We live in a time of tumult and trouble. Violent protests and shootings are occurring across this country, there are frequent coups and civil wars in the Middle East, and Russia is stockpiling weapons and fortifying Kalingrad, just in case. Debates over dozens of issues and problems rage across the Internet, and one of the most interesting political elections is beginning to reach its climax. These are terrible times indeed, and we cannot hide, ignoring the trouble going on around us.
At the forefront of the debates today is the discussion over racism, particularly the movements #blacklivesmatter, #alllivesmatter and now #policelivesmatter. These issues are fruit for deep and long discussion, and we can only begin to scratch the surface of the issue here, but it is necessary to so attempt. In any class on debate, one of the very first things you will learn is that you must begin with definitions, ensuring that we are on the same page in our use of words and language, using key words in the same senses to ensure that we are not merely speaking past each other and getting nowhere.
This particular debate revolves around the definition of racism itself. Some argue that racism ended through the work of the civil rights movement while others protest that it is still alive and dangerously well, and the two sides have violently come to blows recently. The argument will continue to spiral downwards and downwards because we all lack the humility to admit that we are wrong and to learn from others. When some define racism has institutionalized oppression while others use it to speak of the smaller things we do to feed into and emulate such oppression, there automatically is a titanic clash.
Many of us are sheltered, lacking the resources and ability to see the struggles of others and fight for justice. We live in separate worlds and it can seem like we are on separate planets from one another, lost in the depths of our own culture and unable to fathom any other. There are many proposed solutions to the ways we live worlds apart from one another, from rezoning neighborhoods and school zones to government programs to church groups. While these things all may be and often are helpful, they fail to get at the real heart of the issue and see the root underlying the strife and tension.
I propose that to best understand and fight the hatred with which our world is ripe, we should scrap the term racism, because of the ways the word has been thrown around until it can become near meaningless. Instead we should speak of racial pride and racial malice, as these leave no wiggle room or chance for escape, but clearly delineate the true and ultimate problem, our glorying in ourselves at the expense of others, our seeking to have some sort of advantage, some method of self-gratification, and likewise are angry and jealous whenever someone else has an advantage over us. The root problem is not the color of our skin, but the evil inherent in the hearts of all that seeks power and control.
What can be the solution, when the problem is so much deeper than any policy, any phrase, any hashtag? We must fight for justice and righteousness, and do so not through quoting hashtags, but through living lives of holiness and humility towards all in faithful obedience to Christ’s commands.
