I had no clue what went on in the US during my three-week trip to Guatemala; I tried my hardest to stay disconnected from the internet in order to focus on my work. One of the few times I checked Facebook, I saw posts and posts and posts about the most recent racial controversies. I allowed myself to be distracted and began searching the internet for information on what happened. And I was disappointed. I was disappointed in the way this split the nation. I was disappointed in how people began "choosing" the police or minorities. I was disappointed in the result of poor police work. I was disappointed in the retaliation with violence. I was most disappointed how both sides felt the right to justify the loss of lives.
Within our society, we promote ourselves the judges in order to justify our own actions or the actions of others. Any issue of this sort promotes two parties, with each going radically to one side. In our greatest times of hurt, we are all broken and truly human. Instead of coming together, we choose to push people away. We all take our emotions and turn them into the same anger, resentment, pain that we despise so much. We are a polarized nation. We can claim "Love" as much as we want, but it means nothing if we do not live it.
The union that I dream of is not so foreign, a certain Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the same thing. He is a sort of a god within our culture, but sometimes we forget he was a martyr first. A campaign focused on battling hate with love took another blow in his death. At what point will people sacrifice their desire to be right for the greater goal of uniting a nation? Right and wrong are subjective to each individual. Our society is at a tipping that will either breed more hate or lead to a unified nation. The choice is up to us, the people, and it is determined by how we lead our lives. Will it be with love and understanding, or with a closed mind?
As a white male, I understand that I will never truly understand what different groups of people go through or deal with. I also know that making any sort of claims that I do understand will only promote my own ignorance. What I do know is that I can be an ear for listening, a shoulder to lean on, or a physical presence in a time of need. I don't have all the answers, I know that. I offer forth my love and the love of my Creator.
I beg that we all take a step back to view where we are headed. Our actual direction, not our intention, will lead us to where we want to be. I hope all can find the right path within our own lives that will take us to unity.
