What is needed is reconciliation. That's what's needed. The first question to be answered in that is, how did these differences drive us apart in the first place? Well when it comes to race relations in America we have to acknowledge the issue of slavery. Yes, it existed as an institution in this country, the United States of America, for 82 years. Prior to that we were an English colony and so the English government is responsible for allowing that. Did you know that prior to the Europeans, the Native peoples held slaves? Yes, they certainly did and had an active trade in that going as well. A part of history seldom, if ever mentioned. But we'll set that aside for now. But in 1865, after fighting a four year conflict among ourselves concerning the practice of slavery, and yes slavery and its' economic impact on those southern slave holding states was at the heart of the matter, it was abolished forever. What followed was reconstruction. Reconstruction is synonymous with reparations. Reparations are a hot button topic to this day. Reparations are supposed to lead to reconciliation. That's the purpose.
So what is reconciliation? The dictionary says it is to make amends, restore friendly relationships, cause to co-exist, settle a disagreement and make one account consistent with another. Is it possible to reconcile the past by reparations today? No, I don't believe that it is. Reparations paid a century or more later appear to be tribute, rather than an effort to reconcile. The payment is to maintain or establish an uneasy peace between the parties. That isn't a reconciliation. The ones doing the paying aren't the ones that caused the damage, and so do not feel responsibility for that. Those feeling they were cheated out of their reparations hold an entirely different view of all that. Their belief is their current condition is the direct result of those reparation being withheld. Had the past been different. The challenge before us is to reconcile the past with the present.
There is no denying that this reconciliation has been an ongoing issue. Here we are 155 years on and still talking about reparations. Today the talk is monetary payments to descendants of those enslaved. There is a couple problems with that. The first, and certainly not the least, is it is estimated that about 10% of the current African-American population in the Unites States are actual descendants of those people. Incomplete and widely inaccurate records exist to verify any claim to such heritage. That presents the problem of who is eligible to receive those reparations. Reparations are to repair damages, not a reward for being a member of a certain race. Conversely it can't be dismissed that people of that race have been damaged because of their race. That is what civil rights are concerned with. From 1954 until 1968 those that were the descendants of enslaved people, those that perceived themselves to be descendants, and those that were members of the African-American race staged peaceful protests. and ended segregation, secured their rights to vote, and indeed secured basic human rights for all people, not just African-Americans. Yes there was conflict during those years, there was unrest. The cause was just that can't be denied. What was being fought for? Equality, something we hear a lot about today, and opportunity, something we seldom hear mentioned. In the civil rights era it was the opportunity to better themselves that black Americans were fighting for. They fought for the removal of barriers and an even playing field. Equality was the watchword, not getting something extra, even if that extra was owed to them. A reconciliation was the goal, one eloquently outlined by Dr. Martin Luther King is his famous dream speech. " We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. " Those are his words and he continued by preaching non-violence to obtain those goals. Dr, King dreamed of a reconciliation.
The problem I see today is not unlike what Dr. King saw in his time. He took the correct path, standing up for what is right. He didn't dwell on what was wrong, he stood up for what was right. It's a message we all need to relearn today. I listen to the news, I read the postings on social media, and for the most part what I hear is, this is wrong, that is wrong, things are wrong! I hear whenever anything is challenged the cries of, we must be tolerant, we must be inclusive and accepting. We shouldn't defend our beliefs because others believe differently. In defending our belief we are just exposing ourselves as racists, bigots, any number of phobics , and an endless string of foul names. We are supposed to believe in what we believe, and, what everyone else believes as well!
