Publisher's Note

By Janice S. Ellis

Are we, like the generations of Americans before us prepared for the “War of the 21st Century?” President Obama, Congress, our troops, and our nation require the united support of every citizen in this country. It must be a collective New Year resolve because the war on terrorism is unlike any war previously fought. 

This war will last long into our future history, and it will require us to attack and defend multiple fronts. This war will require us to utilize multiple strategies to destroy an enemy with multiple disguises, an enemy that is scattered throughout many places.

By Janice S. Ellis

Too often, we define the state of our heath and happiness, our security and prosperity by the state of our pocketbook or bank accounts. If we can afford to enjoy the kind of life style that we desire—whether that is defined by a type of house, a kind of automobile, how many times we go out for dinner, go out on the town, or simply how much money we may have squirreled away—we somehow equate those things with a state of well-being.

By Janice S. Ellis

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks, but it is also an opportunity to try to help our families and neighbors gain perspective on what must seem like a perpetual sea of unwelcome changes.

Where has our once relatively tranquil and somewhat predictable American way of life gone?

How has and how will the war with Iraq, and possibly Afghanistan change our lives? Will there be more terrorist attacks in or near our own backyards? In the coming months, will the economy continue to get better or worse?

By Janice S. Ellis

The audacity of hope. Why not the audacity of honest conversations?

About race and ethnicity, that is.

Rather than just participating in a sporadic conversation born of out of a reaction to some incident that is beamed to us by satellite via our favorite medium of communication, or something we witnessed at work or play, we must willingly engage in whatever opportunity that presents itself as we go about our daily lives.

All forms of passive engagement only require a minimum effort on our part. To truly lift this cloud of color angst that hovers and hangs over us—some days high, some days low, but ever present—we must be proactive about it.

We must want to overcome our collective reticence, our fear, our conflict-avoidance syndrome, and get to the stage where race relation issues become a natural part of the national dialogue, both formally and informally. Whether these conversations occur in classrooms, coffee houses, community forums or family gatherings—we need to cultivate a good appetite to learn as much as we can about other people and cultures.