The Well Being of Gossip

An incident concerning gossip reared its ugly head during a family vacation. We had Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Sisters, Brothers, Uncles, Aunts, and siblings all in one place. I awoke one morning, looking out over the beach, sun shining, the smell of coffee brewing; I thought what a wonderful day. Walking into the kitchen - breakfast area, I am gathering my wits, pouring a cup of coffee, sharing a hello, a smile with the eldest leader of our group. The facial expression I witnessed in return was that of a scowl. An angry bad-tempered face, I was wondering, oh lord, whose Wheaties have I soiled? My 59-year-old half-sister had expressed her displeasure with my 20-year-old daughter. I got an ear full of someone saying something, and my daughter repeated this tittle-tattle to the target of the gossip. Yep, an aunt had gossiped about a niece's fiancé. This discontent between other family members was now my daughter's fault, and she needed to apologize. Gossip had gone a full circle. Upon taking my berating, I was reminded of a pirate’s tee-shirt, "all beatings will continue until morale improves." Calmly, I asked a few questions. "Where did my daughter hear this gossip?" Her grandmother was the reply. Where did grandmother hear this gossip, "the half-sister who had expressed her displeasure," he said. I suggested those who start gossip should reconsider the mean things they say about others in the family. I asked if there was an issue, why did the stepsister not come to me, if this was such a big deal? Gossiping, according to Mark Leary, Ph.D. neuroscientist with Duke University, explains this way: "Gossiping is a fundamental human instinct because our lives are deeply rooted in tribalism." Gossiping, it seems, is older than the mountains and as deep as the ocean. One can learn about others by the way they gossip, and we understand their beliefs and mannerisms. There can be some significant benefits to talking about others. Gossip can be used to ostracize the untrustworthy, and once excluded, they might improve their behavior. However, where there is good, there is evil. Sometimes ostracizing family members or members of a group creates pain and suffering. I believe those who inflict pain and suffering through gossip carry a narcissist, almost psychopathic trait that is detrimental to the group. How can we elude the drama and discontent? 

 Let it Go – "Whoever would foster love covers an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates friends." Proverbs 17:9 

 1. Matthew 7:1 'Do not judge, or you will be judged.' Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? If you know those who make big deals out of minor problems, you will forever drown in drama every time there is a minor disagreement. 

 2. Don't recruit a gang. – Mathew 18:15 If your brother sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. My stepsister did not choose the path of just talking to my daughter, and she decided to pour fuel on the fire, riling up her father, my mother; she chose to blame my daughter, taking no blame upon herself. The offended were now involved, aunts, nieces, nephews, uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers, all blaming a 20-year-old with a third of life's experiences. 

 3. Stop pouring gasoline on the fire – Proverbs 26:30-21 Without wood, a fire dies out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down. As charcoal embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

 4. Best advice – Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what helps build up others, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

 Drama can eat you alive, so best to just "Let it go." It took me about ten months to let it go. I let this nonsense consume me. Forgiveness is just about the most challenging behavior a human being can make actionable. I felt I had to do all the forgiveness work and saw no actionable attempt from my stepsister. I tried to talk to her, which ended in an argument. I found this most disappointing for both of us. That said, I am thankful I could finally let it go, my forgiveness complete. My daughter learned a valuable lesson. Recognize hurtful gossip, be polite, change the subject or tell your loved one you are not interested in gossip. 

Note: The art of well-being as it pertains to gossiping does not apply to toxic relationships. These relationships deserve an escape to safety. We are talking about how to stop minor issues from turning into family divides.

Senator Mark Warner a slaveholder?

A letter was written to Mark Warner the Senior Senator of Virginia representing me in Washington.  Dated, 9-10-2021. I asked for a response to recent events and policies affecting millions of Americans. Like other letters written to express displeasure, a response will not come, or if a response does come, it will be months from now. This is what Mark Warner thinks about his constituents. Not much I think. If however, I receive a response I will be sure to add to this blog the response for our review. 

