Ernest Roberts believes that with a little faith, we can blur the lines between black and white.
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I’m not one to speak about sensitive issues but with the recent trends of #BlackLivesMatter and #Police hashtags I’m concerned a lot of people are speaking out of spite and losing faith in our country.
Yes, like any person with a beating pulse we have our imperfections and biases which are deeply rooted from our upbringing, faith and ideologies. It’s who we are as a human race and because this is true, there has been no shortness of inequalities and prejudices plaguing our society. Some may be greater than others, but all noteworthy of the constant reminder that time is the greatest healer.
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In a single lifetime we have gone from a separate but equal system–to a country where our friends, spouses, and partners are selected on character and quality, rather than race and religion. We have the option to choose where we live and with whomever we want.
Now there’s not denying that while communal progress continues and unequivocal legal system remains in place. It’s a system where minorities are heavily convicted and incarcerated over non-minorities for the same crime, many of who were not convicted at all.
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At any rate, now is not the time to simply post, comment and share whatever it is that you see your favorite news station covering. Remember, it’s the news and they will post whatever it is that may be trending. This does not mean that crime rates are up or that cops are pulling over minorities at will. There are good cops and there are bad cops, just as there are good and bad people in general. The worst we can do is use what is borderline propaganda to generalize anyone for the sake of proving a point.
But I have faith. I have faith that we all will do our part to elect officials who will ensure robust change in our system. I have faith our society will not shame all police officers who put their lives on the line every day to support their families. I have faith that all of us will do our part as law-abiding citizens. I have faith that this will not divide our country.
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We all live here together in THE United States of America. A place where adversity has no place. A land where we await challenges to prove that we can overcome them and stand true by our name.
This is no different than what we have experienced in the past. Only more prominent due to the flood of social media jargon.
Don’t let anyone tell you differently that we are not a united states. I have faith that we will remain so and like any other moment in history, we WILL get through this. It will not be easy, but that is not what we signed up for.
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Photo Credit: Greater Manchester Police/Flickr