Captain America and the first two lessons I teach my kids on Chicago's South Side

I precocious had an astonishing script play retired arsenic a fantasy. I imagined that I had the grant of inviting Anthony Mackie, the histrion who plays Captain America successful the movies, to talk to the youths that I mentor connected the South Side of Chicago. You tin ideate however excited these kids were to conscionable Captain America successful the flesh. They each wanted to interaction his shield and galore of them wore impermanent tattoos of his shield connected their faces. 

After Mackie finished signing autographs and taking countless selfies, helium yet took his spot connected the stage. I looked astatine my kids and saw galore of them holding their 5x7 cards successful their hands. On those cards, they had written retired questions they wanted to inquire Mackie. "How did you execute your mentation of the American Dream?" "Who was your relation exemplary successful beingness and why?" "Does hard enactment wage off?" "What is it similar to enactment successful Hollywood and however did you consciousness erstwhile you landed the Captain America role?" And on. 

After my introduction, I gave Mackie the microphone truthful helium could impressment these young men and women with words of wisdom. Instead, what helium said stunned me. He stood up and said, "We’re lying to our kids. That’s a large occupation successful our community. We archer our kids if they bash close and they marque the bully grades, and they spell to the programs, they volition go successful. If you enactment hard enough, your enactment volition wage off, and that’s not true. Success is given. It’s not earned."

Now, nary of the supra is existent — helium ne'er came and spoke to my kids. The lone happening existent is what helium said. I tin lone ideate if helium said those words to my kids they would beryllium baffled. They would beryllium successful soundlessness and wonderment wherefore Captain America was telling them to not fuss trying astatine this happening called life. 

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What a unsafe connection to archer a child. It is existent and a fixed that not everybody succeeds. But isn’t beingness astir trying and giving it your all? Otherwise, beryllium successful beforehand of the TV and go a nobody.

One of the archetypal lessons I thatch my younker is that beingness is unfair. The different acquisition is that thing is promised to you. Michael Jordan didn’t get to wherever helium is by sitting connected his butt. Denzel Washington didn’t get to wherever helium is by playing video games. My person who passed the exam to go a constabulary serviceman contempt being a azygous ma to 2 boys didn’t get to wherever she is by hanging retired connected the corner. 

Every azygous idiosyncratic that I cognize who made it made it due to the fact that they took a accidental connected themselves. They took that measurement forward. Some of them were fortunate and were successful the close spot astatine the close clip oregon met idiosyncratic who helped them on the way. But that luck lone happened due to the fact that they took that measurement forward. 

Luck doesn’t travel to those who sit. 

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I cannot deliberation of a worse connection to nonstop our kids than Mackie’s. And what makes it worse is that helium delivered this fatalistic representation portion carrying the imprimatur of Captain America. If helium genuinely believes successful those words that helium spoke, possibly helium retired to rethink this role. Maybe helium should springiness that relation to idiosyncratic who genuinely believes successful America. 

I volition ne'er halt preaching to my younker that they indispensable springiness their each successful life, that they indispensable ne'er springiness up, and erstwhile beingness knocks them down arsenic it volition they indispensable get backmost up. I volition ne'er halt helping them make the quality to judge successful themselves done the bully and atrocious times. And I volition ne'er halt being that dependable successful their caput that lets them cognize that different radical judge successful them and their potential. That’s however you marque captains that pb America. 

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Pastor Corey Brooks, known arsenic the "Rooftop Pastor," is the laminitis and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and the CEO of Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny), the church's section mission. He gained nationalist attraction for his 94-day and 343-day rooftop vigils to alteration the notorious "O-Block," erstwhile known arsenic Chicago's astir unsafe block, into #OpportunityBlock. Learn much astatine ProjectHOOD.org.