America has made great strides in its history in an attempt to live up to its constitution. No one can argue that things are better than they were 100 years ago.
But did this change come from a new revelation that the only God who created the universe made all men equal and that the past treatment of minorities was sinful and would greatly hinder eternal life in heaven? Nope. It doesn’t seem like God has ever stopped the sinful flesh at anything it decides to do.
So then, white people were free from immediate eternal punishment and could still rob, cheat, and steal from minorities. They could still allow racist systems that would impede the process of minorities moving forward, and they could continue to allow police and other forces to discriminate and incarcerate minorities without real due process.
And they have.
What has been a constant with white people is that when you lay their actions before (a tactic mastered by the civil rights movement), then it would guilt enough of them to do the right thing.
The problem with this is that they do the right thing for the wrong reason. And that leads to resentment.
Then comes Donald Trump. In his first term in office, he attempted to resend as much civil and human rights as whites would allow. Now, of course, you’re thinking white people wouldn’t allow America to go backward, would it?
There are too many non-racist folks in Congress to let that happen, right? Well, I looked up exactly how many things he did to destroy civil and human rights, and I wanted to list them all here. I didn’t because there were too many. On average, it looked like at least 70 things each year he was in office.
I couldn’t believe it myself because you would think that if the democrats knew this, they would have run on a platform that shared it with the rest of us. Could it be that they were resentful, too?
All of them didn’t succeed, but with this gigantic list, you can really tell that the powers that be are not for minorities. He is already on pace to surpass this list in his second term.
And now, with Independence Day fast approaching, who really wants to celebrate it?
President Donald Trump has a playbook. If we understood history better, we would have seen this coming. Trump has quoted Adolph Hitler and shown us that he is quite the fan of the dictator. At the end of his first term in office, he began to follow Hitlers actions to rise to power through the very system designed and created to keep people like Trump out.
Never in the history of US presidents have we had one like Trump. In the modern era, no other republican president in the last 50 years would have even voted for him. There is no other time in America after the Civil Rights Movement that the country would have elected such a man.
Hitler was quite radical in Germany, and his clear hatred of people labeled communists and Jews was apparent. Hitler was a part of the country that believed they lost World War I because of this group. There were three major events that led to the rise of Hitler, and there are also three major events that led to the rise of Trump.
As recorded in the Holocaust Encyclopedia, these are the events that led to the rise of Hitler:
June 28, 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is signed Germany loses World War I in November 1918. Germans are shocked and horrified. Many people, including Adolf Hitler, refuse to believe that the loss is real. They falsely blame Jews and Communists for Germany’s defeat.
This shock is intensified in June 1919, when Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty makes Germany accept responsibility for the war. Many Germans feel that the Treaty’s terms are too harsh. Germany has to make huge payments for damage caused by the war (known as war reparations). Also, according to the Treaty, the German army is limited to 100,000 troops. Finally, Germany is forced to transfer territory to its neighbors. The Nazi Party makes overturning the Treaty of Versailles a key part of its political platform. Many Germans welcome this Nazi promise.
November 8–9, 1923 The Beer Hall Putsch In the early 1920s, the Nazi Party is a small extremist group. They hope to seize power in Germany by force. On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to overthrow the government of the state of Bavaria. They begin at a beer hall in the city of Munich. The plotters hope to march on Berlin. But they fail miserably. The Munich police kill more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters. Hitler and others are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason. This attempted coup d’état is called the Beer Hall Putsch.
The failure of the Beer Hall Putsch encourages Nazi leaders to change their strategy. Instead of using force, the Nazis focus on winning elections.
October 24 and 29, 1929 The stock market crash in New York In October 1929, the stock market crashes in New York and sparks a worldwide economic crisis. This crisis is called the Great Depression. The stock market crash impacts Germany almost overnight because the American and German economies have become closely intertwined. This economic connection is a direct result of financial negotiations relating to World War I reparations payments. Unemployment becomes a major problem in German society. Joblessness, homelessness, and begging are commonplace. These economic conditions make Nazi promises more attractive to voters.
In America, Trump was elected the first time for three major reasons: Many poor marginalized white Americans felt that they were forgotten by the establishment, and many benefits were going to blacks, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ communities; America was not ready for a female president; Hilary Clinton could not overcome her past and the perception the American people had of the Clinton’s overall.
Despite Trump proving that he was not fit to be president of the free world, parts of America wanted him to “shake things up” in Washington, and that’s what he did. There are people who can point out some good that he did, but it is hard to overlook the tens of thousands who died monthly during the pandemic. Under Trumps leadership, America was not prepared to deal with the pandemic, and what’s worse is that a couple of months before Covid-19 hit America, Trump thought it was something the democrats made up.
