ac⋅cess
/ˈæksɛs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ak-ses] Show IPA
–noun
1. the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance: They have access to the files.
2. the state or quality of being approachable: The house was difficult of access.
3. a way or means of approach: The only access to the house was a rough dirt road.
4. Theology. approach to God through Jesus Christ.
5. an attack or onset, as of a disease.
6. a sudden and strong emotional outburst.
7. accession.
8. public-access television.
–verb (used with object)
9. to make contact with or gain access to; be able to reach, approach, enter, etc.: Bank customers can access their checking accounts instantly through the new electronic system.
10. Computers. to locate (data) for transfer from one part of a computer system to another, generally between an external storage device and main storage.
–adjective
11. Television. (of programming, time, etc.) available to the public: Six channels now offer access services.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME accesse (< href="http://www.dictionary.com/">Dictionary.com
Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think." ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Access is very important in not only creating opportunities for those who seek them, but for also creating options for a better life that can be enjoyed by all humankind. When people have access regardless of its implications or their occupation/ station in life, they are morally duty bound to use their access to not only benefit themselves, but to empower those who don’t have the access. Access means accountability and when you are accountable you are obligated to do what is fair and just. It is fair and just that everyone has access to a living wage, affordable housing, healthcare, education, a healthy environment and opportunities to give back.
When access is granted or favored to an individual or collective, they must be prepared to work and think hand in hand in order to ensure that they maximize and capitalize off the access to the fullest extent possible. However, access also means that ‘work smarter and not harder’ is the mantra and the law because knowledge applied is power manifested.
When one abuses one’s access it has a butterfly effect on the entire world. Recently, we have witnessed how greed and betrayal can undermine trust and support in the free market system of economics favored by western civilization. We now have a growing poverty class in our country and around the world. The middle class is evaporating because their pay doesn’t match the work and commitment they sometimes make to corporations where higher execs get bonuses whether or not their organizations make a profit or keep from laying off lower level employees. People personally and systemically abuse access when we can live in a country with first rate educational institutions and healthcare and yet many still receive third world educational opportunities and medical access.
To whom much is given much is expected. When one is blessed with access one should be blessed with the spirit of selflessness, compassion and empathy. We all must live, haves as well as have nots & have littles, in this global community together. Access means we should not be afraid of each other, but we should rather celebrate our differences, find solidarity in our similarities and hope in our disagreements. Having access means being diplomatic and thoughtful. Having access means letting others have their say while you attentively listen.
When one truly has access, one’s generosity should be limitless. A true legacy is not what you can empirically acquire and horde for yourself, but what you have done in the service of others. How has your life’s example and lifetime of giving impacted those around you as well as future generations not yet born??? Are you giving more and taking less??? Your legacy determines if you leave the world in a better shape than when you inherited it. Living a life of accessibility should allow you to plant seeds in different climates and environments that will heap bountiful harvests in different seasons. When one enjoys the luxuries of access one must think and act like Johnny Appleseed and not Ebenezer Scrooge.
Access means that it will be in the best interest of all to ensure that humanity has a chance to develop its potential by providing the correct stimulus needed for exceptional achievement and greatness to develop.
Access means we must come face to face with truth and reconciliation. If we are to truly be a more perfect union in terms of humanity then we must all admit to the inhumane treatment suffered in the past as well as presently by diverse members of our human family. We must commit our resources to make sure that these wrongs are righted and that our future generations don’t have to deal with the mess and fall off left by irresponsible and stubborn predecessors.
Access means that we as a society have economic opportunities for those graduating from Yale as well as for those coming home from jail. Access means creating an environment where teaching young people how to channel their passions and talents to become successful is the norm and not the exception. Access means socially engaging and training the people to control their own community’s economic destiny by becoming social entrepreneurs. Everybody should have access to become productive citizens of our society.
Having access means fighting for the things we can’t live without and compromising on the things we can live with. Having access means creating an open and transparent society where trust can be the foundational cement in building pro-active and ethical coalitions that will inspire others to put their best efforts forward and their individual and collective talents to good use for the greater good. Having access means being brutally honest with the person staring back at you in the mirror. Access means focusing on the constructive in constructive criticism. Having access means never resting on your laurels and always being open to evaluation, evolution and innovation, setting the benchmark for others to emulate and eventually break and top. Having access means the last will be first and the first will be last.
I always tell people that the revolution won’t be televised, but it will be blogged, podcasted and broadcasted online. With that said we must take advantage of the internet because it is truly one of the last frontiers in advancing a very humanistic agenda and philosophy. What makes it potent is the access of invaluable and even irrelevant information at a touch of a keypad. However, where it could be useful in terms of disseminating invaluable information, many of us unfortunately use it to produce impotent effects.
When you have access one must be aware of how to use their tools wisely. When you don’t discipline yourself to get the most and best out of your resources than you are truly limiting and marginalizing yourself and the greater world of possibilities that exist for imagination and invention. The internet is a valuable weapon in countering and eliminating the intergenerational divide as well as eliminating poverty of the mind, body and spirit. Those with access must take a proactive approach and lead in distributing this wealth of knowledge to the masses.
I myself have proclaimed the 21st Century to be the century of the cosmopolitan citizen. Our global community is really just that, a community. Technology has made it where talking to people across the oceans and continents is like talking to your next door neighbors in the backyard. With that said it is up to us, those with the access, to initiate a global neighborhood watch where we the people will be held with the duty of safeguarding our resources. We the people will be ethically accountable and responsible for our individual selves as well as for our collective future and destiny.
In conclusion, access means hope, change and opportunity all rolled up into one term: action. It takes action to make access work and make things happen. Noted global citizen and former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt once said to “do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” So with that said we all must be active in using our access to resources to promote the change and hope we wish to see in the world. Access is not a privilege, it’s a necessity.
Remember The Revolution Won't Be Televised But It Will Be Blogged, Podcasted & Now Broadcasted Online!!!
Artastically, Communally & Revolutionarily Yours,
Tha Artivist
W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Founder and Minister of Information
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe
http://www.youtube.com/weallbetv
http://www.weallbe.blogspot.com
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