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This week America celebrated the Fourth of July.  I don’t do a lot to observe the holiday because I do not have a lot of family in the area and I don’t have much experience cooking on the grill.  I don’t have children so I don’t buy fireworks.  But I did enjoy the day off and even when I have had to work on the Fourth of July I enjoyed the holiday pay.

This year on social media I saw numerous posts and tweets being circulated encouraging Black people not to celebrate the Fourth.  Some of the social media messages even criticized Black people that do observe the Fourth of July.  I found these memes to be annoying and arrogant.  “Woke” people on social media often come across that way.

Look.  I get it.  I totally understand why so many Black people feel the way they do about the Fourth of July.  Blacks were enslaved in 1776 and the freedoms that this country is supposed to offer her citizens were never intended to be enjoyed by Blacks.  When you consider the culture of America when the Bill of Rights and the Constitution exposed how hypocritical and callous this country is towards Africans.

But despite what Blacks have faced throughout American history we are the greatest patriots of all.  America as we know it would not exist without Blacks.  The U.S. has the biggest economy the world has ever seen and it was built by Black labor.  In history class American students learn the phrase “Cotton is King” which refers to the juggernaut which was the cotton industry in the 1800s.  It wasn’t savvy business decision that made cotton king it was slave labor and brutal, savage force that made cotton king.

The cotton industry of the 1800s supported the textile industry of the early 1900s which was closely related to the northern Industrial Revolution.   The Industrial Revolution gave opportunities to European immigrants in the North East.  Without Blacks immigrants never would have had an America for which to come.

African Americans are only about 12% of this country and we only live in a few areas but we have influenced the culture in many ways even though we often don’t receive recognition for our contributions.  Blacks have influenced American music, cuisine, sports, fashion, politics, fine arts and sciences.  Without us American culture would be bland an utterly unrecognizable.

I’m not sure that the world had ever or has ever seen anything quite like the American Civil Rights fight of the 1960s.  A group of people that have been reviled and thought of as farm animals in the land where they were born stood up to the U.S. federal and state governments and won in mostly peaceful demonstrations.  People that have had their features mocked and ridiculed proclaimed that Black is beautiful and the said loudly that they were Black and proud.  That took bravery.

Since the 1960s other groups have mimicked the Black civil rights movement.  I don’t believe the feminist, LGBT or immigrant civil rights movements would have ever taken shape without the Black movement first.  Once again we provided inspiration for others in this country.  As far as immigration is concerned Blacks once again paved the way for the way for the next wave of newcomers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.  Most of these immigrants come from brown countries and they would not have stood a chance if African Americans hadn’t stood up to White racism first.

We’ve been here trying to make America great all along.  No one really has tried to hold America accountable for her actions they way Blacks have.  We believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights more than anyone.  Because we actually support all Americans having the same rights.  So if you don’t want to celebrate the Fourth of July then don’t.  But if you see other African Americans enjoying fireworks, a cookout or a day at the lake don’t judge and spare us the self righteous “woke” routine.

My family has probably been in this country about seven generations now and they sacrificed greatly for me to have the opportunities that I have in this country.  I’m proud to be an African American and the Fourth of July can be seen as a day to salute patriots and freedom fighters such as Harriet Tubman, Malcom X and Angela Davis.

We deserve to be protected by police instead of targeted by them.  We deserve equal opportunities and access to quality jobs and education.  And se deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this country that those that came before us suffered greatly for.

It’s time for an Instagram cultural revolution.  I really enjoy Instagram.  It’s frivolous, light hearted entertainment.   It is my favorite social media platform.  It’s fun to see people tell their stories and express themselves through visual images.  Instagram is very well suited for those of us that are nosey.  I have learned the darnedest things about celebrities, old classmates, relatives and even beautiful strangers.  And Instagram doesn’t carry the emotional baggage of Facebook or Twitter.

There are people in the world that make their livings as Instagram models.  I don’t exactly understand what an Instagram model is because it seems to me that everyone that has ever downloaded the app is an Instagram model.  But these so called models make a living posting pictures of themselves and promoting products on their pages.  Good for them.  Many of them seem to do quite well for themselves.

