I cannot remember a time in my life when racial tensions were as high in this country as they are now. In some ways it's good. At least we are talking about racism again instead of pretending it doesn't exist anymore. But it is also frustrating, sad and a heavy burden that most of us feel on a daily basis. We want this problem to just go away but it's never that simple. As long as people have free choice, racism will exist in some capacity. It's hard to know what we as individuals can do to help. How can one person affect change on a national scale? It seems overwhelming and impossible, but that's not true. There are many things that we as individuals can do to beat racism.
The first thing we need to do is stop giving attention to those who seek it. The KKK, neo-nazi's and white supremacists love to make a lot of noise and we love to respond with louder noise. We feel like it's our duty to get in their face and show them how wrong they are. We are angry and we feel like we can't just sit by and do nothing. But what if we did. What would happen if at the next white supremacist gathering there was no protest. No press. No attention. What if nobody showed up to yell at them? Imagine them having their assembly in peace. What affect would they have on the world then? Not much because no one would care. We give them the attention they want by protesting and yelling. We rev them up with our shouting and the next thing you know someone is driving their car into the crowd. And for what? What was accomplished by all of it? The white supremacists get the attention they want and we lose another innocent person in the process.
I know this is an unpopular opinion. How can you just sit by and do nothing? Don't you care? Aren't you worried they will take over the world if we don't resist? First of all, I do care. Quite a bit. But I am not worried about them taking over the world. I trust mankind. I trust our human nature. I trust that love always wins. I trust my neighbors, my friends and my family. I know that the many who love far outweigh the few who hate. There is no possible way they can take us over. All they can do is yell and scream and beg for attention. And I refuse to give it to them. See, they don't matter to me. At all. Their message is filled with stupidity and I have no time for stupid things. I only have time to focus on things that matter. I only have time to focus on those around me. Love my neighbors. Spend time with my friends and family. Teach the next generation how to love by showing them, not by screaming it at them.
That is how we win. We ignore their ignorance. We refuse to play into their need for attention. Instead we choose to love them. We choose to love our neighbors, our community, our friends and our famliy. And we love our children and show them the true power of that love. There will always be another group of ignorance trying to make the loudest noise. We need to stop wasting our time trying to be louder and start living the kind of lives that will truly change the world.
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