I am a Latino and I go to a Conservative, Christian college in the Bible Belt; and like most places, it's not easy being a minority. On the other hand, I have had the opportunity to attend Liberal colleges such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins for internships and programs where I have had similar experiences.
Altogether, these experiences have given me an opportunity to hear and understand a bit of what both sides think of the situation and I have come to the conclusion that a majority of people view the current issue with racism in America as a political issue.
Most people (whether they want to or not) assign or even self-assign that Republicans are against BlackLivesMatter and what it stands for and/or that Democrats are in favor of the movement and the principle behind BlackLivesMatter.
Many people are quick to pair up BlackLivesMatter with Democrats and AllLIvesMatter with Republicans and their respective worldviews.
However, they don't truly stop to think if they've really understood and evaluated both sides equally to make an informed decision.
The reality is that it is NOT a political issue of Republicans vs. Democrats, it is a MORAL ISSUE between right and wrong.
The problem is we live in a world of fanaticism, where we wholeheartedly, yet unconsciously, believe that what the majority of my political party believes/practices is what I should adopt because: how could the other party be right?
We are too busy debating which party is right, that we have lost focus on simply what decision is right.
Yes, all lives matter; Democrat, Libertarian, or Republican we all should know this by now.
But what we don't stop to realize is that what this movement in principle is trying to say is not Black lives matter more.
No, sir. It is screaming too. Black lives matter too. Because we have not been treating them as if they mattered just as much as all other lives.
I've had my fair share of privilege, and now that I realize it, I plan to use this in favor of those who don't have it. Starting with changing my worldview. As my parents always taught me, "Change the way you think, so the way you live changes."
To wrap up, I want to look back in ten or twenty years and be sure that I did something to make the world a safer place for my cousins, my children, and the future generation.
More importantly, I want you to be a part of the change. The change starts with me and it starts with you.