Racism And Violence Punctuate A Sad Week For America

I'm not sure what to think anymore. It's hard for me to be shocked by what I see on the news anymore. Given the age we live in, where mass shootings happen seemingly every week. Even reports of shots fired in our own city are nothing new. But the events of this week in New Orleans, Minnesota and now Dallas have left me just plain sad.

After 2 black men were shot and killed by police in the past several days, protests broke out all over the country last night. And rightfully so. Both of the shootings were captured on video and left the nation shocked and angry. Questions of racism came to the forefront. Would this had happened if the perpetrators were white? It is clear that race relations in this country are not where I thought they were, and nowhere near where they should be.  I'm trying to teach my children to be open-minded and non-judgemental when it comes to the color of another person's skin. They have friends who are minorities, which I think is very important at a young age. It's something I didn't have growing up. I didn't have a black friend until I went to college.

I don't have the answer for race relations in this country. It's clearly not something that is going to be solved overnight. Heck, it hasn't been solved in decades. But I guess this is my take on it. Love your fellow human being. Treat them with respect. Be polite. Don't rush to judge them. I don't care if they're white, black, gay, straight, Christian, Muslim or anything somewhere in between. People laugh when they hear that love is the answer. Can it really be that simple? Try it and find out.

One thing that certainly is NOT the answer is retaliation. That is what we saw happen last night in Dallas. During a mostly peaceful rally through the streets of downtown Dallas, armed thugs opened fire and targeted police officers. Officers who were protecting the people marching in that protest. 5 officers are now dead, 6 more are seriously injured. My initial fear after the police shootings of earlier this week was that ALL law enforcement officers across the country would somehow be held responsible. My fears were justified.

The actions of a few police officers shouldn't speak for all officers of the law. The majority are out there doing the right thing and protecting us all. I know many law enforcement officers within our community. I can't imagine how they are feeling this morning. I hope they know how much we appreciate them. But in the aftermath of Dallas, we can't forget the other innocents who died. I'm not sure what else to do right now but to pray. Pray for our country to get it's act together. Stop pointing fingers and start working together. Stop shooting and killing each other and start talking and discussing. Prayer. That seems like a good first step.