"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." - Mark 3:25 (NIV)
This Bible verse, more commonly recognized from the "House Divided" speech given by Abraham Lincoln in 1858, has been the thought that keeps nagging at me over the past few days. Seeing the violence I think of how it still relates. Still a fight against the inequality of races. The Black Lives Matter movement screams out for equality against police brutality. Those who support the police forces defend their cause. While I sit here, a middle-class white person, wondering what I should think, what should I do. I cannot be the only one who feels caught in the middle.
Why is it when I say "All Lives Matter" am I immediately considered a racist? I believe in equality, and when I say I support the Black Lives Matter movement, I am ridiculed. People ask me "What do you know of social injustice? You are white." Here I take the opportunity to fully acknowledge my white privilege and I recognize that there is racial profiling in our world today. I see people walk down the street and pass my brother, a white person, and not bat an eye. I see the same people take a second look at my sister, who is from India. I realize there is social injustice. When I say "All Lives Matter" it doesn't mean I don't value another person's life, it means I want everyone to matter. To me, it doesn't matter if you're black, brown, white or purple. The color of your skin means nothing to me, why would I judge you off of an adaptation that your ancestors inherited thousands of years ago to better survive?
Why is it when I say, "I support our police," I am considered racist? Why can I not question what happened before the videos of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile? I mourn the death of those two men, but the last thing that crossed my mind about their deaths was the color of their skin. I struggle believing the officers involved in the case thought of that either. What happened truly? In any of those situations, past, present or future? I do not accept police brutality. It is not acceptable for someone who is sworn to serve and protect to abuse their power. But until I stand in those officers' shoes and see exactly what they were thinking, will I be able to judge what and why this is happening. I do not believe it is because these cops think of the victim's race. I think in the heat of the moment, a very animalistic instinct kicks in and it becomes "you or me." The officers put themselves, their families, their communities above the victim. I cannot judge whether that is right or wrong, but I do know we cannot slaughter innocent cops. My heart breaks at the injustice shown in Dallas by the young man who shot 12 officers, killing five. All Lives Matter.
Now I ask my real questions. Why am I forced to pick a side? Why are we forcing America to take sides?
I have news for you U.S.A., wake up. We aren't going to need terrorism or foreign threats to destroy our home. We are going to do it ourselves. If we can't figure out how to work together to create a better future there isn't going to be one. It won't matter which side you're on. It won't matter if you are Pro-Black Lives or Pro-Police. If we can't figure out how to look past people's skin color, or continue to blame others when we feel our rights have been violated, we are in trouble. You and I may not know what to do or how to fix everything, but I hope we find a solution soon, because I fear that if we can't figure it out, we will destroy ourselves. The Civil War claimed more than 620,000 lives. I hope this unrest does not result in any more lives lost, much less 600,000. But one thing remains the same: "A house divided will fall."
