(REAL TIMES MEDIA)—After 10 years Tavis Smiley has decided to put an end to his annual State of the Black Union Conferences. As I watched Tavis’ recorded statement thanking everyone who was a part of the project, I was nostalgic, bemused and then ultimately disappointed. I wanted a substantive explanation as to why he is ending one of the most successful and notable forums for Black discourse in American history. When he finally got to his reason, I just wasn’t buying it. The State of the Black Union had its high points and flaws, but ending the program because of the “explosion of other media outlets addressing Black issues” is an explanation that just doesn’t pass the smell test.

To the common definition of pessimist—one who anticipates the worst—I plead guilty. Yes, I know that it is the start of a new year and I ought to be looking forward to the new decade with—dare I say—“hope” and anticipation, but I can’t. Recent events have gathered the clouds of funk, casting long shadows on all I see.

The malaise actually began to overtake me on Christmas Eve when the Senate passed its health care reform bill, now commonly known as “cash for cloture.” This unpopular piece of legislation succeeded only in proving that when you ask politicians to solve social problems you get political solutions; those connected politically get the goodies and those out of political favor get the bill, which is why longshoremen and the people of Nebraska are exempt from the sacrifices the rest of us must make “for the greater good.” Compassion and humanity are lovely words that exist in the cleanliness of theory. The rubber, however, meets the road in the grit and grime of the reality of trillions of public dollars.

(NNPA)—I think that the pundits and the public should face up to one fact. The mess that President Barack Obama inherited will not be fixed in one year, or two or possibly even during his entire term. That makes it exceedingly difficult to determine, in this time framework, especially through the stream of the constant criticism of him and his policies what the real nature of his presidential contribution will be.

I recently visited two high schools and two correctional facilities. At the high schools, I observed that students are, despite what many believe about today’s young people, eager to learn and want to succeed. I wonder why this desire our children have to do well oftentimes turns into complacency, leading them down a path of self-destruction. After all, a child is born with a clean mind, clean hands and a pure heart. What happens to make these once innocent, open young people turn toward a life of violence and crime?

We can only blame ourselves. The things we put into—or do not put into—their minds ultimately determine what our children become. As we see more and more young people drop out of school and end up trapped in the criminal justice system, we cannot continue to blame them. We are failing them.