 I am writing today to express my displeasure with Mark Warner. My concern relates to the enforcement of federal law and taxation through power and control. All federal laws should be enforced and not the wish to enforce what you want based on political bias. Example: Merrick Garland and your constituents have chosen to sue Texas concerning state rights to regulate abortion. While abortion is a tough subject, I believe a ban on abortion at 6-weeks is well-founded in protecting the unborn. Basically, you are saying a baby does not have constitutional rights under the law. To me, that is just wrong. The Supreme Court let stand the basic protection of life afforded Texans and now Joe Biden, and you have completely disregarded that premise to meet your political agenda and nothing more. 

What concerns me most is the lack of federal law enforcement: Here, we have a group of lawmakers who want to overturn a state's law on abortion yet allow state laws to overturn federal laws when it comes to federally mandated laws governing illegal drugs and illegal immigration. Again, the Supreme Court has decided to let stand the law/regulations to whit, all illegal immigrants must wait in Mexico to be vetted before crossing our border. Yet you and your political bias party, have again ignored the Supreme Court, an equal branch of government to push an illegal agenda on Americans. I am confounded by the fact that our federal government looks away as drug overdoses kill thousands a year, and do nothing, yet have now mandated shots for a flu-like virus. I have chosen free will to take the shots; I still got Covid and lived through it for 7 days with flu-like symptoms. Wearing a mask, getting shots, the 6-ft separation mandate did nothing to stop this virus except the harm done to our freedoms and free will to choose for ourselves. For this, I am very disappointed in you. Hypocrisy at its best choosing federal laws to ignore and to enforce, disregarding science when it suits you, is worrisome. 

Taxes: I saw Mark Warner in the news the other day telling Virginians that he is working on raising our taxes. Joe Biden made a clear campaign promise not to raise taxes on the middle class, yet you fail to define what is middle class. I get no vote as to these proposed tax hikes. You want to take from me what is mine, you want to take my achievements and give a portion to those to whom have not achieved. You do this without my permission. This is a form of slavery. I submit to you Mark Warner you are a slaveholder of the middle class if ever defined. You are a slaveholder of the individual who has achieved, by taking from him or them, their property without their permission. In the end, you are no better, than a King or Tyrant. "Power without control is corruption." "Control without power is futile" You are the corrupted and I am made to feel my achievements are futile.

I look forward to your canned response in which you will not address these issues. 

So you want to live a happy life?

So, you want to live a happy life? In Plato's Republic, Plato writes about the idea of happiness. Plato contends that one who is moral is the only one who can be truly happy. To be satisfied is but one of many parts of the perfect life, but I think it is essential. A person's life experiences dictate a person's reality of life. No two lives lived the same. What is true is dictated by a life’s reality based on life’s experiences. While others may judge your life, it is your life that you can make perfect for you. To worry what others, think, we live a life of pure disappointment. As an avid reader of the bible and Greek philosophy, I find it remarkable how much Greek philosophy is found in the bible. When Plato wrote about the cardinal virtues, we find the same virtues in the bible. Plato brought four cardinal virtues to us through Aristotle: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. God gave us three cardinal virtues. 

 1. Prudence: "right reason applied to practice." Prudence is a virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong. When we mistake hate for disappointment, we are showing our lack of prudence. 

 2. Justice: "the constant and permeant determination to give everyone his or her rightful due." Injustice occurs when we as individuals or by law deprive someone of the right to be innocent until proven guilty. I believe legal rights can never outweigh natural rights. 

 3. Fortitude: We all face obstacles as we gather our life's experiences for evaluation under prudence and justice. Fortitude applied correctly is reasoned and reasonable in our quest to overcome fear. 

 4. Temperance: Restraint or the idea of seeking virtue in all that we do. There is passion, there is vice, and there is the middle road we call virtue. We should want to strive for the mean in all our desires. 

 There are three theological virtues. Corinthians 13:13: "And now abide faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." In original Greek, the word "agape" is used. This word is translated into English as charity. I consider the highest form of love to be charity. 

 1. Without faith, virtue is unattainable. God has allowed you to live your life as to what is true to you. As a follower of Jesus, put your faith in Jesus and follow his teachings, your quest for Temperance, Fortitude, Justice, and Prudence can be obtainable. 

 2. Without hope, we can live our lives like an unbeliever in God. I tell you not how to believe, as God has allowed you to live your life as to what is true to you. We hope for union with God when our days on this earth are over, and we will be delivered into heaven as we practice faith, hope, temperance, fortitude, justice, and prudence. 

