This episode happened in my community, and its yet another sad reminder of how we have regressed. Stories like this are disheartening, and the frequent news reports on racially-charged incidents and strained relations between blacks and whites in America have had a cumulative effect, with most polls reporting that blacks and whites believe race relations have gotten worse. As Ive indicated in the past, I grew up in the military as a dependent, and served in the U.S. Air Force until I was 33, and racial tension was an aberration in the communities in which I was raised and began my professional career. I was always imbued with a sense of hope about race, and I thought that the passage of time would make things better. I was naive. This is a sinful world, and despite our technological progress, we are still human beings, prone to the same sins as our ancestors. The sad thing is that the leaders who are striving to make things better are few and far between, and race relations are being dragged into the abyss by the unforgiving and the exploitative. In other words, and in my opinion, most so-called leaders who purport to speak on race, and whose voices are amplified in the public square, are either incapable of or unwilling to acknowledging progress or responsibility because they have been hurt by racism and are therefore angry and intractably bitter, or they are beneficiaries of the strife and have no motivation to calm the storm. We certainly know that voices that contradict the approved cultural narrative on race are shouted down, shamed or ignored. It is entirely possible to be clear-eyed about the problems of black-white relations in this country, to include the legacy of slavery, racism and institutionalized discrimination, yet also be a voice of conviction, accountability and hope, encouraging blacks and whites to move toward reconciliation together. Frankly, the church should be taking the lead here, but it hasnt done so and, regrettably, some who call themselves Christians fall into the categories of failed leadership I described previously. Where are Gods people on this issue? Why are we allowing the damaged and the devious to steer us toward hell?
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 11:36:44 +0000
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