There's an epidemic brewing in America. Its undercurrents can be felt with every news story and Facebook post involving race. We are tainted with hatred, and it's fueled by fear. Fear of a culture different from our own. Fear of another religion. Fear of a people in poverty. Fear of people in power. Everywhere you look, you will find fear at the root of racism and prejudice. Where does it come from? How can it possibly prevail after so many movements to free those oppressed by it?
It comes from us. You. Me. All of us. It comes from the media, when they use race and social status to describe a criminal or their victim. It comes from politics, when a new bill is passed that targets a specific gender, class, or faith. It comes from the generation before us, who passed along fear based on their experiences. It comes from us. As we react to the different types of hate that we witness every day, we pass along a message to our children.
What does our message look like? What are we saying to the next generation when we rail against someone of a different color? What are we saying when we let the media use a tragedy to pit us against each other? What are we saying when we refuse to let people of all colors or faith express patriotism in our country? We're saying that we aren't really free. We are bound by chains of ignorance, bias, and fear.
Don't believe me? Read the news stories. Read the comments. Be honest, and ask yourself if any of that sounds like the rumblings of a free people. Each story only deepens the racial divide. It enslaves us inside of our closed minds. There is no unity. There is no peace. There is only the sound of a hurting nation; tainted and trapped.
Pray for our country. Think before you speak (or type). Know the facts before jumping to conclusions. Open your heart. Open your mind. Let's face fear head-on and break the chains that hold us prisoner. Let us be bound together instead with understanding, compassion, and a genuine love for our fellow man.
~Melanie
