I want to use all of these things in part 1 to address the current atmosphere in our country. It is a combination of all of these things as to why there is so much unrest in our country. Information is coming at us so fast and with such volume that we are not able to search for truth. The sources behind much of this information have an agenda and they want their research to prove causation and to prove their point. They are using headlines and images that cause us to go to our reactive and emotional brain instead of our logical brain.
Specifically I want to speak to systemic racism and white privilege. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech was "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This is an amazing statement and I can completely get behind it. It is about true equality and that we should be judged not by our ethnicity but by our character. Which puts responsibility on individuals and not give stereotypes to vast groups. Black Lives Matters is a movement that is asking me to do just the opposite of this. They are asking me to give special privileges to a group of people just because of their skin color. That is not equality, it is it’s own form of racism. You would have me to believe that just because I have white skin, I have oppressed you as person with black skin. You do not know me or my character. I am not going to say that there are not individuals that are racist and that hate on the basis of skin color. I would be a fool to make such a statement. But I will not apologize for being white. God made me who I am and I am loved by Him. To feel guilty just because I am white would be a slap in His face.
There may be patterns of collation between wealth and skin color but it is not to be mistaken with causation. There is no doubt that our country has a history of slavery and segregation. I know that. But those things are no longer. We have come a very long way from the 1960’s. There are no more laws prohibiting blacks. Those statists you are reading have much more to do with socioeconomic status than they do with race. Look at all the factors. The inner city, predominately black neighborhoods have many other factors coming into play that just skin color. Some include, fatherlessness, lack of education, and generational patterns of poor decisions. In our country we all have the opportunity to become whoever we want. I fully understand that some have it much harder than others, but that no longer in our country, is a direct result of skin color. It is a result of a person’s own choices. There are many black people in high paying jobs and in high positions. They worked hard to get where they are and anyone can do the same. It’s the American dream, you work hard and you can become anything. You are not held back by anything but yourself. That is truly an amazing concept and one that is unique to America and should be treasured and protected. I know full well that some have many more obstacles in life than I do but I also know there are many who have prospered in the face of great adversity. To blanket the situation and say that white people are privileged and black people are not is just not true. It is situation by situation. To ask white people to give black people special privileges based on their skin color degrades people of color who have worked hard for what they have. Everyone in America has the right to work hard and become who they want to be. Before all of this, I thought we were getting to a place where individuals were being judged by their character, regardless of their gender or race, but this movement is taking us backwards.
I do not pretend to think that we live in a fully just world or that our justice system is completely unflawed. But I do know that anyone who is a law-abiding citizen has no cause to worry about being gunned down by authorities or oppressed just because of the color of their skin. Those who break the law should be held accountable and not given special privileges because of their skin color. I don’t want to live in a country of lawlessness. I abide by the law and I expect others to do the same. I also expect those that disobey the law to be punished. That goes both ways for blacks and whites. To say that police are systematically hunting down and killing black people for no reason is nothing but a lie.
They are even going so far as to make white people feel like racists if they disagree or speak out against them. They are taking us to our reactive, emotional brains by blasting headlines that tug at our moral emotions. We become illogical and reactive instead of searching for truth. Do not underestimate the lure of power and how far some will go to attain it. Use your common sense and see that we are in an election year. The Democratic Party is exploiting the black community to get votes, to get power. Logic tells you this. If you go to the black lives matter website and donate money, it takes you Act Blue Charities. If you look up Act Blue Charities you will see that it goes to fund the Democratic Party. They are manipulating us into thinking this is a moral issue. It is based on lies, half-truths and propaganda. Causing the general public to be emotional instead of being logical. If you are logical about your research you will see the truth. I will say it again, I know there are unjust situations that occur all the time but the basis behind this movement is that police are systematically hunting down and killing law abiding black people as genocide, and that is not true.
Another is that just because I am white I have special privileges and just because you are black, you don’t have those same privileges. That is just not true anymore. Because of Martin Luther King Jr’s movement we no longer have laws against people on the basis of race. In fact where are many laws of protection against this. We need people to take responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming others.
What will fix this is better education in lower income communities. I would love to see Black athletes and Celebrities donating money to better these communities. Investing in them, especially the ones who have come from those communities and understand them. That is where and when change happens. Fatherlessness needs to be eradicated, but we all know you cannot force someone to be a good dad or to make good choices. Many of these patterns are a result of generations of poor decision-making. Not only that, but there is often a sense of guilt placed on those who try to better themselves and get out of those neighborhoods. Those are the factors that cause the differences between us. That is much more effected economics than purely by race. So instead of asking for special privileges for your fellow black Americans, ask how you can help get them out of destructive patterns. I can tell you it starts with education and love not with riots or hate.
May we all return to our logical thinking brains before we head to the polls.