This week I chose an article from July of this year entitled "America, we must not give in to tribalism." This article, written by Samuel Rodriguez, talks about race baiting and the racial divides that are currently damaging the United States. It's a fairly short article, but it sums up his thoughts in his last paragraph when he says, "You might have a different skin color, political party, religion, sexual orientation and bank balance than me, but you are not my enemy. You are my brother. You are my sister." I would love for everyone of different backgrounds to get along. Simple. However, I think he oversimplifies what is going on. Rather than addressing specific issues and offering solutions, he gives a bit of a Rodney King attitude - can't we all just get along?
Rodriguez is a reverend, so I'm sure he promotes peace and national unity to his congregation and those he interacts with every day, but I don't think he can reasonably talk about getting along in his news articles without expressing what steps we need to take. I find talking about problems without expressing possible future action to be a pointless endeavor. I'm not saying Rodriguez is wrong, but if a person has the ability to share their voice, I think they should be sharing solutions. The only thing that sounds like a solution to me is when he says, "You see, we must be able to differentiate race baiting and political opportunism from since cries of injustice." I guess that would be the first step - learning to see clearly. But then what?
I'm not saying I have the solutions, but I am saying that with racial tensions very high and divides based on them (tribalism - Black Lives Matter, etc.) we need more steps to take because wishful thinking doesn't equal progress.
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