My problem with these Instagram models is that most of them have zero style.  I don’t see any fashion.  Fashion requires fabric and thread you see and most of these women are as close to naked as Instagram will allow.  That’s pretty darn naked.

I don’t consider myself to be a prude.  I have no problem with a person photographing their nearly nude or even completely nude body.  But why does everyone need to do that?

When you scroll through Instagram images most of the women that are photographed are wearing sexually suggestive clothing in suggestive poses.  Perhaps they are Instagram models or that is their goal?  But it is sad to me that young women are being taught that in order to be successful and have financial freedom you need to look a certain way and put your body on display.

Instagram models photograph themselves in luxurious surroundings with high end goods.  A lot of them date or imply that they date wealthy men.  These images are juxtaposed with images of them in bikinis.  And these are not natural looking bikini shots of them enjoying a day at the pool with friends.  They are in bikinis in full make up, oiled up, with their hair did arching their backs and **** like that.  The message that is being conveyed to a very young audience is that if you want to be successful work on your body and sell it.  Some of these girls talk about their higher education.  That’s great but they’re not using their education to be successful.  They’re using their flesh.

There needs to be an alternative.  That’s why I love Kate Middleton.  She is a young woman with a good figure but she presents herself with modesty, dignity and class.  And she’s going to be a queen one day; not some fly by night reality star or the baby mama to a professional athlete.

I am far older than Instagram’s target audience.  I am not wealthy and I don’t live in a glamorous, coastal, high rent city.  But I have more style in my left heel than all of the Instagram models that I have seen.

If you are a stylish woman, even if it’s only on special occasions you should put up a few Instagram shots too.  The world needs them.  Someone needs to remind the world that women can be pretty and her beauty can be admired without being ogled and lusted after.  And if you’re going to call yourself a model of any sort please have some style.

My name on Instagram is showmeshannon.  I would appreciate your follow.  I would also appreciate it if some of you ladies would show the world your style and creativity through fashion.  Kate Middleton and I can’t do it alone.

VICTORIA, BC – SEPTEMBER 26: (NO UK SALES FOR 28 DAYS) Catherine Duchess of Cambridge attends a Goverment of British Columbia reception at Government House on September 26, 2016 in Victoria, Canada. (Photo by Pool/Sam Hussein/WireImage)

Who is responsible for sexual purity?  According to the cultural mores of today, which in some circles is similar to the cultural mores of Massachusetts in the 1600s, it seems as though it is solely the woman’s responsibility to uphold sexual purity.  Women are told you are worth the wait.  Women are told to save themselves for their true love and the man they will marry.  Women are told to respect themselves and remain chaste.

Well meaning folks encourage women to remain pure by telling them they are princesses and queens who should wait for their kings.  All of this preaching to women is assuming that women only have sex in order to satisfy men.  This is often the case but sometimes women have sex because they want to do it and they are seeking pleasure.

Is it possible for a woman to have self respect, dignity, value herself, want true love be a princess and satisfy her sex drive?  Women and have desires and fantasies too.  Sometimes women are tempted to sin because they find a man charming and attractive.  Women do not always have pre marital sex because of pressure from a boyfriend (that’s called rape).  Sometimes the woman wants a lover.

If we are going to preach about sexual purity we need to be honest.  Women are not always pure and innocent.  Men are not always the aggressors.  Women are not always victims that were taken advantage of in every sex act between unmarried people (that’s called rape).  Women need to learn discipline, obedience, sacrifice and self control just like men do.  I think we need to lay off all the princess wait on your man bull****.  You should practice abstinence until marriage to please your heavenly father not flawed men here on Earth that you are hoping to marry.

It also bothers me that women are taught to protect their so called purity and wait on their future spouses but men are not.  I don’t understand why the rules are different.  If a woman’s body is precious so is a man’s.  If a woman needs to protect her heart so should a man.  The Bible tells everyone that the proper context for sexual activity is marriage.  Fornication is not a gender specific sin.

If Christians want to teach abstinence they should teach men and women to trust God and be obedient to his word.  Christians need to encourage others to discipline themselves and not to do things that feed the flesh.  I don’t think it’s a good idea to teach people to wait.  Because honestly, Mr. or Ms. Right may not show up when you want.  Waiting causes a lot of frustration.

