I can guarantee that you will end up in a conversation over racism and race in America over the coming months. However, I think that the current movement as a whole has been hijacked and is too trendy to accomplish anything of substance. I nevertheless do believe that the conversations that it will spark on the individual level have a high probability of changing our society and a much-welcomed change at that.
I and many others that I know are striving to live in a society where all people were taken as equals and had the opportunity to actualize their potential to their highest capacity, without the threat of violence or prejudice. It may shock you to hear that most people are of the same opinion. I do note the difference between people on this issue is not on that of fair treatment but rather on the methods used to legislate and make real an equal society.
The hardest part about racial reconciliation in America is in this overcoming of preconceived ideas of the other side. It is common to be in the company of people who hold that the opposition to their belief is in some foundational way demonic. Of course, I maintain that most political views are, to some degree, demonic in nature, but that is not what is typically meant when a fanatical right-wing person calls the leftist a world burning commie.
When a person of this type goes after his opposition, he is thinking that his views are pure and noble. He makes his assault as if he had the moral high ground and as if his opponents were on the level of wallowing pigs. Likewise, when the person holding leftist ideas denounces the Republican as an inhuman monster for not taking medicare for all seriously or some other similar social policy, they too are taking a position of moral superiority—holding that all policies for social care, or at least their policies for social care are the most beneficial, humane, or useful.
Both individuals illustrated above have gone wrong at exactly the same point. They have falsely taken the high ground. Since both believe they are standing in places which they are most certainly not, they shoot past each other, missing the mark with each of their claims, and as a result, they never get through to their target. Launching their talking points into the air, they only manage to make themselves look foolish to all who can see them.
It is essential to be in the right place when speaking to your opposition. Supposing, you want to affect them in any significant and positive way. It is this “being in the right place” that I will concern myself with throughout the remainder of this post.
You may believe that it is not worth abandoning your position to talk with someone who holds different views than you or that such a person would be too far gone even if you did try to converse with them. You are free to hold such a belief, and many do, but I would urge you to think it through, attach real people to that population that you label “too far gone,” think back over your life apply your doctrine to yourself.
Remember the times where your views were changed and remember the people who helped you changed them. You may find that you exist in the way that you currently do precisely because certain people in your life did not give you up to your ways but instead invested in you and gave you a second, third, and fourth chance. You may yet come to adjust your views of the “too far gone” when you come to the realization that at one point or another, you were among their ranks.
Cut The Fluff
Once you have found yourself in the wrong place and have made a choice to move to more favorable ground, you can get down to the business of discussing the topic at hand, racial reconciliation and equality.
As I am writing this, we are witnessing another wave of race riots. Yet another man was gunned down by law enforcement, and in the wake of this tragedy, the mob has taken to the streets to enact revenge. The initial action, the shooting of Jacob, is incredibly troubling, and likewise, the response is equally worrisome as the demonstrations seem to be manifesting them in the same way as the previous riots surrounding George Floyd. Those riots only served to politicize a tragedy that could have been better used to bring about changes in policies throughout America. In a similar fashion, these riots will likely impede change rather than facilitate it.
The demonstrations across the board have been hijacked in one way or another by selfish individuals that have little mind for peace and reconciliation. Though I find this hijacking to be problematic, I would have found it more troubling if there were no demonstrations bringing awareness to the tragedy. In some ways, it is better to express too much emotion than no emotion at all.
The highly charged nature of the movement has, in some ways, blinded it from pursuing that thing which it claims to be working towards, racial reconciliation and equality. It is this confusion between the motivation and action that has hindered the movement from being as effective as it otherwise could have been.
This is why many, myself included, are not concerned with the modern civil rights movement at large. It has been maligned and broadened so much that it cannot be addressed or embraced in any meaningful way. I find that it is more useful to talk on and work towards specific points as opposed to vaguely referencing a movement which is In its very nature confused.
If I reference Black Lives Matter, I will receive a different response than if I were to speak of equality or racism. I take no issue with the BLM slogan, but if I use it in conversation, I find that I have to spend the bulk of the conversation dispelling myths and misunderstandings about the movement. Whereas, if I begin with specific instances of inequality or racism, it gives a firmer ground to develop a dialog. Even by beginning with a specific instance, I may have to spend time fleshing out the background of the subject, but even so, I am beginning closer to the heart of the issue than if I were to start with the slogan and so I choose to begin with specifics about equality.
Inequality and Intersectionality
When I speak of an equal society, I am not talking about a state in which all people are subject to the iron level, where if anyone is found to be taller than his brother, he is cut off at the knees to even things out. Nor am I Speaking of the inverse where the man in finding himself shorter than his brother must walk around on artificial legs as to appear his equal. In fact, when It comes to the domain of equality, I am not concerned with appearances at all. As appearances can be quite deceptive, it is as the old adage goes, never judge a book by its cover and that I will never do.
