Race in America

It is impossible to look at today's date and not remember the horrific events that occurred twelve years ago. The images are still emblazoned in my mind. I recall the uncertainty the nation felt about our future. Our security was stolen from us on that day. Terror finally had a face.....and a new era of racial prejudice began.

The issue of racism has been all around us this year. Paula Deen's empire collapsed around her because of her use of a racial epithet years ago. A pretty female student from Texas who was a contestant on CBS' reality series Big Brother showed the nation that discrimination occurs daily against African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and homosexuals. What made this situation more appalling was Aaryn Gries' attempts to justify her demeaning comments as part of her Texas heritage and way of life. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center, countless Muslim-Americans have been profiled as potential terrorists by law enforcement and members of the general population.

There's an elephant in rooms across the nation that we fail to address. Racism is prevalent in America. If we are truthful with ourselves, it can be found in many guises in almost every city. Racism and racial prejudice is no longer directed only at African-Americans in the South. Other people groups -- including Asian-Americans, Latinos, and even Caucasians -- face the effects of bigotry in various ways. When we expand the prejudice beyond the borders of race, we also find that discrimination is happening against the aged as well as the young, the wealthy and the poor, gay and straight, and men and women. Despite all of this discrimination, no one is willing to talk about what is happening. If we voice our opinions, we are certain to offend someone and risk being accused of discriminating against them.

How did we get to this point? I think the problem is that, as a nation, we have departed from our core values. We proudly tell the world that our nation began with our Declaration of Independence against foreign oppressors, yet we no longer "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence) Equality for all is not an option; it is a necessity. Just because I do not agree with a person's culture, religion, sexual orientation, or personal philosophy does not mean that I have the right to impose my opinions as rule of law upon them.

How do we correct the situation? First, we have to have an open dialogue as a society. We have to learn to accept each other's differences, forgive the hurts of the past, and begin to understand our similarities. While it may not appear at first glance that I have a lot in common with the African-American members of my community, a little honest interaction will reveal that we all have common emotions and desire security for ourselves and our family. When you get right down to it, the major differences between us can be explained by the colors of our skin and our cultural backgrounds. Despite our differences, we were all created by the same Creator. To some degree, this makes us all children of God. Take a little liberty with the context of Paul's letter to the Galatians and consider the implications within that definition:  "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28, NIV)

I have been guilty of cultural bias in my life. So have you. Rather than focusing on my past mistakes, I choose to focus on correcting them and learning how to live at peace with my fellow man. I won't always get it right, but I find that people are much more understanding of my errors when I am honestly attempting to understand them without judgment.