America: One Nation, Clearly Divisible
The nation scares me right now.
I find myself in shock a lot these days…shocked at what
people say,
shocked at what people do, shocked at what people wear or don’t
wear, shocked at what is considered acceptable. Just shocked!
It’s as if I am living in the Twilight Zone.
Everywhere I turn, there seems to be a great divide. And the
racial divide is what’s most disheartening. Things that I thought would have only
been said or done during the height of the Civil Rights Movement are happening
today… and within “popular” culture. When is it acceptable in the U.S. to shoot
unarmed African-American men? When is it acceptable for the presidential candidate
to promote banning a group of people from the U.S. or tweeting derogatory statements about colleagues?When is it acceptable to have little or no
disregard for common decency or courtesy?
Today, that’s when. I almost wish for the Civil Rights era. The 60’s
look like a keg party compared to today’s climate. Bigotry, hatred,
degradation…and that’s just on a Tuesday.
And I’m not frightened for me, but my children. How am I
supposed to preach to them to not judge a book by its cover when I know they
will be judge that way? How do I encourage them to speak their truths and not be
afraid to let their little African- American lights shine when I know they will
be ridiculed for it? I can’t let them walk down the streets with hoodies. They
can’t sit in bible study without having the doors locked for safety. Hell, I
took my daughter to see The Sound of Music not too long and made sure to take
note of the emergency exits should anything go down. Did you hear that? Should
anything go down? At the Sound of Music?!
There is certainly a climate change issue going on, but it
has nothing to do with weather. It’s the climate of intolerance in our country.
I sometimes feel as if the people in this country hate people of color. I know
that’s a very broad stroke, but I see it everywhere I turn. Police beatings,
and that’s if you’re lucky, disproportionate incarceration and economic
disparity run rampant in minority communities. And who calls the
president a liar in the middle of a televised speech? Seems perfectly
acceptable when the President is African American, right? Honestly, it makes me
look at people a little differently. Political affiliation has never really
bothered me. To each his own. Now I think, “If you can
support him, what must you think of me?”
I hope for our country’s sake, our children’s sake, the
waves of discord and hate soon calm. If not, we may tip over and find ourselves
unable to right the ship.
Wow, that truth gave me chills!
ReplyDeleteWow! You ripped these words right from my mind. I watched this week's episode of Blackish today and was in tears by the end, because although it is supposed to be a comedy about a fictional family, the premise of the episode was so real. I know I live in the best country there is, but I oftentimes wonder about that, and 90% of the time I hate society as it is. Thanks for sharing and letting me know I'm not alone in my thoughts.
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