It is the focus on appearances which has gotten us into this mess in the first place. If we placed less value on the apparent nature of things, we would never have concluded that those who appeared to be different from us were, in some fundamental way, less than human. We would be far better off if we were to look at the heart and character of each individual to make our assessments. In that sense, I am the ultimate intersectionalist.
I do not leave off at the point of gender, skin color, and religion, but I carry on and on until I am left with a party of one, a wholly unique person. A person who has no group by which he can bond to and defend. This is but one part of one part of the whole machine that we could call an equal society. In reducing the mob down to the individual and being specific in our speech, we could make concrete progress towards equality in its various forms. No longer would we be able to hide behind the deeds of our groups for better or for worse. Each person would be judged based on their individual character and circumstances.
Solutions to epistemic problems would then be held and dealt with as they arise at the individual level. We would then not reform all companies but only the prejudiced companies. We would not have to fire all bosses, only the bosses who they themselves are firable based on their individual behavior in the context of the workplace. We would root out bad cops, and bad lawyers rather than abolishing the legal system entirely—addressing policy issues on a case by case bases rather than throwing off the entire government.
The work would be painstaking, but it is the type of work that produces results without the cost of rolling heads. Those who have done the most good in this world already know this, that the goodness of heaven like the badness of hell is brought into the world through incremental steps and those steps towards heaven are on a path which is far more narrow and difficult than those on the path that leads to hell. Meaning that the one who wishes to alter the world for the better must do so slowly and carefully as not to fall off into the path of destruction and evil.
Of course, an idealistic utopian dream of complete equality, as propounded by the social scientists and to the dismay of many, priests, is an impossibility due to the fundamental nature of humanity. The social psychologists say that we bond to our ingroups, and it is that bondage to the ingroup that inevitably leads to tribalistic warfare.
In the past, that warfare was expressed and carried out in literal wars, and now it is actualized in the form of prejudice, racism, xenophobia, and the like. Our war in many cases is now a psychological one, although I will admit it is still fought on the physical level for many people groups, yes even in America, as seen in the latest shooting of Jacob Blake.
The priest, in assessing the problem from a spiritual level, says that man is fundamentally broken; he has, in some significant way, fallen away from God. We have departed from holiness itself, and as a result, we have abandoned that which is perfect in love, mercy, goodness, and unity. It is this fracturing and falling away that has to lead to all that pain and suffering which man must face in his daily life.
Their explanations are as different as the explanations for the birthday cake I might bake for my wife. I could explain the baking of the cake in terms of physics, chemistry, and social norms, or I could simply tell you that I am baking a cake because it is her birthday. It does no harm to either explanation to apply either one over the other. They are non-overlapping areas of understanding, but never the less they both set the stage for a problem that will exist for as long as there are humans made of flesh and blood.
The Art of Sharing The Message
Whenever you inevitably fail in your efforts to talk about inequality and fall into a blind rage of name-calling and shouting, you will, if you wish to keep your friends and family, need to, at some point, apologize. Once you reach this point, it will do you no good to point out where your conversation partner went wrong.
Your exchange will be far better if you begin with where you yourself have gone wrong, even If you feel that you have the true and noble message. These thoughts of your nobility will only serve to justify your tirade of abuse rather than facilitating reconciliation. It is far better to remain standing in the right place, as mentioned earlier than to ascend to the land of the high and mighty.
It is best to assume that you were not free of sin for the entirety of your conversation because it’s highly likely that you were not. The sooner you realize and admit your shortcomings, the quicker you can get on to reconciling your relationship and pick up your conversation. You do not want to hinder your message with your deficiencies of character.
Do not worry yourself with what the other person did wrong. Only worry about your shortcomings. Invite the person across from you to criticize you and restrain all desire to snub them. Take to heart everything they say and assume they are telling the truth. It is far better to accept faulty criticism than to reject all claims outright.
Once you have sufficiently stifled every urge to attack your partner, you can safely move on in your conversation. It is not until you have gained control over your emotions that you should continue with your dialog. Many potentially good and edifying relationships have been shattered by harsh words out of anger.
Prevention & Preparation is Better Than Regret
It is also important to note, given the inevitability of these conversations, it is vital that you are prepared for them before they happen. Contrary to popular belief, It is not better to be an ignorant bully only to ask for forgiveness later.
The best way to ensure that you will be heard is to maintain an air of kindness, love, and compassion. The first step in creating this environment is by being prepared and in being prepared, attempt to get your words right the first time as a second chance is not always guaranteed.
If you wish to maintain your relationships without damaging them, then it would benefit you to take a moment and ready yourself before every conversation, not only the contentious ones, as any time you open your mouth, you always run the risk of swiftly inserting your foot.
