If Chivalry is Dead it's due to an absence of Virtuous Women.

"So many women just don't know how great they really are. They come to us all Vogue outside, and vague on the inside." - Mary Kay Ash

The absence of Chivalry is often spouted as a common frustration amongst women. Though not extinct, many women wish traditional male courtesy maintained a stronger presence in today's society.

Yet I've found, more often than not, the women who express such frustrations don't in fact deserve the intense honor and respect of a chivalrous man.

As valid a point as they make, their own integrity and the respect they expect from men are often in-congruent. How can these women demand more respect than they give themselves?

And how can they find fault in men for not graciously offering something they have yet to earn?

Respect isn't the birth-right of a double X chromosome.

Who wants to open the door for someone who's belly button can be seen through the top of their shirt or who has more fingers on their hand than they do threads in their skirt?

Who wants to cultivate a rich and rewarding relationship with an individual who routinely discusses explicit details of their personal exploits on Twitter or Facebook?

The argument is illogical.

"Let us leave pretty women to men devoid of imagination." - Marcel Proust

Hip Hop...Who cares?

Honestly.

Outside of the culture. Outside of those "In it for the long haul".

Who cares?

Hip-Hop as expansive as it is has only genuinely "touched" a small audience in the grander scheme of things.

Those ignorant to it's depth, those unable to separate the culture from it's art, only have the shallow impressions it leaves upon the media from which to draw their conclusions.

And it's in that ignorance, barraged with the misogyny and glamorization of material accolades, that they conclude "Hip-Hop is dead". And who can blame them when the art of the culture remains in a constant state of self-mockery?

What's there to "hook" the mis-informed when the masses award their support to the "Booty Dew"s and "Stanky Leg"s of the artistry?

Why should they care when it appears as if we, those invested in the culture, don't?

Has racism stifled the existence of Black Culture?

Webster defines culture as "The predominating values or behaviors that characterize a specific group or organization".

Throughout time epic civilizations have come and gone. Each with their own rich culture. Practices and traditions saturated in their core values.

Today I find culture most present in the major ethnic parties of the world. Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Indian, Italian, Jewish, Native American. All massive civilizations who as a whole hold an authentic conviction to preserving the core of their culture.

And yet as I comb through the melting pot that is America I find myself unable to pin down the existence of Black Culture. Does it exist?

Black in the sense of the American Negro. For I feel a large majority of those who identify themselves as "African American" on their legal documents would more accurately prefer to designate themselves "Black" given the option. Though genetically rooted in the African culture it is my belief that the modern day "African American" doesn't identify with being African very much if at all. And rightfully so. At this point several centuries seperate us from the original classification. At this point we are "Black".

So where is our culture? Where do we stand amidst the other towering nationalities of the world? Did our conviction to hatred during our racial contest drown out our Culture?

I readily admit we as a people share certain stereotypical/genetic commonalities, but as a whole I find we have no widespread traditions. Or at the very least an accumulation of shared values.

The Inertia Forum

By scientific definition The Inertia Forum is an incorrect title for this blog. In fact by definition it's almost a complete contradiction to the insights I aim to find burrowed between it's web-pages one day.

Physics defines Inertia as the resistance of any physical object to a change in it's state of motion.

Inertia in and of itself is quite boring. At it's very core encompassing guttural inactivity. And yet, just a few mouse-clicks above this sentence it lies emblazoned upon this page.

Why?

Because for me, Inertia embodies every finite ounce of potential to be had in life. It's within such barren voids of inactivity that I believe you can harness the potential for change.

Inevitable, incessant, glorious change.

Being human, alive ourselves, I believe we've all succumb to Inertia at some point. Whether for a brief instance or for several prolonged years I feel we've all found ourselves lulled into cycles of monotonous inactivity.

Resisting change, striving to preserve a comfortable yet unsatisfying experience.

Ironically it's in this space I find the greatest inspirations dwell. Nurtured by a longing innate need to expand. To grow. And so I dedicate this forum to that carnal passion. In the hopes that through inspired communion with others, those longing for that satiating expansion can unearth their own un-trodden purpose.