Once again, our world has experienced a tremendous amount of pain and suffering during the past week. With more lives lost due to gun violence, and other lives threatened by prejudice and injustice, our world seems to be going in circles. Now, everyone has their own opinion on what they consider right and wrong, true or false in regards to the incidents this week, (Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the Dallas shooting.) And I believe we're each entitled to that, so I am not here to sway you one way versus the other.
What I do want to write about is being the change. Becoming the change that our world so desperately needs to see and believe in. When situations like these happen, I would hope, most of us ask ourselves, "What can we do to help?" or "How do we prevent this from happening again?"
The best thing to do as American citizens is to first, educate ourselves. Research what is happening throughout the world and in the neighborhoods surrounding you. Know the crime rates and criminal threats that our law enforcement is fighting against every day. Learn about the ethnic and economic statuses of your hometown, and research those of the cities dealing with these major issues. Understand the severity of racism and prejudice minorities face everyday.
Next, learn about the people of power in your communities. Call or contact the politicians and legislators in your area. These are the persons chosen by us, or voted in to this position, because of us. They agreed to listen to us, to hear our voice and promised to make a difference. They are fully aware of their job descriptions and what it means to serve the community they stand with.
Every day we have the option to promote peace. Depending on the type of person you are, this may seem like the easiest thing in the world, or it could be viewed as close to impossible. For the sake of this article, I'm going to ignore all of the things fighting against a peaceful way of life, for the simple fact that, they can be ignored. Regardless of what each of us have going on in our personal lives, we still have to interact with our fellow species each and every day. There is no avoiding human interaction. So, my advice is to interact peacefully, lovingly, patiently, and courageously. To treat our neighbors the way we would want to be treated.
Lastly, in order to be the change, we have to ask God to make a change, so I encourage each of us to pray. Pray for humanity. Pray for the families or friends that have lost loved ones due to violence. Pray for the people in charge to find solutions. Pray, that we accept and love our brothers and sisters. Pray that we are teaching our children, and the younger generations, acceptance. Pray that God would protect us, from any and all evil. Pray that we make a difference. Pray that we can be the difference. Pray that we don't have to face anymore days where we wake up to more headlines of hate.
