What must it be like to observe America from the outside right now? A nation enveloped by protests, racial tension, controversial presidential candidates and police violence. A complex web of deeply ingrained societal strife that has recently surged into the international limelight. Not the most flattering view of the oft fabled "Land of the Free."

I remember learning about the Civil Rights Movement for the first time in elementary school. Us bright-eyed, naive students were taught that racial equality had arrived decades ago, after Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders had peacefully protested the biased, unfair societal structure of the day. We, as a nation, had overcome our growing pains. Middle school was a quiet time for such subjects; all I had learned in elementary school was simply reinforced. Freshman year of high school was when all that changed.

Up until that point, my teachers had mostly been white southerners. I had never once considered that the curriculum might be biased. My ninth grade AP government teacher, however, was a person of Cuban descent who allowed us to come to our own political conclusions. The vast majority of her class was self-taught; we engaged in innumerable Socratic seminars which were closer to debate than discussion. Each student provided their own research as part of the assignment, a process that led to the formation of many students' political identity.

The first time I came face-to-face with a true racial issue was the shooting of Michael Brown. Our class adjusted to fit the circumstances, and an intense debate ensued. It lasted way longer than the teacher planned and became so heated that our school's resource officers were invited to share their thoughts on the situation. They were both African American, and both sided with officer Darren Wilson, a fact which seemed to shock many. Some of us left the episode disillusioned, and some left believing that the teachings of our childhoods had held up again - there are no racial issues in America. That's just a myth!

There seemed to be a brief respite in the way of racial tension afterwards. Then more shootings and episodes of brutality occurred. And more. And more still.

Slowly but surely, whispers of terrible, uncalled for violence began to creep into conversation. Cops shooting African American men in the back as they ran. Policemen asphyxiating black men when attempting to arrest them. African Americans dying in transit after being arrested over an illegal switchblade. That mythical racial tension started to seem quite tangible. Before long, the truth became painfully apparent: those American growing pains? They haven't quite run their course.

That brings me to today. Despite the fact I learned otherwise in my formative years, race is regrettably still an issue in America. In an incredibly short span of time, we've seen three major shootings. One in Louisiana, one in Minnesota and one in Dallas. The victims all died because of the tension that still exists in this nation. I've seen the videos of all three, and can say that they should at the very least make you raise an eyebrow. Even if some of these shootings were committed by way of sheer incompetence, in my opinion, those victims were still profiled based on the color of their skin, and the Dallas police did nothing to deserve being shot.Now for my take. I feel as though there's an issue with both sides. The answer isn't going to be found at polar extremes. Not every cop is a racist hunter of young black men, and not every young African American is a gangster. Describing those groups as such is equally damning in my eyes; meeting profiling with profiling is toxic in nature, which leads me to my next point. I plead to anybody who reads this: Keep the issue in perspective. Meeting violence with violence isn't the way. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind! No, I don't have an answer for this issue. No, I can't tell you the best course of action. But I can tell you this: Violence is never the answer. Violence breeds resentment on both sides. The self-righteous beliefs are solidified by violence. Yes, change is needed, but let's think for a minute. Who is remembered more fondly, Martin Luther King or Malcolm X? Who was more successful? That's what I thought.

So what's the first step? Admit that there is an issue and allow everyone to have their say. I'm a southern, "privileged" white boy who was never taught otherwise and I can identify a mutual problem. As soon as a label is put to something, it becomes real. It becomes a legitimate problem that must be solved. Now is the time for action, not apathy or hate.

At the end of the day, we're all human beings, for better or worse. Something as superficial as skin color shouldn't even be a consideration. Let's be the generation that ends this ridiculous, unnecessary feud. Let's work together for a common goal. Not as people of all races, but just as people.