I honestly don't even know where to begin. So many things clogging up my brain!
Several of my family members are in a health crisis, we have two "less than desirable" candidates vying to run our country, upheaval across the country in racial divides and a lack of trust/support in our police officers.
I'll start with the police officers because that one seems the most "simple" to put it very mildly. Across the country Americans are saying (and rightly so) that you cannot judge someone based on their skin color, that you cannot know a person based on what they look like. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Why then, I wonder, can the same principle not be applied to police officers? Is EVERY person "in blue" to be judged the same? Yes, there are a few bad apples in every bunch, but that is true for every group of people and every demographic. I guess, my question is, why is it ok to say that you can't judge a black person and assume they're up to no good based on skin color (cause, DUH, you can't!) when it seems the same people that are raising this battle cry are using the same process against police officers. Yes, SOME police officers may take their authority too far, but definitely not all of them. It seems to me that arguments like that are simply trying to put out a fire with gasoline.
As far as the racial divides in our country go, mostly what I have to say about that is: just stop it! People are people. I did not live through the 1960s so my knowledge of the civil rights movement is from history books and my grandparents and parents, but I do know that racism is taught. My mother grew up in Mississippi in the early 1960s, (picture an adorable little white girl), and she told me a story once about her wanting to play with a neighbor girl down the road, and the girls father held out a finger and told my mom that she shouldn't be down this way and led her home. The only reason she shouldn't have been down that way was because the other family was black. This makes me sick. My mom said she remembers wondering why she wasn't allowed to play there but she took the mans hand and he walked her home. My grandfather was also raised in Mississippi, he easily could have taught his children to avoid/dislike black people, but he didn't. Because my grandfather, who grew up in the 1930s south knew better than what was being taught around him. His parents knew that people are people, created by God to love and be loved.
I think when we stop segregating achievements we will maybe truly have integrated our country. Please don't get me wrong, I understand that getting an award or discovering a planet or something is a big deal, but why must we so narrowly pigeon hole everything? When a person of any sort of ethnicity is given an award or gains an achievement, why do we need to add an asterisk? Why does it need to be "Jane Doe, wins the Harvey Porter Award, *The second black woman to win). While I understand the reason for saying things like that, I think it only furthers the divide.
I dislike that America is called a "melting pot" I disagree. Come with me on this :) Say you have 15 different cheeses and you put them all in a pot to melt together, when they're all melted and liquid, can you then pull out the Cheddar from the Asiago? NO! Because they have become ONE! If you want to think of America in terms of potted food, how about a chowder? Some of it has blended together but you can still pull out individual chunks that distinguish themselves from the rest! Isn't that the way we want it? We don't want "Stepford America" we love the different cultures and backgrounds that we have everywhere! Considering that technically most of us are immigrants (from however far back we need to go) we've kept parts of our cultures intact! We celebrate Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, some even celebrate Bastille day! We should be encouraging our kids to step outside of their "Mayberry's or Leave it to Beaver, heck or even Springfield or Quahog" to see beyond what they see with their eyes. .
Please understand that these are just my opinions and I'm sure if I ran for president I would lose handily lol, but I take heart in the fact that God has not only a plan for us, but this election, and it's...erm...candidates...have a purpose.
I know that as a country we need to do better. Better for OUR citizens, elderly, children, people that just need a helping hand, before we continue to throw billions at other countries. There's nothing wrong with people coming to our country, heck, that's how most of our relatives got here, right? But the system is broken, many of our countries systems are broken, don't get me started on healthcare lol, that's a whole 'nother post!
I think it boils down to prayer, faith and trust. Trust that God hears your prayers and have faith that He is doing what is best for us.
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