 3. The most important of all virtues is love. Without love, our time on earth will be spent lonely and afraid. Our attention to love starts with family. As parents, we should have a positive impact on our children's lives, we sacrifice so that our children may succeed, we sacrifice unselfishly. Be kind to one another, compassionate, caring, thoughtful, and render acts of kindness. When we practice this love, charity will be evident outside the home. We will be delivered into heaven if we practice love with faith, hope, temperance, fortitude, justice, prudence, and follow the ten commandments. 

 I am not a perfect man. Life is lived by risk and reward decisions every day. I have practiced justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence in assessing the risk and reward decisions I make every day and in my interactions with others. It is the 10-commandments that bind our virtues and dictate a way to live ideally. My ideal of faith may be different than yours. Yet, it goes without saying, "I am a Christian, that is to say, a follower of Christ." Christ never asked us to worship him, that was man’s idea. 

 I am blessed to be in love with my life partner. My wife is God's gift to me, as without her, I would have floundered in eternal failure. Our family has been blessed, but not without the fortitude to practice the seven virtues and the 10-commandments. I say practice because we are not perfect in our practice; that is why we need God's forgiveness. I have overcome many obstacles in life, I am sure there will be more yet, when all is done, I can say that being a part of this family has pretty much been a perfect life. I can only hope that each of you is a part of a family that loves you. When each family member lives by this guide; odds are great that you will live an ideal life within your reality. God gave you this life to live, and you are the sum of your experiences, good and bad. You can lead as perfect of a life as your reality dictates when you are mindful of the seven virtues and the 10-commandments.

The lack of Knowing thyself, compulsive excesses, and surety brings ruin in American politics today.

"Know thyself, nothing to excess and surety brings ruin"

"According to Plato, in his Allegory of the Cave, most people are like prisoners living their entire lives staring at the wall of a cave, mistaking dimly lit shadows for reality." In America today, I see the allegory ever-present in our lives and the existence of these shadows, are represented by a bias media, greedy politicians, and America's citizens whose gullibility leads us to the desired hate and division which has been perpetrated by our leaders. If we do not stop looking at the shadows on the wall, we will continue this self-destructive way of life and America will fall like so many empires before her. One could say this fall is inevitable, After all, there is not one empire that has survived, and each empire that has failed in the past; falls for the same humanistic reasons. Empires rise and fall, yet I believe empires will cycle from great to poor to great again and sometimes over 1000's of years. For this to happen, internal country conflict must be quelled. The Chinese have done this through communism but at the expense of freedom. America, choosing freedom and God early in the empire, is now threatened by those who seek to rule unjustly, by squelching freedom. The African continent could rise to be a mighty empire but only after they stop killing each other. African continent wars, 1000's of years old, in some cases, will never allow Africa to be great again. Europe has gone the way of China, creating a union block resembling socialism,  whereby its leaders have stifled freedom, free enterprise, and god-given rights. South America has gone by the rule of dictators whose greed, stifles freedom, whose socialist governance, has pitted man against man and created a human condition whereby the existence of the many takes every waking hour to survive. Muslim Nations, at war with each other for 1000's of years, at war with the Jewish Nation of Isreal, stifling freedom, free enterprise, and freedom of religion,  will never find themselves in a position of power or empire. America will fall, if we do not start electing leaders of high moral value, and to be honest and upon reflection, I have not met a politician of high moral values in a long time. 

Quoting Nelson Mandela, "Learn to know yourself… to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings." Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, statesman, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election." I believe Nelson Mandela represented the very best of leadership. When Americans are confronted with American politicians whose greed dictates their reason, America ends divided. In part, we are divided because the individual American no longer takes the time to know thyself. Americans today allow politicians, the media, and others to tell us how we feel, who we are and why. 

In a recent blog, an attempt was made to reflect upon my own feelings and processes. I am not so sure American generations have ever given much thought to "know thyself." Past generations have focused on knowing God. In 1940 seventy-three percent of all Americans belonged to a church. Today 47% of Americans belong to a church. While church attendance declines, division in our nation through political bias has increased, so what happened? 

 Does the lack of understanding "know thyself" to some degree, combined with a decline in church attendance and a belief in a God, affect societies' interaction with each other? 