Tolerance is not reconciliation. They are different actions entirely. Unity can only be achieved by uniting in a common belief! It can not be gained by reparation, by accepting everything and anything without question, or by making exceptions to the rules. It is achieved by standing for what is right. It is not achieved through threats of violence. As Americans we need to regain our courage of conviction. And that means all Americans. All American citizens have the right to vote! All Americans now bear that responsibility. We are to exercise that vote in the interest of the greater good, what is the best for the country. We the people are the country, the government, and we the people rule this land. A reconciliation needs to take place. As long as there can be no discussion, there will be no reconciliation. Have we reached the point of irreconcilable differences? Is there to be a divorce of America? Separate but equal? Have we learned nothing from history? Or is the plan now to just erase all of that and start over? If so, where do you begin?
So what is reconciliation? The dictionary says it is to make amends, restore friendly relationships, cause to co-exist, settle a disagreement and make one account consistent with another. Is it possible to reconcile the past by reparations today? No, I don't believe that it is. Reparations paid a century or more later appear to be tribute, rather than an effort to reconcile. The payment is to maintain or establish an uneasy peace between the parties. That isn't a reconciliation. The ones doing the paying aren't the ones that caused the damage, and so do not feel responsibility for that. Those feeling they were cheated out of their reparations hold an entirely different view of all that. Their belief is their current condition is the direct result of those reparation being withheld. Had the past been different. The challenge before us is to reconcile the past with the present.
There is no denying that this reconciliation has been an ongoing issue. Here we are 155 years on and still talking about reparations. Today the talk is monetary payments to descendants of those enslaved. There is a couple problems with that. The first, and certainly not the least, is it is estimated that about 10% of the current African-American population in the Unites States are actual descendants of those people. Incomplete and widely inaccurate records exist to verify any claim to such heritage. That presents the problem of who is eligible to receive those reparations. Reparations are to repair damages, not a reward for being a member of a certain race. Conversely it can't be dismissed that people of that race have been damaged because of their race. That is what civil rights are concerned with. From 1954 until 1968 those that were the descendants of enslaved people, those that perceived themselves to be descendants, and those that were members of the African-American race staged peaceful protests. and ended segregation, secured their rights to vote, and indeed secured basic human rights for all people, not just African-Americans. Yes there was conflict during those years, there was unrest. The cause was just that can't be denied. What was being fought for? Equality, something we hear a lot about today, and opportunity, something we seldom hear mentioned. In the civil rights era it was the opportunity to better themselves that black Americans were fighting for. They fought for the removal of barriers and an even playing field. Equality was the watchword, not getting something extra, even if that extra was owed to them. A reconciliation was the goal, one eloquently outlined by Dr. Martin Luther King is his famous dream speech. " We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. " Those are his words and he continued by preaching non-violence to obtain those goals. Dr, King dreamed of a reconciliation.
The problem I see today is not unlike what Dr. King saw in his time. He took the correct path, standing up for what is right. He didn't dwell on what was wrong, he stood up for what was right. It's a message we all need to relearn today. I listen to the news, I read the postings on social media, and for the most part what I hear is, this is wrong, that is wrong, things are wrong! I hear whenever anything is challenged the cries of, we must be tolerant, we must be inclusive and accepting. We shouldn't defend our beliefs because others believe differently. In defending our belief we are just exposing ourselves as racists, bigots, any number of phobics , and an endless string of foul names. We are supposed to believe in what we believe, and, what everyone else believes as well!
Tolerance is not reconciliation. They are different actions entirely. Unity can only be achieved by uniting in a common belief! It can not be gained by reparation, by accepting everything and anything without question, or by making exceptions to the rules. It is achieved by standing for what is right. It is not achieved through threats of violence. As Americans we need to regain our courage of conviction. And that means all Americans. All American citizens have the right to vote! All Americans now bear that responsibility. We are to exercise that vote in the interest of the greater good, what is the best for the country. We the people are the country, the government, and we the people rule this land. A reconciliation needs to take place. As long as there can be no discussion, there will be no reconciliation. Have we reached the point of irreconcilable differences? Is there to be a divorce of America? Separate but equal? Have we learned nothing from history? Or is the plan now to just erase all of that and start over? If so, where do you begin?
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