On August 23, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas. Towards the end of his speech, he said, "If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under".
11,642 days later, it is safe to say that our nation has truly gone under.
In the last week, America has witnessed a plethora of tragedies - innocent citizens have been killed and innocent policemen have been killed. Hatred is forming among and between different races. Politicians are mud slinging. Protests are occurring daily. Fingers are being pointed. Was Alton Sterling really just selling CDs? Was Philando Castile actually reaching for his registration? Whose lives matter more, black lives or blue lives?
One thing is for sure: violence is not the answer. As the great MLK once said, "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." An innocent cop being shot is just as horrible and tragic as an innocent civilian being killed by a cop. The stereotype that all cops are racist is no different than cops stereotyping African Americans. Not all cops are bad - in fact, I would be willing to bet that most aren't. Protesting is okay and a great step in the right direction, but shooting cops isn't a protest. It's a leap in the wrong direction. While all of these things remain true, it is safe to say that the suppression of blacks and black criminality has become a prevalent issue to law enforcement - so much so that sometimes, it seems like the suppression of blacks is more important than the suppression of crime in America as a whole.
There's no explicit solution to any of these problems. There's no textbook way to stop police brutality. There is no question as to whose lives should be valued more. At this time, data and statistics show that African Americans are more vulnerable if not the most vulnerable, to acts of police brutality. It's that simple. In no way, shape, or form should that data indicate that the lives of African Americans should be valued more than that of other races, and the misinterpretation of this fact is one of the biggest problems America is facing right now. As a nation, we need to keep in mind that a house divided against itself cannot stand. During this time, we can be supportive of cops and also be against police brutality. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive.
Violent actions by those whose job to protect us is unacceptable. Violent actions against those whose job is to protect us is unacceptable. Hate will not win. We need to channel our energy into productive actions that enable us to end the massive amount of injustice that occurs in our communities. Let your voices be heard.
This is not an issue of black versus white. This is an issue of wrong versus right. We must do better.
#BlackLivesMatter #BackTheBlue