Sigmond Freud had said, civilization is constantly being created anew, and everyone being born must work their way up to being civilized beings. To know thyself is not knowledge you are given at birth. If we are born into nontraditional families, if we are born into poverty, if we are born into predilections, if we are born into a society where low moral values dictate our reason, if we are born into a society whereby our faith in God waivers, we as a society will not obtain the education or indoctrination as to the health and well-being the good sense to know thyself and God. 

Both his parents were illiterate, but being a devout Christian, his mother sent him to a local Methodist school when he was young. Baptized a Methodist, Mandela was given the English forename of "Nelson." Nelson was a man of great faith. He hid his Christian faith to continue his work of unifying South Africa. Many ministers who preyed with Nelson regularly knew of his faith while in prison and throughout his life. "He was a profoundly religious man: he believed sincerely in the existence of the almighty. Nelson also understood the importance to "know thyself." When we reflect upon our lives, we should ask this one question. Do I know what I take myself to know?

Knowing ourselves, understanding our weaknesses, and our strengths are paramount. Knowing oneself is easy when deciding what I want and what I like. Yet, we seem to be gullible when it comes to politics, history, science, or religion. We believe what other people say, and the individual believes without due examination. We are like a flock of sheep, following one off the edge of a cliff without thinking or reflecting what the individual feels or knows to be true. Americans today tend to say, I think, without even considering another point of view. 

Knowing God is a reflection of one's own life. God is great, forgiveness divine, where humans will fail to forgive. Knowing you live an imperfect life, learning, and acknowledging your limitations is but one key to introspection. A great leader will know thyself and God. Nelson Mandela, a great leader, was such a man, as was Martin Luther King. They were great leaders because of their faith and not a lack thereof. In America today, we lack faith and reflective thought when selecting our leaders, and subsequently, why our leadership is so poor. We know not what good leadership looks like today; we know not better. We Americans are not blind to see this truth; we are blind because we do not take the time to understand ourselves and God first.

Take some time to write about yourself, your beliefs, and what you want out of life. Being honest with yourself will be the hardest part. Once you have this idea of self, like what I wrote about myself, you can find the right people you want to be around, I hope you find God, but that is for you to decide. Find your way forward. I believe a person who knows themselves well knows how to spot characteristic ways in which one spins or otherwise distorts positive and negative information. Only then can we remove ourselves from harsh reactions towards one another; we stop believing everything we see in the media, every word spoken, every page of the internet. We begin to recognize positive qualities in our leaders and ourselves, rather than believing everything we hear. We push our limitations and poor qualities into closets where they reside like skeletons. We, the people, can make America a place all can live without hate for one another. If we do not we fall. 

Black history is infinite and forever.

My discourse to Leon Pitts, and a weekly opinion piece found in the Daily Press. Lenard Pitts is a leftist commentator working for the Miami Herald. I have never witnessed more hate for the white race than to digest this man's columns written to disparage and hurt America. Leon had made the statement to the effect of, he knew history. Leon's focus seems to revolve around only a brief time of history. An accumulation of his columns focuses on 30 years of history, from three distinct decades.  This should be alarming to black America's understanding of why. 

Hi Leon, 

Not that you will respond. Leon never responds to those who offer discourse to opinions. At least I feel better after educating you on black history.

Let's start with the left. An observation if you will. The leftist like yourself, seem to concentrate on only a few decades of history. If you are to agree and I am sure you will not but, for the sake of argument perhaps you can agree on the following statement. 

History should be labeled as a process that involves infinity. History is forever.

I find it very amusing, and at the same time bewildered by uneducated persons like yourself who believes they know history. The left of which you reside willingly and blindly seems to concentrate on a few decades of history and ignoring the other 4.543 billion years of history our planet has to offer. Let's do some math, shall we? 

True statement: Leftists concentrate on the 1960s, the 1860s, and the 1620s. That is to say, black Americans are only interested in black history, incased in a total of 30 years. Never mind the 6-million years man has been around. Never mind the modern human dating back 200,000 years of history on this earth. Never mind the last 6000 years of history as we (all humans know) as civilization. Never mind the enslaved Africans starting in the 1500s when Portugal expanded its reach through sailing innovations and modern warfare of the times. 

