep pockets”.

Perhaps it’s time to stop spending our child support on the next weave so that we can get the “next” man to notice us.  Stop taking photos with our butts pushed up in the air as far the human body can endure.  Let’s take a look at the addiction to Facebook a social networking site has become a place to curse folks out and talk “ish” about someone else’s business.  You have not because you ask not. 

I remember as I was growing up I could not understand why folks that lived in the “Projects” would urinate and write on the walls of “THEIR” residence.  We as a people have been “conditioned” from other folk a long time ago and the behavior we sometimes display is “acting out” to relieve what we feel inside and sometimes we have no idea what we’re feeling, we just know – it doesn’t feel right.  To give you an idea about this country and the folk that made the decisions about this country we live in you must know the history. 

There are 3 branches of government legislative, executive and judicial.  The Founding Fathers who framed the Constitution (which drives everything) wanted a government that did not allow one person to have too much authority.  At that time they may not have considered how magnanimously “greed” would grow.  Note the Founding Fathers came to what is now known as America under the rule of British king.  In present day the nations are not communities like our local neighbor hoods are known as – this would tell you why some decisions that affect your community don’t make any sense.  History would present the USA as a one of family with family values but America refuses to consider the conflicts of interest between the conquered and the conquerors, masters and slaves, dominators and dominated victims and executioners. 

As we journey along the bus we should try not to be the victim or the executioner, we can do that when we seek knowledge.  Not necessarily “degrees” but ask questions – as if your life depended on it.