Last week I was finishing up vacation. And the country I have lived in my entire life exploded in a bomb of hate. Maybe it's the heat, maybe it's the powder keg racism has always been but either way, America went up in flames because of senseless death. When I can't understand something, I get angry at my confusion. So many of us are confused and thus angry because of the repeated drama of action being taken without conversation. Combine that with the feeling of voices in protest being ignored, feelings are going to run hot and tensions high.
But, after the shooting and after the Dallas riots, I began to see glimmers of hope. I saw the vigils of blacks and whites together remembering the fallen police officers and the fallen black people. I saw police officers playing basketball at a local park. I saw black moms praying with white cops. In the midst of the hate and violence, I saw peace and love rise up.
I hear the voices rising louder, not in angry shouts, but in the volume of more and more coming together against cycles of systemic racism and poverty. This is what will bring peace to our country. Finding the commonalities and breaking thru the barriers that have been erected for so long they are beginning to fall down from age. Americans are coming together to help other Americans. We are finally beginning to see that people are people no matter where they live or what they look like.
It's going to take more time. More voices. The breaking down of emotional and social walls never goes as fast as the breaking down of physical walls. But the effort is being made. The efforts will continue and the journey will be worth it. We may falter in our steps, but the journey is being taken. Small steps each day will eventually bring us to the end. For this, I am proud of America.
But, after the shooting and after the Dallas riots, I began to see glimmers of hope. I saw the vigils of blacks and whites together remembering the fallen police officers and the fallen black people. I saw police officers playing basketball at a local park. I saw black moms praying with white cops. In the midst of the hate and violence, I saw peace and love rise up.
I hear the voices rising louder, not in angry shouts, but in the volume of more and more coming together against cycles of systemic racism and poverty. This is what will bring peace to our country. Finding the commonalities and breaking thru the barriers that have been erected for so long they are beginning to fall down from age. Americans are coming together to help other Americans. We are finally beginning to see that people are people no matter where they live or what they look like.
It's going to take more time. More voices. The breaking down of emotional and social walls never goes as fast as the breaking down of physical walls. But the effort is being made. The efforts will continue and the journey will be worth it. We may falter in our steps, but the journey is being taken. Small steps each day will eventually bring us to the end. For this, I am proud of America.
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