When Trump lost to Joe Biden, he attempted an insurrection just like Hitler in Nov. 1923, and it failed. The White Fear button was pressed during his second campaign as he began to prey on America’s prejudices. White people believed illegal immigrants were bringing drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our country as well as sending us all their worst prisoners. The democrats mishandled legislation regarding transgenders and some of their decisions were a bit ridiculous, particularly in how our tax dollars were being spent on transgender operations. Finally, the idea that DEI initiatives were unfair to white people. Add that to a very weak candidate in Kamala Harris and inflation, and Trump, the felon, returns to office.
Trump now spends his days writing executive orders to dismantel America, alienate our allies and side with world dictators with the hope that he can become like them. It is a harsh history lesson for American citizens, but spoiler alert: Hitler ultimately is defeated — fyi.
Racism used to be a covert operation. Racist folks wanted to conceal their identity so as to not receive backlash from their choices. Now, it seems that it is fashionable to embrace racism just as the Tennessee lawmakers have done recently.
It appears that Tennessee is the testing ground before policies go national. Recent focus has turned to the banning on a Grammy award winning song by Allison Russell titled Eve was Black. The song links all races together and challenges the hate that is demonstrated by some seemingly because of race. It is bold, honest, and challenging.
The song holds the claim of the leading hypothesis among scholars in this area that the whole human race entered the world through the legs of a dark-skinned woman. Not Black, not Egyptian, not Hebrew, as there wasn’t a race back then, but the first humans were Black.
This truth bothers some people enough to ban the song in the state. Until we deal with the sin of racism, we are doomed to keep recycling it in our society. The following is the lyrics to Eve was Black.
Allison Russell
“Eve was Black, haven’t you heard? The Mother of All was Dark and Good Eve was Black, didn’t you know? Is that why you hate my Black Skin so? Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?
Does it remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
Why do you try to touch my hair? Do you hope to find a blessing there? Why do you try to keep me down? Do you hope to sow this barren ground With my black blood, black magic blood With my black blood, black magic blood
Do I remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
What do you hope for as you tie the rope? What do you hope for as you hoist me up? What do you hope for as you watch me swing? Will the Witness Tree Salvation bring?
Do I remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
Oh, my Sister, oh, my Brother Oh, my Mother, oh, my Father Oh, my Cousin, all my pale Kin Can’t wash this sin Can’t wash this sin Can’t wash this sin With my Black Blood With my Black Blood”
The New Year is upon us, and this is an election year. There are so many scenarios that must play out for the New Year.
Will Donald Trump go to prison? Will President Biden win the election? Will Congress change power? Will we be at war? Will Covid die out? So many unanswered questions.
But this group called Christian Nationalist threw me for a curve because I wasn’t sure what the group stood for. This is basically a political, not religious group, that wants to change laws based on their own personal interpretation of scripture.
Their version of Christianity involves hate. They believe they are superior and, therefore, should benefit from the pleasures of America where other races should not. Imagine if the people creating laws hate Jews or Mexicans or Black people. Imagine laws made to oppress or deport.
The saddest thing is that these folks actually attempt to know scripture. They think that they can bring their own context to scripture outside of the cultural, historical, and context it’s already written in.
It’s bad enough that these people claim Christianity, but oppression the kinsmen of the one who is responsible for Christianity. Out of all the things to watch in 2024, you know to be aware of this group trying to represent you in Congress.
We can not afford to allow feelings to Trump truth. There is an absolute truth, and it is worth pursuing. Politicians have always relied on the stupidity of America to pull off these foreign agendas and harm those not in power.
The most important thing for us to embrace in 2024 is the election and the defeat of those who have lost sight of what a true democracy is.
The older I get, the more I learn what I didn’t know. So much information that was originally given to me is turning out to be false.
The level of trust we give our original source is huge when they have not been vetted. Why would we trust like that? We trust as if no one has a reason to lead us astray.
It seems that in America, our original history is so bad that we would be appalled if we knew the truth. That beautiful story about how the early settlers came over here seeking a better way of life, wrote the constitution, and started America didn’t quite happen like that. In fact, it was nothing like that. I won’t spoil the research for you, but you need to challenge everything.
The most interesting part of all of this is that the truth is out there. It’s contained in resource books and professional journals. I read a professional journal that had an interview with Fredrick Douglas, and he was discussing the character of the man we know as Abe Lincoln. The title of the article says of Lincoln that he is a man, but not a brother.
We were told he was this great emancipator who freed the slaves and strived to create an America where everyone was free. False! Not even close!
Lincoln freed the slaves to win the Civil War and wanted to deport the slaves back to their homeland, knowing that they would never truly be free. He was always for the advancement of his race. He believed in reparations, and he made sure that every slave owner received $300 per slave for their troubles. That $300 in 1865 is the equivalent of $5626.21 today. Image how much that is if you had 50 slaves. Then, instead of taking your reparations and purchasing more land, these slaveowners kept the money and took the land the slaves had, and of course, the slaves couldn’t report this to authorities.
