The Drum and Spear, equivalent to our “Letters to the Editor” column, is dedicated to publishing opinion pieces submitted by the people. The articles published here may not reflect the views of The Burning Spear newspaper or the African People’s Socialist Party. Readers are encouraged to submit responses to any articles that appear under this section.
By Taharka Omowale
All forms of oppression, systemic miseducation and genocide do not merely deprive a people of their land, wealth, or freedom-they assault the human mind itself. They reshape thought, distort identity, and corrode the moral and psychological character of an oppressed people across generations. The aspiration for liberation is therefore never simply a physical escape from bondage; it is an arduous struggle to break free from deeply entrenched systems of social, economic, political and psychological imprisonment.
The chains of domination are often forged as much in the human mind as they are through institutional power, making genuine freedom impossible without both intellectual and moral self-determination.
Law of cause and effect
One’s mindset and character traits, whether noble or corrupt, positive or negative, do not emerge in a void. They are forged by the relentless interaction of social, economic, political, cultural and environmental forces governed by the inexorable (unavoidable) law of cause and effect. Every condition of life exerts a formative influence upon the human mind, shaping perception, values, conduct, and ultimately, one’s destiny.
Human beings are social creatures. From childhood, people learn that society rewards certain behaviors while discouraging others. As a result, many individuals consciously attempt to influence how others perceive them. They carefully construct a public image designed to gain admiration, acceptance, authority, friendship, or trust.
Society often encourages people to make favorable first impressions, but there is a profound difference between presenting one’s best self and manufacturing an artificial identity. The people the world sees are sometimes only a carefully rehearsed performance rather than a genuine reflection of who they truly are.
The difficulty arises when an individual’s public image is fundamentally different from the person they become when no one is watching. Such an individual may appear honest, disciplined, compassionate, or morally upright in public while privately engaging in conduct that contradicts those very qualities. This creates a conflict between appearance and reality. Maintaining such a contradiction demands constant effort because the individual must continually manage appearances instead of developing genuine character.
Mask finally falls
No performance can continue forever. Eventually, private conduct catches up with public appearances. The truth has a remarkable way of revealing itself, often when it is least expected.
What was hidden gradually becomes visible through repeated actions, careless decisions, or unforeseen circumstances. When the mask finally falls away, people are not shocked because someone made a mistake; they are disappointed to discover they had been trusting an illusion rather than an authentic person. A reputation built upon questionable appearances is fragile because it depends upon deception rather than integrity.
Personal control
It’s not enough to merely be physically free, we have to get our minds right too. The only things that truly belong to you and remain within your control are your own mind, your actions, and your conduct. Everything else exists outside your personal control. You cannot control another person’s thoughts, decisions, emotions or behavior because every human being retains the freedom to exercise his or her own will. Likewise, the outcome of events is often influenced by unexpected circumstances beyond anyone’s control. You can govern your own attitude, but you cannot govern the attitude of others. This simple truth frees a person from many unnecessary disappointments.
When someone attempts to force another person to accept them, admire them, love them, or agree with them, they are pursuing something they do not control. If the other person responds differently than expected, the rejection feels personal, creating unnecessary embarrassment, frustration and emotional defeat. Yet the rejection was never truly within one’s control in the first place. Peace begins when a person accepts responsibility only for what genuinely belongs to them: their own thoughts, informed choices, and behavior.
Many people exhaust themselves attempting to control what cannot be controlled, like other people’s minds, without manipulating them. They become consumed with how others perceive them, whether they receive enough attention and accolades, whether everyone approves of their decisions, or whether every relationship develops according to their expectations.
This constant fake performance struggle creates anxiety because it is built upon an impossible objective. Emotional stability begins when a person stops measuring success by the reactions of others and instead measures success by the integrity of their own conduct which comes from within oneself, authentically.
Self-discipline
Purposeful action toward meaningful goals such as organizing people within the New Afrikan Independence Movement requires much more than ambition. Success depends upon patience, self-control, hard work, thorough preparation, perseverance, and personal discipline. Lasting achievement is rarely produced through emotional impulses or immediate gratification.
Instead, it grows through consistent habits practiced over long periods of time. Self-discipline allows conscious reason to govern emotion, while patience enables individuals to endure temporary disappointments without abandoning worthwhile goals. Personal discipline is not merely the ability to work hard; it is the ability to remain faithful to one’s genuine principles regardless of changing circumstances.
Action without inner stability almost always leads to chaos and confusion. A restless mind often mistakes constant activity for genuine progress. Without mature emotional balance, people become reactive instead of thoughtful, impulsive instead of disciplined, and easily distracted by temporary desires or external approval. They begin making decisions based upon appearances rather than substance.
