Each time I have written about the current problem and offered what I believe to be a biblical solution, I get attacked and unfriended by some who think I should join the chorus in repenting for being what God made me. I like what Morgan Freeman said when asked about racism or institutional racism in America. He said, “If you want to stop the growth of the problem stop highlight it and making giving it a position it does not deserve.” He said, what I have said to people and I believe is a biblical attitude. He told the interviewer, “I am going to stop calling you a white man and ask that you stop calling me a black man, I am a man.” I asked a group of people, what do you see when you see me? Then I said, “When I look at you I don’t see black, brown, or white, I see people. If we could look at others as creations of God without inserting ethnicity we could find a way to heal.”

What I am going to say is rooted in my core convictions as a Bible-believing Christian, and American patriot, a Vietnam veteran, and one who wants to see peace.  Some will find, my views conflict with those identifiers and I may become even more estranged from some members of my own family.  I want to address the charge of ‘Institutional Racism’ and the current climate of hate, lawlessness, and danger in America.  I hope that I can speak to this rationally, civilly, morally, biblically, and constitutionally.  I write with a breaking heart.

Before I venture into the charge of ‘Institutional Racism’ being systemic in America’s police let me address those of all ethnicities who are posting BLM support on their social media pages and even putting signs in their yards and attempting to repent for your ‘white privilege.’ I believe that black lives matter.  I also believe that ALL lives matter regardless of skin color, religion, age, occupation, or political ideology.  If you deem that statement racist, I ask how?  How is valuing ALL LIFE a racists position?  That is God’s position and the Bible mandates that we ‘love one another.’  That love makes no distinction as to the pigmentation of the skin. 

The Bible, in Galatians, declares that in God’s eyes the divisions and distinctions we use are not the ones He uses.  “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are ALL one in Christ Jesus.”  (3:28).  The apostle, speaking for God, is addressing salvation.  We are told in Genesis that God created man.  Our ancestry dates back to Adam and Eve in the Garden and assuredly to Noah after the flood.  The division in language and spreading of people around the globe occurred as a result of the event at the Tower of Babel as we read in Genesis.  “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth…”  (11:7-8).

We have been struggling to communicate since then.  The price of sin was high and continues to be reflected in our interpersonal and international relations.  If you demand that I only say, “Black lives matter” I resist saying, “I cannot.”  Let me give a brief explanation of why I cannot and will not identify only one portion of the human species as being valuable.  Before you insist, that is not what you are doing, I suggest you consider how it impacts those of other ethnicities when they hear the claim that if one identifies them to be of value, they are somehow a racist? 

I would never suggest there are no problems between ethnicities today.  There are, but it is a needless division and tragically there is generational hate being engendered in hearts.  That is not one-sided by whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans.  It is not unique or isolated to one ethnicity.  If that presses your button, then I believe you are the one unwilling to ‘listen.’  Listen to those in your sphere of influence.  Listen to those in your communities.  Listen to those in your churches.  Listed to those you work with.  Listen to the media and the politicians and I believe you will see what I am saying.

The issue, for me, is when we isolate a particular group of people as being those who matter, we perpetuate the problem with a myopic view and develop tunnel vision.  We overlook or omit the overall and only focus on our selected target.  There has been the saying bandied about for a long time, “WWJD?”  What Would Jesus Do?  Well, I ask, “What Does God Think About All This?”  How does God view His creation?  Does he focus on one group to the exclusion of others?  Does God not desire the best for ALL mankind?

If we want to solve the ‘racial tension’ existing in America I ask, “Is the best approach to separate and divide?” Would it not make more sense to view everyone as members of the same race, the human race?  If we want to solve the issues and tensions existing today, we must pull back from our victim mentality and cease isolating and segregating by skin color and begin to honestly and openly discuss the issues. 

I have not sufficiently addressed this, but suffice it to say, if we reject the idea that ALL people are God’s creations, we will help perpetuate the problem.  Those who feel victimized will lash out and those being victimized by that group will push back, tensions will escalate, hate will turn into violence and the chasm will grow wider and deeper.  If we want unity, peace, justice, and the Freedom to Live the American Dream, we must cease segregating by skin color and ideology. If we do not we will see no peace.

The former president, Barack Hussein Obama, after the George Floyd death said, “This should not be the norm in America.”  Mr. President, I declare, “It isn’t the norm.”  It is anything but the norm.  I do not ignore that some blacks have been harassed by police officers.  The former president said in his national address that he wanted the protesters (rioters) to make the officials as uncomfortable as possible.  What does that mean?  Does it mean as he said before, “Get in their faces” or “if they bring a knife to the fight, we will bring a gun?”  When he could and should have condemned the lawlessness, murder, mayhem, arson, and organized rioting, he chose not to do so.  How are his comments unifying and President Trump’s incendiary?  If you attempt to loot my house, the shooting will begin, and I will not care what the color of your skin might be. 

As to ‘Institutional Racism’ in America’s police and as Chris Wallace insisted to Senator Tim Scott, that a black man was 2 ½ times more likely to be shot by the police than a white man.  That is a blatant fabrication when you examine the raw data.  Numbers do not lie.  They may not identify all the underlying or mitigating circumstances, but numbers are numbers.  Let’s look at some raw numbers of people shot by the police 2017-2020:  2017 Whites (457), Blacks (223).  That would make Candace Owens’s declaration that 55% more whites were shot by the police than blacks.  How many know their names and how many riots ensued.  In 2018 Whites (399), Blacks (209).  In 2019 Whites (370), Blacks (235).  Thus far in 2020, it is a much closer percentage but sill, not the 2 ½ times Mr. Wallace falsely asserted.  It is Whites (42), Blacks (31). 

That makes the charge of ‘Institutional Racism’ and a view that America does not believe that black lives matter, hard to defend.  What about the 61 million unborn babies, a significant portion of them black?  Are their lives unimportant?

I am empathetic with anyone who has been abused and I believe they have the right to protest (peacefully).  I am empathetic to anyone who fears going out for fear they will be harassed and targeted.  The Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2018 (Table 14) gives some alarming statistics and suggests that our problem is not simply a racial problem but a moral and spiritual one.  They reported the following statistic on violent crime in America:  Black on White Crime (547,948), Black on Hispanic (112,365), White on Black (59,772), White on Hispanic (207,104), Hispanic on White (365,299) and Hispanic on Black (44,551). 

Do we have a problem?  Yes!  Can it be overcome?  Yes!  Will it be overcome by allowing behavior that pushes all sides of the issue toward a full-blown blood-letting civil war?  No!  Only, as we reach out to God for Grace, seek His forgiveness, and recognize that ALL people are valuable and to be loved can we hope to find a resolution.  Only, as we police ourselves and refuse to give justification to any lawlessness, regardless of the source, can we move toward resolution.  This is not a Republican vs Democrat or Black vs White issue it is a heart issue.  No matter your skin color you are a fellow member of the human family and I value you.  I hope you value me as well.

Now that I have become anathema to some, I conclude and ask that we all strive to ‘listen’, learn to be ‘tolerant and forgiving’, and ‘seek God’.  If we return to God, we will find peace and resolution.  If we allow a belief that we are victims and exacting our pound of flesh a legitimate and righteous cause, we will not.  The choice is ours, what is your choice?  As for me and my house, we will seek the LORD and refuse to allow bias, prejudice, hate, or envy prevail. 

God bless you and God bless America!