I’ve seen so many
commercials emanating what the essence of the American spirit looks like. I’ve seen images of major company’s
displaying their generosity to the American public by providing everything from
much needed food to supplies to facial masks needed for the survival of the
citizens of this country; which gives me pause as to who we are as well as what
we hope to be once we come out of this global pandemic.
Who will we be when we
come out on the other side of this illness?
Will we have learned anything at all especially when it comes to the
respect of life after a disease that has killed over 1) 106,000 people in this
country alone: 370,000 souls worldwide?
I am constantly reminded
of our new normal in the news cycles, the commercials that we take in as well
as the people that we see on the street.
Everyone has on a mask that they hope will protect them from the coronavirus.
But I wonder if we’ve truly
learned a much-needed lesson from all of this.
As front-line responders continue to put their lives on the line and
fight for those of us that can’t, I am amazed, and I take my hat off to
you. My younger brother is a police
officer in Delaware. He along with many
others continue to fight against crime and illness regardless of the provisions
they have in place at the moment.
Will we remember those
that have fallen in the name of what is right and decent? Will their lives continue to matter long
after this pandemic is over even as their families continue to grieve their
passing because of their unselfish sacrifice?
Or will we go back to being
a divided people? I wonder if we are
more comfortable hating one another for one reason manufactured in our
imaginations because we need someone to blame for our misfortunes. Slowly but
surely, the middle class is being erased much to the dismay of everyone around
us. The blame does not rest on everyone
and everything with the exceptions of where the blame rightfully belongs.
We have the choice to
come out better and truly being our brother’s keeper because that’s the way it’s
supposed to be. It doesn’t matter how
you make a difference as long as you do.
Every contribution is appreciated.
Every hour donated to help our neighbors who probably never thought they
would need the type of assistance provided is one filled with gratitude.
More importantly, (and no
one is talking about this now) is that we are seeing the slow erosion of the
middle class. The middle class never
thought for a moment that they would need the type of assistance that they are
getting. In the meantime, the wealthy
don’t experience any of the hardships that the poor and middle class have had to
endure. No one is talking about that.
Although the
manufacturing of the corona virus was not Donald Trump’s creation, the reaction
before the virus washed up on American shores is.
So, who will we be after
this pandemic?
We argue, fight and agree
to disagree; but we’ll always be at odds with one another. The reason for this
difference is not because we don’t understand where we are as a people. We understand where we are all too well. One of the main problems with that that
thought process is that we don’t believe it.
There are two America’s
that exist…not one. There is an America
for people of color, and there is an America for whites. The moment we understand this, the better off
we’ll be. We’ll be able to address the
issue of race in this country without the anger that is deeply hidden on both
sides.
We need to come to grips
with the fact that we have always been divided as a country. The division didn’t just come about because
of Donald Trump. He is a symptom, not a
cause. If you look at our history (and I hate to say this) but people of color
have never been welcomed in this land unless we were to assume the role of
being subservient to white people. White
people need to own how they feel. They
also need to own why because it’s that thought process that caused many people
so much pain.
However, whenever this
topic is brought up, it’s often in an accusatory tone in which white people
will react with the look that all people have come to know. Anger runs deep when one race mistreats
another. But the reality is that white
people need to own what has happened in the past so that we can move forward as
a people.
"There are two America’s that exist…not one. There is an America for people of color, and there is an America for whites. The moment we understand this, the better off we’ll be. We’ll be able to address the issue of race in this country without the anger that is deeply hidden on both sides." - J.L. Whitehead
Part of the problem is
that most white people are acutely aware of what has been done. In their minds, two things are going on. One is that they personally should not be
held responsible for any mistreatment of people of color in the past because in
their mind, they haven’t personally violated the rights of anyone. The second is that even though the average
white claims to not see color, you see it all the time.
But who will we be once
the coronavirus scare is over? Will
white people respond with understanding or more hatred? I’m not sure because the two America’s that I
described is so deeply entrenched in our DNA and yet we don’t acknowledge or
respond to it.
We live under a flag that
is supposed to cover all of us; but it doesn’t.
People of color should
not have to hold rallies, marches or violent confrontations to show that they
are Americans. Nor should they be the only ones shown by the media as being responsible for looting the businesses that the owners painstakingly built. But when America is
divided so that one group of people get the benefit of the doubt or presumed
innocence before a guilty sentence is just as bad as someone who’s not guilty
but is automatically deemed guilty before they’re taken into custody.
We can choose to be what
we say we are and stand up for what we believe.
We can come out of the coronavirus epidemic by being a little bit kinder
to strangers regardless of race in addition to the neighbors they know.
We can be better…but it
starts with believing and instituting that belief system in their everyday
lives. We can choose to embrace our
differences like we did during the pandemic.
Or we can go back to hating one another.
The choice is yours. What will
you do?
