Professionalism and Public Images of Civilization

‘Consideration’ is our ability to think about how our words/actions effect ourselves and others before we speak or act upon something. It’s a process of making sure we do the Knowledge (Aware) before the Wisdom (Discernment), because we Understand (See) the effects of our words/actions. To Civilized People, this is a Righteous obligation, not an option or elective...

With the popularity of Reality Shows and ‘rewarding bad behavior’ approach towards the crass, uncivilized, and unprofessional attitudes displayed in mainstream HipHop, basic ‘Consideration’ has become a lost art amongst People. I can understand those who have an allegiance to these American Cultural Trends that are going with this flow, b.u.t. this mentality/behavior is totally unacceptable for Gods/Earths or any person, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or etc.., who professes to live in accordance to a standard of Civilization, Righteousness, or Godliness.

Recently I had a conversation about the importance of being aware of what we say/do as a Representative/Contact Person within our Culture. Part of this conversation involved me sharing some of my experience as a Public Figure who's been doing Community Work for many years now. As an add-on to that conversation, I just wanted to share with you a few points of interest.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that whenever we take a stance of responsibility within our Families and Communities, we are expressing a position of Leadership. This is Leadership because we are actively involving ourselves in the solution process of addressing current/future problems. Leadership doesn’t just mean you’re THE Head, Leadership means you’re a part of the ‘ship’ to ‘lead’ People in the right direction. Anytime we take responsibility for Leadership, we must be ‘Considerate’; able to think about how our words/actions effect ourselves and others before we speak or act upon something. To claim responsibility and then minimize or dismiss the importance of maintaining a Professional, Mature, and Respectable Public Image to those within our Family and Community is not showing a sense of ‘Consideration’. The People whom we are claiming to assist are already looking towards us for guidance and support in addressing their needs, and to have an Attitude like “it doesn’t matter what People think”, “What I do is my business”, “I’m not a Leader”, or anything else that displays no ‘Consideration’ for our constituents is detrimental to building positive/consistent Relationships with them. For example: It’s like working with the youth during the day and then not caring if they cee you selling crack on the block at night… It’s like talking about how much of a God/Earth I am on FB one minute and then five minutes later posting about how the b*tches/n*ggas had it poppin at the strip club last night… Again, ‘Consideration’ is our ability to think about how our words/actions effect ourselves/others before we speak or act upon something. It’s impossible to demonstrate and maintain effect Leadership without a level of ‘Consideration’.

Secondly, in order to even be ‘Considerate’, we must be able to listen. That’s right, LISTEN. Most People don’t know how to listen and that’s one of the main reasons why we don’t learn anything –from others or through our life experiences. Non-listeners either cut People off so they can say whatever they want to say, or simply wait for People to take a breath so they can jump in and say whatever they want to say. Add unbridled emotions to this otherwise poor display of communication and it’s a sure shot recipe for disaster. Rarely do you cee effective communication taking place between People where one person speaks while the other is listening, and then they exchange roles until they both have an understanding about the information being exchanged. It’s a skill! A discipline even, and not everyone is interested in really hearing what others have to say. If you listen closely you’ll notice that they really just like hearing the sound of their own voice bouncing off of you.

The Third point I want to make is in regards to Professionalism and Public Image. There is no substitute for Professionalism, none. How many times have you gotten terrible, unprofessional service at a Store/Restaurant and have vowed never to go back again? Hey, the food or goods may have been great quality b.u.t. because of the lack of service you received, maybe even on more than one occasion, you decided to not patronize this establishment anymore. Well, teaching Civilization is the same way. As Civilized People, we must always anticipate People’s needs and exceed their expectations! This is the greatest service you can provide for someone, so it’s important that we’re Professional; or People will decide to never come back, AND tell many other People about how negative their experience was! Because of our standards of being those who have “knowledge, wisdom, understanding, culture, refinement, and are not savages in the pursuit of happiness” (17/1-40), our job is 25/8 (not 24/7). We are not only on the Stage of Humanity, we set the Stage, and as The Fathers and Mothers of Civilization, People should always be able to look at us as models of Integrity and Wisdom. Even on our sick day we should be great! This means that our outward Public Image should coincide with the Principles and Values we inwardly subscribe to. What People cee on the outside should be synonymous with what’s ticking on the inside. How we’re living at Home should be a reflection of what we’re doing Abroad. Everyone who claims to be God/Earth is an Ambassador of our Culture. If you’re a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or etc.., you are an Ambassador of your Religion/Metaphysical System. What is the purpose of claiming something, that’s supposed to help you become a better person, if you don’t care how it effects (looks, feels, instructs, etc...) others? To me, this sounds like someone who wants the milk and no responsibility for milking the cow. It looks like a person who wants fulltime pay and benefits without being responsible for doing the work… Not only is it selfish, immature, and Egotistical, b.u.t. it’s also completely inconsiderate to expect that People be receptive to any and everything we want to say/do (our Public Image), and then dismiss their thoughts/feelings about it by proclaiming, “I don’t care what People think/say about what I do”. Not only has this person closed themselves off from receiving any comments or constructive criticism that will be effective in helping them grow, b.u.t. they’ve put a great big sign on their back that reads, “please kick me!” Being aware of our Image and how we represent ourselves to the Public is only an advantage to us, and the lack of awareness or outright inconsideration of our Public Image will always be a disadvantage and eventually our demise.

In closing, I want to encourage all of us who claim to uphold the meaning of Civilization and duty of a Civilized Person to continue taking the higher road and being a beacon of light/life amongst our People and the Human Family as a whole. What we’re saying/doing should matter first to the person in the mirror, and then this ‘Consideration’ must extend to our Family and Communities. By claiming Righteousness, we have taken upon the responsibility of adding our contributions to make this World a better place than when we got here. This is a Professional endeavor and demands the work of People who are unwilling to cut corners, take shorts, and do a half-ass job. That is unacceptable! This means that we must provide exceptional service to our People by anticipating their needs and exceeding their expectations of what being the True and Living God/Earth, a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or etc... is!

Peace,
Saladin