The result is often confusion, broken relationships, and unrealized potential. Productive action requires a stable inner foundation. Without it, even good intentions can produce harmful consequences.
Your life on the line
You can’t trick people into accepting you and making them like it when they find you out. You must put your life on the line to show that you are in the struggle. That’s what Denmark Vesey did; that’s what Gabriel Prosser did; that’s what Nat Turner did; that’s what Harriet Tubman did; David Walker; Ida B. Wells-Barnett; Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Marcus Garvey, Herman Ferguson; Malcolm X; Fanny Lou Hammer; Ella Baker, Lil’ Bobby Hutton; George L. Jackson; Assata Shakur, Nuh Washington; Sundiata Acoli, Zaid Malik Shakur, Mutulu Shakur, Seku Odinga, Nehanda Abiodun, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin…
Oh, my goodness, the list is too long! So who in the world are you to skip any essential step in the unavoidable dialectical process? Freedom Ain’t Free!
Prison lives matter
The school-to-prison pipeline stands as one of the most devastating manifestations of this oppressive system, disproportionately consuming the lives of poor, vulnerable, and historically marginalized nationalities. It transforms educational institutions into gateways of surveillance, criminalization, and incarceration rather than pathways to knowledge, opportunity, and self-determination. Consequently, “Prison Lives Matter,” for the humanity of incarcerated men, women, and children can neither be ignored nor discarded.
Every generation of socially and politically conscious people bears a solemn responsibility to emerge from obscurity, speak truth to power without fear, and, as Malcolm X courageously demonstrated, expose and denounce the social maladies (sickness and greed) that perpetuate criminality, corruption, exploitation, and institutional injustice. In this case, silence preserves oppression; principled resistance is the indispensable foundation of genuine liberation.
Authentic character
Any notion of an armchair revolutionary is a myth. And by the same token, any notion of a studio revolutionary guerrilla is surely a myth! It’s not about being seen. In fact, seldom seen would be better.
There are no short cuts. Everything goes through a quantitative and qualitative process of growth and development – not “Skip to My Lou, My Darling.”
Authentic character requires consistency between public conduct and private behavior.
Integrity means living by the same principles whether standing before an audience or sitting alone in complete privacy. Such consistency imbued confidence because there is no need to maintain separate versions of oneself. A truthful life eliminates the exhausting burden of pretending to be someone different depending upon who happens to be watching. Such fake, false conduct is a direct threat to the internal security of every New Afrikan organization and a threat to the entire New Afrikan Independence Movement as a whole.
Ultimately, people earn lasting respect not because they successfully managed public opinion, but because their actions consistently reflected their true character. Society may reward appearances for a season, but sooner or later, time eventually exposes what lies beneath every performance.
Human character cannot be manufactured through clever words or carefully rehearsed behavior. It is revealed through daily conduct, especially when there is no applause, no recognition and no audience or open-hand slaps on your back.
Character cannot remain concealed forever. Sooner or later, it reveals itself through human conduct. A mind consumed by negativity inevitably produces destructive results. Those who overestimate themselves while underestimating others are often headed for a harsh awakening. Cliques and exclusive circles in any social setting become fertile ground for manipulation, corruption, and agent provocateurs who exploit division for their own ends. Remember the two- legged snake – William O’Neil?
Genuine achievement
Self-discipline remains entirely within your control. Genuine achievement cannot be rushed, manufactured, or manipulated. It requires patience, perseverance and the healthy maturation that comes only through the natural step-by-step sociopolitical process. No one can bypass the necessary stages of authentic growth without ultimately paying the price.
Put plainly, before attempting to reshape or control someone else’s life, first bring your own character, conduct, and judgment into alignment. Those who adopt a carefully crafted facade while secretly pursuing ulterior motives, hidden agendas, calculated schemes and underhanded, self-serving ambitions eventually expose themselves by their own actions.
Such deceptive conduct is nothing more than diabolical machination-corrupting trust, poisoning human relationships, and ultimately benefiting no one, including those who orchestrate the deception.
Self-worth integrity
Life becomes far more meaningful when individuals stop chasing approval and begin cultivating self-worth and integrity. The opinions of others will always change, circumstances will always fluctuate, and outcomes will often remain uncertain. What never loses its value is the disciplined mind, the patient, resilient spirit, and the unwavering commitment to live honestly with yourself and with others.
Those are possessions that no one can take away because they originate from within you. In the end, a person’s greatest achievement is not convincing the world they possess good character, but actually becoming the kind of human in the struggle whose private life faithfully reflects the spirit and values they publicly profess.
ReBuild!
Straight Ahead!
Free The Land!
By Any Means Necessary!
