There is a famous photograph of Malcolm X in which he is standing cautiously by a window, looking out in apprehension and intensity at his attackers, and he is armed with an assault rifle.  The caption of this famous photo is “By Any Means Necessary.”  This caption seems apt in relation to what is going on in that scene, but how many times have you seen or heard this phrase?  I’ve seen it in books, magazines, and ads, and I’ve heard it used or paraphrased in popular songs.  In almost every instance in which I’ve heard or seen this phrase used, it’s been in relation to something violent or aggressive, menacing or negative.  The intent, I suppose, is that the person in question will defeat the enemy “by any means necessary,” or that he will prevent another from doing this or that to him, “by any means necessary.”  I wonder, though, why I’ve never ever seen or heard this phrase used in relation to something positive, something constructive.  It’s obvious that in every context that it’s used, the intent is to convey that, whatever that something is that the person is talking about obtaining or preventing, it is something that is vital and important.  Is this to say, then, that the only things that are that meaningful or crucial in life are things that are negative?  I don’t think so.  It just seems that people only get fierce or doggedly determined about things that they think other people are going to deny them or take away from them.  Why can’t this same determination be directed at things that are more positive and productive in life?  You know what I’d like to see, hear, or read one day? I would love to hear a young Black woman say, “I’m going to get a good education by any means necessary!”  I want see hear a young Black man say, “I am going to love and remain true and devoted to my partner by any means necessary!”  I want to read about a couple that said, “We are going to raise our children to be good people by any means necessary!” Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I don’t think that I am.  I believe that people can be just as fiercely devoted to these types of ideals as they are to the other ones that I mentioned, but these ideals aren’t popular at the moment; they haven’t caught on.  They haven’t gotten the same level of publicity that the other things have.  They haven’t had messengers before.  Be the messengers.  Be the voice for new ideals and more constructive thoughts.  Make yourself aware, and make other people know, that “I will be a more positive and constructive force in my own life, I will be a better influence for those who look up to and depend on me, and I will make the changes that I never thought possible, by any means necessary!”