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Human beings tend to think of things in terms of good and bad. This is hard wired into us, regardless of what the individual believes is the source of that wiring. I would opine on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but some might object.
We humans are quite clever. We tend to do a decent job processing information, but that processing is enhanced or limited by the amount of, and quality of, the information available. For that reason, sometimes with the best of intentions, we get it wrong. We all want justice. We can all agree on that. What we can't seem to agree on is what true justice looks like. To me, justice looks like a world where people do see the color of my skin, because it's absurd to think anyone could possibly be color blind, but only judge me on the content of my character. Doesn't that sound familiar? Yes, that's correct; it's the vision Martin Luther King Jr. had for his children. To me, justice looks like a world where people who do evil are punished for it, regardless of skin color or position in life, and the punishment always fits the crime. To some others though, that's not their vision. Justice for them is not just an eye for an eye, but also the rest of the body, the family it's related to, the business that the family owns, every single person who ever walked in the door, and all their progeny for successive generations. The end justifies the means, yada yada yada. Let's be honest. The vast majority of people you see in every day life, at work, out shopping, at the gym, wherever...they're not there to hurt you or take anything from you. So why does any group want to keep hating others of a different group, and telling themselves and each other that every person from the other group is racist, evil and out to harm them? I don't have an answer that will satisfy conclusively, and judging from the contrasting views of the riots that raged across our country recently, neither does anyone else. Apparently you either condemn the wanton destruction of private businesses that had nothing to do with George Floyd's tragic death, or you think the rioting and looting was understandable and necessary. Similar to Ronald Reagan's comment about today's conservative is yesterday's liberal who got mugged, I can only say this: Would any of you who think the current violence and destruction is justified still feel the same way if it were your means of feeding your family being destroyed? Oops, I forgot to mention at the beginning of this essay about the terrible time we humans have being honest with ourselves. |