Men and women need to be taught to respect each other’s boundaries and not tempt other’s into sin.  Get to know a potential mate’s heart, intellect and soul before you bring sex into the picture.  You will have a stronger marriage later.  At least that’s what I’m hoping.  It’s not solely a woman’s responsibility to uphold sexual purity and protect marriage.  Men need to help.

1 Corinthians 6:18

Flee fornication.  Every sin that a man doeth is without the body;  but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. KJV

Sigh.  Gospel singer Kim Burrell has been trending on Facebook for two days.  She was giving a sermon in a church and said something about a perverted homosexual spirit.  Someone recorded it and the video circulated around social media.  A lot of people became enraged and called her comments hate speech.  Celebrities, including gospel singers have condemned Ms. Burrell and turned their backs on her.  She has maintained her stance and is refusing to apologize.

Ms. Burrell is on the soundtrack of the new movie “Hidden Colors” and she was going to perform on the daytime talk show “Ellen” soon.  Her appearance on the show has been cancelled probably due to Ellen DeGeneres being a lesbian and all.  The timing of all of this is quite peculiar.  I’m unsure if this is sabotage or a brilliant marketing ploy thought of by Ms. Burrell’s managers.

Here’s the long and short of it.  The Bible does not condone homosexuality.  It just doesn’t.  No where.  Like at all.  The Biblical model for marriage involves one man and at least one woman.  Period.  Kim Burrell is a preacher and is called to preach from the Bible.  Not “The Wall Street Journal” or “Teen Vogue” or “Cosmopolitan”.  There’s really no way around that.  So I really don’t know what all the fuss is about.  Have we not all heard this before?  And if you don’t believe in God, or the Bible or have any respect for church why do you care what some gospel singer thinks?  Why you mad?

It’s not fair to ask someone to compromise who they are to suit you.  Gays shouldn’t have to do it but neither should Christians.  There is room for all of us to live our dreams in this world.  Everything comes down to respect.

I really thought that once gay marriage was legalized that would put some of the disagreements to rest.  I thought that marriage rights were the goal and that was what the gay community wanted.  Evidently I was wrong.  Homosexuality has been normalized in pop culture.  There are many gay celebrities and gay characters on TV.  None of this seems to have done much to make the gay community happy.

FYI I am a Christian that has always been in favor of civil unions or gay marriage.  As a civil matter I see absolutely no reason to be against same sex marriage.  I don’t want any group in America to feel like they are being discriminated against or being denied their pursuit to happiness.  I am not a person that likes to see anyone stand on a high horse and pass judgment on others.  But that is a two way street.  I have always believed in live and let live.  That is a two way street as well.

I have read or watched remarks on social media that blame Christianity and specifically Ms. Burrell for gay people committing suicide.  I do not understand what it is like to be gay or suicidal.  I am not a therapist.  But if you are depressed and need help please seek it out.  It seems like a real disservice to blame someone else for your depression or mental health problem.  Learn to love and value yourself.

Furthermore, the remarks made about Kim Burrell are just plain mean, misogynistic and racist.  There have been dozens, probably hundreds of remarks made about her weight on social media.  There have been remarks saying that she looks like a man.  I even read a remark saying that Black women are disgusting.  This is lynch mob bullying folks.  All of this negativity is not really standing for anything but hatefulness.  But I thought these folks were fighting for love.

In sixteen days the U.S. will inaugurate our new president who chose Mike Pence to be our Vice President.  While Mr. Pence was Governor of Indiana he opposed laws that made it illegal to discriminate against gays.  He also diverted funs away from programs to combat AIDS.  Pence also supports gay conversion therapy.  Mr. Pence is the type of Christian that makes Christianity embarrassing but no one is giving Gov. Pence the treatment that Kim Burrell is getting.

The fact is that Kim is an easy target.  She is a gospel singer that has no real power or a great deal of influence.  Mike Pence is a White man that influences policy and will soon probably be running our country.  Cowards don’t have the nerve to challenge him.  So they make fun of the chubby Black woman instead.  It’s sad and shameful and I may go buy a Kim Burrell CD soon.

It takes all kinds to make the world turn.  That includes the Christians and the Gays.  Both groups need to learn that no one has the moral high ground and everyone’s beliefs should be respected.  Live and let live.