Surely you have heard about the 40 acres and a mule phrase? Well, that was a reality for a few slaves until the white man showed up, seized the land and shot the mule, and burned your house down. No government intervention at all – thanks, Abe!
So if knowledge is power, it is up to us to pick up a book, learn the truth, and act accordingly.
There has been much discussion over the last few years regarding reparations, and as more people begin to understand the necessity of giving reparations, how to administer it will be the next conversation.
What I have learned over the years is that nobody believes Blacks have been treated fairly, but nobody takes responsibility for the infractions. We have definitely turned a blind eye on the injustices and disparities created in our society.
Also, people are still debating about slavery being the main reason for reparations, but I don’t believe anyone should be getting reparations for slavery. The reason is because there are at least 10 other reasons to do it.
I won’t take the time to go through all of them, but we’ll look at a few just for kicks and grins!
First, the Federal Housing Administration (FDA) was supposed to help all Americans get loans for housing. They had many payouts over the years but didn’t make their first payment to a minority until 1971 – that’s a 41-year problem because the FHA was established in 1930.
Second, the police all across America have been predatory to Black males. This is easily proven by the unfair number of tickets, arrests, and conviction rates compared to other groups.
Third, the real estate market has done an outstanding job limiting where minorities can move and making them live it areas where the property value is horrible. Moreover, they were extremely unfair in granting loans. They were biased when it came to loans, interest rates, amount of loans, credit criteria, and length of loans.
Fourth, you would think that a person with the same experience, same education, and same ambition would get the same pay. Well, in America, white men have always gotten at least 38 percent more than anyone else for the same job with the same specs. This still happens today.
Five, there have been laws created to expressly suppress, oppress, and stiffle the financial and educational wealth of minorities in this country.
So, if we were to simply get the math wizards to calculate the damage of just these 5 things, we would get an idea of the true offense. It’s not a matter of just writing a check, either. You can not make up time and development, and something has to happen to ensure we never go backward.
We have spent more than 75 billion dollars helping Ukraine in their fight with Russia. What about the fight we have here at home?
There are 2.1 million people in prison in America. We have more people incarcerated than any other country in the world. I wonder how the rest of the world interprets that?
America is definitely a land of many things and our freedoms allow for a person to migrate here and have an unlimited earning potential. But for a place so plentiful, how can we not protect our justice system? Nevermind that we know there are thousands of innocent people there because the system has flaws. African Americans make up 13 percent of the US population but 38 percent of the prison population. There are 4200 people in federal prison right now that are serving life sentences for nonviolent crimes. Think about that.
Furthermore, the number one reason for incarceration is drugs. This is interesting because when a drug user steals to keep up with a drug habit, they should not be sent to jail but rehabilitation. The war on drugs is responsible for mass incarceration. And it is interesting that none of the drug dealers had boats, planes or any other means of transporting drugs to America.
Once a person becomes a felon in America their freedom is pretty much over even if they make it out of jail. You see, our Christian nations provides no way to be reconciled so you suffer for life. Even when you are out of prison we still have a way to keep you on the crooked path.
What’s worse is that neither political party has made strides to correct our justice system and since the prisons have been privatized, it would be extremely difficult to fix because that would mean we would be greatly effecting someone’s bottom line.
It seems that this would be low-hanging fruit for a political candidate but apparently the bribe to keep things the same must be pretty good. I believe the solution is simple: Have 6 months of amnesty with each prosecutor or solicitor because I believe they already know many of the people who are falsely imprisoned or have been sentenced way to long. They would have 6 months to release these people. After six months, a special task force would be deputized to go over the prosecutors work and if they found anyone still falsely imprisoned, the prosecutor would have to replace the prisoner in jail.
The special task force would be made up of law school graduating classes at various universities. The law department could oversee this venture while the students did the research.
No one should be in prison for having a drug addiction. They should immediately be taken to rehabilitation. Everyone who has not committed a violent crime and has been incarcerated for at least 5 years should be released.
All prison sentencing should only carry a maximum sentence of 10 years no matter what you do and anyone who has served 10 years should be released. Being a felon should be a thing of the past and prisons should get their charters to operate based on the percentage of prisoners who are actually rehabilitated.
If we did these things in 20 years we may not have a need for prisons… or maybe I’m just dreaming!
We live in a time that has the phrase “fake news” circulating through our language. Most of our country looks back at history and tries to cover up the wrong doing because of guilt. In fact, the further back we go the worst it gets. Our country is very divided which was the intent of some. We actually have people who are hoping for another civil war. Because of all these things and more, our history needs to be fact checked and validated.
The greatest reason for this is so that we don’t repeat the mistakes. It’s always difficult to hold someone accountable in their ignorance. And it’s even more tedious to suffer someone through their wrongdoing. It really becomes taxing on everybody because our ignorance and forgetfulness tends to effect us in great numbers.