Being a good conversation partner in a difficult conversation is a lot, like being a good surgeon. You have to choose your words as a surgeon selects his tools. With the utmost precision and care. If you do not take the time to think through the language you are going to use for such a delicate operation as the rectification of injustice, you will, no doubt, do damage to your relationship with those who you are conversing with.
In a world where many people have been brought up on trigger warnings and microaggressions, it is now more critical than ever that you are precise in your speech, regardless of what you think about our politically correct society you have to play by a particular set of rules if you wish to be heard.
So, like the surgeon you must take the time to understand the tools you wish to use and the methods you want to use them in, whether you wish to speak in terms of data, personal experience, or logical argumentation be sure you are applying them at the right times and in the right ways so that they may be received in the most optimal way by your conversation partner.
Remember, it is the unprepared surgeon that often kills his patient, and these conversations are nothing short of surgical interventions.
The Road To Equality & Racial Reconciliation
We can no longer be passive in our treatment of equality and racism in America and it does no good to anyone to deny their existence. Their reality is before us daily. Regardless of where you live, who you are, or where you work, you will be brought face to face with this struggle and ongoing dialog in one form or another. It is your duty to handle these issues, charitably with love and respect lest you facilitate the burning of our known world.
Put your pride and preconceived notions of race and racism to death and allow them to be born again with a fresh perspective. We can not afford any lackluster participants on this road. For better or worse, all of society must participate, as we all participate in the economy or traffic laws. Even if you try to avoid it, your avoidance itself will be recognized as a form of participation. Avoidance, contrary to popular belief, is far from being neutral, as it serves to bring about only negative outcomes.
Refusing to move while an avalanche is rushing towards you does not mean it will not hit you, but rather it ensures that it will hit you and bring you down in the process. Likewise, a lackluster or neutral approach to the tension in America will only bring about adverse outcomes both in your personal and public life.
Chaos, disorder, and suffering are the rules, while peace, love, and order are the exceptions. As exceptions, to the rules, they require active participation to bring them into actuality. They are not principles entirely natural to humanity. Thus if you wish to bring peace to the areas of racial tension and inequality, you must actively pursue them.
The road ahead is long and fraught with many treacherous pitfalls. Nevertheless, we all must persist in the incremental pursuit of justice, love, and peace, for the sake of ourselves and future generations.
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Great stuff today!!
Thanks I appreciate the kind words!
Thanks for taking the time to read it!
Great post. America definitely needs to heal and change. Racism is an infection that harming people not only physically but breaking hearts and spirit. Racism comes in many forms, it also varies in severity, from subtle to deadly, in all its should never be tolerated. The pandemic simply made people more brave to walk the streets for an abuse that has been committed for generations and has affected many Races simply because of the color of their skin or how they look. Change has to happen otherwise chaos will just gets worse.
Yes, I am glad that people are protesting. I only wish there was more nuance in the discussion around the solutions being put forward and that the violence would not be so glorified.
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Nice post! Your point about people falsely assuming they have the high ground is so true. I often hear “we’re on the right side of history.” Yet it’s often much more complex. Washington both owned slaves and yet by the end of his life was swayed by his friend Marquis de Lafayette and the running away of his own slaves to rewrote his will to free them upon his death. Was he not on both sides of history then?
The one thing I find interesting and scary with all this is how a narrative can be construed though. I don’t want to say there is no racism in America anymore because that would be demeaning and untruthful. But I do wonder if you keep subjecting minority populations to video clips of the worst incidents from interactions between minorities and white cops and tell them it’s all racially motivated, are you (media figureheads and those with powerful voices) creating a particular spirit within our culture that did not necessarily have to be there? Are parents teaching their kids to fear cops because it’s there first-hand experiece or because they see it on their screens every other week? That’s what I’m struggling with. The rhetoric that seems to be driving this movement that doesn’t allow much room for the conversations you’re rightfully encouraging.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and offer such a thoughtful response. I agree with you a lot. I think the way that we publicize hate and violence will ultimately have a negative effect on our future generations. Unfortunately, violent crimes and tragedies are used for propaganda and quite effective propaganda at that. So, I think your fears are completely valid. We will not reach any peaceful outcomes so long as there are videos demonizing both sides circulating around the internet.
A little long, but well worth reading. You are a gifted author. Now if you can communicate these excellent ideas in fewer words you will get a bigger audience. It is unfortunate we live in an era of short attention spans. May The God Who Is Here bless you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. See you in Heaven, brother, if not before. 🙂
Thanks! I think you have made the most accurate criticism of my writing that I have ever received! I always use too many words. It is a curse of mine.
Justice, love, and peace are always worth pursuing — whether we make progress or not.
I totally agree!