I use this space to talk about more things than just black and white issues.
But make no mistake, as a black man growing up in an America where race is interwoven into the very history of our country, how people of my race handle social and politcal issues is always something I pay close attention to.

The spotlight has always been ... and always will be ... on blacks who've made their way to positions of responsibility.
But that spotlight is shining even more intensely on us now than ever before as America gets ready to inaugurate its first-ever African American president.

If you think people ... black and white ... have scrutinized the moves of powerful black people in the past, wait til Barack Obama takes office.
You ain't seen nothing yet.

But is it fair to scrutinize only those powerful black people, or has the recent politcal reality series titled "Blacks Gone Wild" actually clouded the picture of what's really taking place in American politics?  

In less than two years, black elected officials across the country have been caught red-handed doing everything from taking a paltry few thousand dollars in bribes to using millions of dollars in taxpayer's money to cover up sexual affairs.

And while those incidents are truly pathetic, they aren't any worse than a white U.S. Senator using kickbacks from wealthy constituents to make lavish improvements to his home, or more recent allegations of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich selling a U.S. Senate seat.

Black, white or green ... the color that most stands out surrounding all those incidents is messy brown.

How do we stop it? 
How do we make people of power ... of any color ... straighten up and fly right?

Its not that complicated. 
Just take a page out of the book our parents used when they were raising us as kids ... they watched everything we did.
And if we got out of line they slapped us upside the head.

In my current position, I report daily to a man who is a former United States Marine officer. 
Virtually everything he does is by the book.

And there is ONLY one book ... his.
If you miss something on one of his pages, that's your ass.
If you choose to ignore something on one of those pages, that's your ass.
If you decide to re-write something on one of those pages it better be better than what he's written or ... you got it ... that's your ass.

He's virtually always critiquing you on your job and always pushing you to do better.

Some people don't operate well in those type of environments. But being watched on how you do your job comes with the territory in certain, high-profile jobs.

And particularly today, in an economy so out of whack that virtually every dollar spent has to be spent wisely, the people others entrust to spend those bucks must ... Repeat: They MUST ... operate with a sense of urgency to do the job they were hired to do.

The word I'm hinting around at is oversight.

Someone has to be responsible for overseeing another's job.
And somebody else has to be responsible to ensure the person watching somebody else is really doing their job, too.
And somebody's got to be watching them ... and somebody watching them ... and somebody else even watching them, too.

The honor system is a beautiful thing, but it really only exists if somebody's watching to see how honorable you really are.

(Darron Patterson is President of WriteStuf Communications, LLC, and Director of Communications at the United States Sports Academy)