Merriam-Webster defines "deja-vu" as “a feeling that one has seen or heard something before,” or “something overly or unpleasantly familiar.” The past few days I have been living in a stage of deja-vu. Another shooting. Another city. Another protest. Another riot. However, this time, it hit a little closer to home... literally.
After watching various videos and reading various articles, I am in a state of disbelief. Images of chaos, violence and hatred in the streets. Peaceful protests turned into sinful passion making headlines yet again. These images, these videos don’t look like something from the United States, the hub for freedom and democracy. They look like something from a movie. They look like a scary, realistic fiction. It doesn’t seem real, but it is real. This isn’t “new” news. Over the past months and even years, similar situations have occurred. But I am still saddened. I am still affected.
I debated writing this article because I knew it might ruffle some feathers. But I’ve decided that maybe some feathers need to be ruffled. A few days ago a black man, Keith Scott, was shot and killed by a police officer in Mecklenburg County. This shooting, along with earlier shootings, prompted protests in Charlotte, North Carolina that turned into violent riots. North Carolina Governor, Pat McCrory, declared a state of emergency and summoned the National Guard. The city is in chaos. Lives are being lost. Officers and civilians are being injured. Property is being destroyed. Stores are being looted. Lives are being turned upside down.
We are in a difficult situation. No one wants to say anything that might offend the other or be construed as spiteful. Conservatives seem weary of saying they agree with protestors. Liberals seem reluctant to say people have taken their protest too far. White people are convincing themselves that they aren’t racist and ignore issues that can’t be ignored. Black people are angry and defensive. We are all spiraling in a dangerous cycle. We place the blame on everyone but ourselves. Not once do we take a look in the mirror and consider that we could be in the wrong. Hate, violence and anger are becoming our methods of communication, thoughts and actions. We find anger in circumstances that we know nothing about and somehow convince ourselves that because others may think differently, they are ignorant, wrong and worthless.
We are posting hateful tweets and statuses like it’s our “civic duty” to boast about our “intelligence” and how our favored candidate won’t let this happen again. We are removing ourselves from the situation and lofting ourselves up, wearing this façade that we truly are concerned and affected by the hate that is running deep in our country. We are joking, joking, about the chaos, the hate, the evil that is dividing us.
Trying to decide whether we stand for “Blue Lives Matter” or “Black Lives Matter” or just stay silent has distracted us from actually trying to solve or fix anything. We are forgetting that the greatest commandment is love.
Mark 12:30-31 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” We are forgetting this. We are letting our mistreatments, injustices and anger get the best of us. It is hard to love the people who do us wrong. It’s probably the hardest thing to do. But hate accomplishes nothing. Hates pushes us back 20 steps. Regardless of our “side,” we must love the other. We have to start loving each other through the sins--through the hate.
Once we do this, we can start the healing. But healing cannot come without love. Healing cannot come without God. Instead of becoming angry and basing your feelings and opinions on what is considered right or popular, think about love. Focus on love. Without it, things are just going to get worse.
