i have a new hero. his name is william wilberforce. he doesn’t fit the mold of most superheroes. he doesn’t wear a cape, or underwear on the outside of his pants. although, i would like him even more if he did. he doesn’t fly or have x-ray vision. he was actually a pretty sickly dude. couldn’t even recover from a cold, let alone a bullet to the chest. that’s not true, but it sounded cool. i’m like wikipedia. the facts don’t have to be true if they sound believable or entertaining. he couldn’t hold a candle to the incredible hulk in an arm wrestle. heck, even catwoman could tune him up. so why do i look up to him as my hero? is it because i am a wimp? kind of…

but he was someone who worked within a broken system to bring about change of epic proportions. he was a young politician, anxious to get ahead. he was a hippy liberal who cared about justice for the poor and oppressed, which at that time was most obviously seen in the slave trade. one day, he returned to his childhood faith of Christianity, and was debating leaving public office. he had a choice. to follow God, or to be a political activist. so he chose both. and he did it exceedingly well. he gave his heart and soul to something he believed in. and it worked. he started out as the only one brave enough to speak out against the injustice of the day. after years and years or demonstrations, gathering evidence, working the system, etc…he did it. he was the one at the center of bringing the slave trade to an end in “not so” great britain (at least at this time in their history). i hate writing about history, because i’m sure i have some of my facts messed up, and someone will come along and correct me and say i got some information wrong. so if i do, forgive me. it’s not to twist the truth. it’s just that what i know of this man inspires me. he truly is everything that i want to be. inspired, full of passion, unsatisfied with the way things are…and willing to fight to change them.

not satisfied. that’s a weird quality to look for in a hero, or in your own life for that matter. most of us want to be satisfied. and i do as well, someday. i will be satisfied with the small victories towards a more just society. but never satisfied enough to sit down on the sidelines. well, truthfully, sometimes i will sit on the sidelines. because i suck at the long haul. but w-force (wilberforce’s hiphop name) inspires me to stand up and move again. i don’t think the goal of our lives should be satisfaction. i mean, maybe someday we will be satisfied. when the roll is called up yonder, and all that. but for here and now, we should never be satisfied. we can be happy, but i think it is when we are most unsettled that we are most truly happy and fulfilled. and it’s not about staying in the negative and never being satisfied. it’s just that to live your life never wanting more for the world seems empty and hollow. and sometimes we will win the battles and get to be satisfied. it’s then that we start over, and fight a new battle. to stay in satisfaction seems so boring to me.

so these are my ramblings on a monday afternoon. the moral of the story is, look for my new hip hop album in stores tomorrow, “W-Force presents: shake yo’ money maker”. it’s featuring lil’wayne. it wouldn’t be a hip hop album without featuring lil’wayne.