Recently, the Queen of England died. She was on the throne for 70 years and whether she was a figure head or not, that monarch has a ton of innocent blood on it’s hands. Colonization of countries was their specialty and to reign over a place that terrorized countries for a living is not fashionable at all. Their entanglement in South Africa, Jamaica, Barbados and other places was absolutely horrible. But I guess if you live long enough people forget. She lost family members recently because they could no longer endure the racism. But I digress.
America has a reputation for building weapons on mass destruction, incarcerating it’s citizens and racism. The Bill of Rights and freedoms we have on paper are great until they aren’t. Sure there are worse places you could live but measuring and comparing us based on our resources and what’s actually possible for us to do, we are definitely found lacking.
This is a perfect place to live if you are wealthy — but that’s only one percent. For the rest of the 99 percent we have varying degrees of contentment and down right bankrupt individuals who are barely keeping their head above water. We have been repeating our past and finding better ways to be convert in our repeats. Our problems are systemic and design to maintain the status quo.
As a country, we need to figure out exactly what we are trying to do and be honest about it. If we really have a plan to continue to disenfranchise citizens then say that. But based on resources, our country could be a place where everyone thrives.
We need the correct history so that we can be more tolerant of each other. There are way too many injustices to name here but if we really wanted to correct the problems we have to start with admitting the wrong.
We need a history check and an honest conversation about what type of country we really want to be.
This past week saw the taking down of the confederate flag in South Carolina and it was not without its controversies. Highlighted in that week was congressional sparring about the event and a much choosing of sides by political pundits.
There was also a huge buzz on social media where some felt South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley made a decision that would make or break her political career. There was talk about this event thrusting her into the national political scene and perhaps even a vice president bid. Others felt that she had ruined her career and she even received cowardly death threats.
I was not that vested into whether the flag stayed up or came down and I did not even watch it. What turned me off was this: Our country has an acceptance problem. Many of our troubles and struggles come from our inability to accept one another.
So, in our initial relationship with our heavenly Father, we were separated from the commonwealth of God by our sins. It is impossible for us to be accepted by God on our own. Despite many failed attempts over thousands of years, we only proved that we are sinners and lost forever in darkness.
Then, Jesus comes and dies for the sins of the world so that we have the opportunity to be “accepted in the Beloved.” Now, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we who believe live to bring this joyous occasion to others. Acceptance not only says that you belong, but it also says that you belong just the way you are. Acceptance is the bridge that allows the sinner in darkness to fellowship with the light. Without acceptance a connection cannot be made. And it’s in that fellowship that the magic happens. The apostle John wrote that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin — that’s a pretty powerful fellowship! But if I am not accepting, it’s all for naught!
Have you ever felt like you did not belong? Have you ever been in a situation where others have made you to feel that way? It’s a horrible feeling, but do you know we do that whenever we decide that another person does not matter. I don’t have to conform to the way you think to accept you. You don’t have to look like me, live like me or eat the same things I do for me to accept you. I accept you because I have been accepted. And the thought of me cheapening my acceptance or taking it for granted because I don’t accept you, is not an option for me. My acceptance of you is my judgment of you and as for me and my house, we choose to accept.
I struggle with the evils of this world. But I’m struggling more with the hypocrisy of America.
Only in America does it matter how you were killed and the circumstances around your death play a factor in who even gets involved.
Yesterday’s shooting was a huge tragedy and I can relate in so many ways. I can relate as a member and as a pastor. I have thought about what I would have done as the pastor. I attempt to change shoes with the deceased. I’m thankful that no one ran background checks on the victims or attempted to somehow blame them for what happen.
Think I’m crazy? Is this going too far?!?
I watched the press conference at noon today and heard how many government agencies came together to assist in this tragedy. I watched as Charleston’s Mayor, police chief and the Governor of the state got choked up over what happened. They spoke of bringing everyone together to heal.
Then I thought about Walter “Lamar” Scott who was gunned down by a police officer in the same city. Someone please tell me what is the difference in these two incidents?
Are we to believe that it matters who pulls the trigger? In each shooting, those who died won’t come home. Are my feelings supposed to understand the difference?
I can relate to Mr. Scott as a Black man who has been pulled over by police. I share his same fear whether or not I will survive the encounter. I have to consider if I have fostered enough respect, credentials and support in my life to withstand the criticism left for my family to hear. The criticism that argues what I may have done wrong to justify my murder or how it could somehow be my fault that I was gunned down.
There were lots of prayer vigils tonight and not nearly the amount for Mr. Scott. I’m saddened that this is our reality. My heart goes out to ALL who have suffered loss. I repent for my part in the hypocrisy and I pray that God heals our land.
ClydeStyle 