AUTHOR: : Marcus A. Turner
As Dr. King said, "We all came on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now." Therefore, it would not be prudent to ignore when there's a hole on my side of the boat, and you yell at me to fix it. It would be wise if everyone dropped what they were doing to focus on plugging that hole because if we don't, then we are all going down. When will we learn that I am indeed my brother's keeper? Hasn't history taught us that when inequities are high within any social construct, that construct tumbles. America is on fire, and we have a pandemic raging, with nearly two million infected and over 100,000 dead and climbing every day. We have an economy that is artificially sustained, with over 40 million people unemployed. Small businesses, the actual job creators, are being snuffed out by a government that continues to provide tax breaks and subsidies (WELFARE) to billion-dollar corporations, and expect these small businesses to fend for themselves. We still have a prescription drug and crystal meth epidemic raging. In Chicago, we still have gang culture, operating largely unchecked and young black men and women daily losing their lives.
We have a professional scapegoater and divisionism practicing President, whose policies are still leaving out a significant portion of citizens. Congress is too busy fighting amongst themselves; however, it is evident that they are not fighting for us. The Evangelical Christian sect is of little or no consequence, but they are praying. I guess they will reemerge when it's time to elect another race-baiting President or to nominate another supreme court justice who would rather see me in chains or dead than to see me free. I love Christ and the Church, but sometimes I wonder whether they are more Pharisee and Sadducee than Christian. Have they aligned themselves with governmental institutions, and act as an arm of those institutions, instead of as a check of their power? Do they have more rules, laws, and judgment, rather than having solutions for dying people? And we the people can't seem to figure out what kind of country we want. America is, indeed, burning.
For this reason, I want to give us all a great gift, because we have been through a lot and deserve it. And that gift is a MIRROR. Because the next time you want to blame someone for the state of our country, please ensure that you take responsibility for your failures and shortcomings. I know I can do more, and you can do more, too. We can't keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. We must live up to our promise. The greatest deception that the devil ever perpetuated is getting the powerful to believe they are powerless. We are more powerful than we comprehend. We need a Revolution of Self, where each of us works hard to become the best person we can be, and learn to submit to a purpose bigger than ourselves. Where we become intentional in our actions, and we demand of ourselves to live up to the high ideals of the Bible we read and the constitution, which lays out the vision for our country. Then the trajectory of our country will change.
The Black male is at the Apex of societal ills. He is the scapegoat of America's failures and the boogeyman of the white man's nightmare, the villain of history. All of my life, I have watched the world tell lies about me and my heritage. Somehow, they want me to believe that I am the bane of existence and that my black skin is a curse and signifies evil: I am animalistic, lazy, ignorant, and of little value. From the day we were plucked from our homeland, our destruction has been well planned and orchestrated. The goal of many has been to castrate me, leverage my strength, and to steal the sweat of my brow; to enslave me and the seed of my loins, and to decimate my hope and obliterate my dreams. We are MEN TOO, and WE will be respected as such. I will work hard and dream big until the day that God calls me home. I will take full responsibility for my life; no one will decide my outcome, but my God and I. I will treat people with respect and value their life as I wish them to appreciate mine. I will never bring myself so low as to hate any man or so vile as to do to another what has been done to me. But, since I know, there is a God, and there is always a reckoning for our sins, though the reckoning may tarry, it will come. As George Floyd politely stated, "I can't breathe, sir." We have been uttering these words for generations, and just like the cops and bystanders that stood idly by. The world and America have stood idly by as if they can't see their knees on our neck, while our spirits are leaving our bodies.
It is very clear that there is a large group of Americans who insist on this being a white country. However, only God knows, how one could ignore all these Black, Indian, Asian, Latino, faces staring at you. White America fails to see their destiny is tied to ours, that we are in the same boat and we've got a hole in it. And you had better help me seal it. Continue to ignore our cries, and someone will neglect yours because the boat is sinking. As COVID 19 runs through our community, it will run through yours next. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. A house divided against itself cannot stand. But for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, and we will be about His business. We will continue to be great citizens, and we will believe in the ideals that our constitution espouses and work to help build and create a better union. I am reminded of the children of Israel turning an eleven day journey into forty years. All they needed to do is believe and trust the process, but they were busy pointing the finger at each other and wishing to go back to their place of bondage. Progress requires faith, work, and patience. But, there is no going back. Life moves onward and forward. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again, not by going back into your mother’s womb. But you must begin a new. America we must be born again, we must begin a new. Our systems and institutions must be reimagined. As the Apostle Paul noted: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (Philippians 3:13 KJV)." I urge us all to pick up our mirrors not to look behind us, but to look at ourselves, and see what we can do to make this a better country. Have A Great Day!
