We were all blessed with talents that the world can benefit from whether we decide to use them or not. Notice, I said the world. Even though we know we live in a world shared by billions of individuals, we tend to believe our independent way of living and heritages supersedes all others. This is another sad case of arrogant ignorance. If we believe in an almighty God, since when were given the power of superiority to any human being on this planet?

Going Against the Grain is my lifestyle that I encourage. It is not simply the name of my company. It is an ideology that says, "I dare to be different." It says for me that not all black men are in music videos, playing sports or in prison. Now, don't take that as me minimizing any of those examples, expect prison of course, because I am pretty good on the dance floor with a great ear for good music; I am well-talented in many sports; and I have been arrested a time or two. So my attitude of going against the grain comes from not wanting to be placed in the lump with what people typically expect to see a black man living in America becoming.

I believe in cultivating our intellectual talents just as we focus on our creative talents. I found that there are many people pursuing the same dreams, and that simply cannot be a testament of honesty. We are a diverse people with diverse talents. So why not go against the norm, go against the "popular" and go against the grain? It is more peaceful to be who you are (once it doesn't cause harm to others) even when it is not easy at times.

We should love everyone not just those who can do for us. We should respect everyone, not just those older or more powerful than us. We should understand that a "culture" is trained and limited geographically, but human instincts, love and compassion stretch across national borders and over the roughest and widest oceans. A belief we should feverishly practice. We cannot be restricted or limited to where we learned to eat and dress. We cannot only possess an affinity for people who sat in the same schools and churches as us. Our mental and intellectual capacity goes much further. We cannot be permanently affected by personal devastations where we are unable to express the positive attributes we were born with.

Embrace humans in ways we deserve and stop treating people based on what flag they happen to be born under or linguistic accent their tongues project.

St. Thomas native Devin "Dutchie" Robinson is a six-time author and columnist. He can be reached at www.devinrobinson.com.