While a majority of people get along with everyone, and essentially live their lives and let others live theirs, a few among us (all of us) are frightened and wildly react to situations, aggravating it further rather than mitigating it. We are too quick to blame the others without standing in their shoes and being the other. Almost every one of us wants a safe and secure world around us – but some of us fail to talk, act, and behave in a way to build such an environment.
It is not easy to be an African American, no matter how hard they try, we lump all of them together as if they are one people. Watching and listening to clips after clips from Dallas, C-Span, NPR, Meet the press and News papers… it hurts, although I am not black, I wish I were to fully understand their agony and apprehensions. If we can see how they see the world, and if we can see how some of us see them, we have a chance to restore the greatness of America. This is my duty and my obligation as an American to do my share of work.
I am moved to hold a conference in Dallas and Washington. Would you join me? We have to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.
You and I cannot be safe, if others around us aren’t.
Mike Ghouse, Center for Pluralism