In the 1500’s Africans were sent back to Europe as slaves. So let's start with the 1500s shall we Leon? That is 521 years ago, Leon. Here are the history questions you need to ponder. If African Americas are to come to grips with history perhaps we need to come to grips with all of the histories!

History questions you need to ask yourself to be an informed black American. 

1. If humans were equal then why did humans from different parts of the world, evolve at different rates?  

2. Why did Europeans evolve and developed modern weapons, using gun powder while Africans were still using spears and bows?

3. Why did Africans not develop the means of navigation and sailing like Europeans in the 1500s? 

4. If humans are equal, why did Africans not invade European Countries and take Europeans captive and enslaved them? 

5. Why do leftists like Leon, concentrate on 30 years of history. Why not 521 years of history, where the beginning of the enslaving of Africa by Europeans began and yet not the first time? 

6. Why do black Americans ignore the history of slavery in Africa by Africans? It is like ignoring black-on-black murder and only concentrate on police and black controversies. 

7. Why do empires rise and fall? What can history teach you if you only read or learn 30 years of history?  The 30-years white people want you to know? 

At the end of the day Leon, and if you will take time to look in the mirror, you will see a descendent of a conquered race. A once mighty and advanced group of people is what you should be proud of and see in the same mirror. Yet, some Americans of the left only want you to see 30-years of history. Africa as far back as history can tell the story was once a thriving wonderful evolving continent. Before the 1500’s great civilizations such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe flourished. There was a time in Africa (5000 years ago) where economic, scientific advancements were superior to other continents. African’s invaded much of Spain and Portugal in the 8th century, occupying these countries. Africa had created international trading and trans-Atlantic travel long before the 1500s. 

So what happened Leon?

The answer: China! If you read the book, “1421 The Year China Discovered America.” China’s interaction with Europe along with invading Muslims holds the key to advancement in technology, in Europe around the time of the 1400s, and before. Other theories where climate played a role in the advancement of Europe over Africa have been presented as well. 

Why did Africa in the 1500’s fall so easily to slavery? 

War Leon, African wars fighting among themselves and enslaving each other. Leon, Africa had everything going for them and lost it. Much like what we see today in America.

Leon, when you look in the mirror I hope you do not see a failed race, I hope you will see a once mighty warrior, part of an advanced civilization that fell to war. If you do not learn from history America will rise and America will fall. It is inevitable and America will fall just like Africa fell 521 years ago and for the same reasons of infighting. Americans will look back one day at our mighty empire, while we slave away in forced labor camps run by the Chinese. As history repeats itself the rise of the Chinese is at hand. Maybe in another 1000 years, Africa will rise again as well but only if they can stop killing each other.

When Africans stop feeling sorry for themselves and, can become proud to be Americans, be proud of an Ancient civilization, understand why the African civilization fell so hard, only then can you not move forward without hate? In the end, Leon your ancestors and race-baiters of the left put you and your decedents in a frame of mind that is detrimental to black American prosperity. Not Europe and not America. 

The media is in love with division, hate and communism.

 

May 7th, 2021, the Daily Press, a Tribune Publishing local paper, ran a commentary full of hate. Kris Worrell is the Editor of this paper. I routinely write him to call out the hypocrisy he allows into our local paper. This is an edited version of that letter. 

Kris,

Not that you will respond as you never do. So we keep writing. Bloomberg opinion  Timothy O'Brien. Page 16 Commentary. Friday, May 7th. Mr. O'Brien writes a hit piece on our former President and comments as to the following. "Had Trump been reinstated, his Facebook feed would most likely have featured familiar menu items:" 

Self-regard

pitches for money

disinformation

darts aimed at critics                                                                                                       

bigotry

racism

and other bile 

O'Brien goes on to add incite violence. Charlottesville? Again the media blames President Trump?

A double standard is all we can call this in light of Maxine Waters et al. Democrats' hate for America and hate for President Trump. Maxine Waters touts self-regard in many of her hate speeches full of bigotry. Maxine Water is a racist towards white people. Maxine Waters aims darts at her critics. Maxine Waters and the Democrats routinely provide America with disinformation, or have you forgotten Russia Russia Russia? Have you forgotten Maxine Waters's violent speeches in the streets telling her low moral followers to attack and confront others who do not think like her? Have you already forgotten Tim Kaine's son storming the Minnesota Capital? All that kid got was a slap on the wrist. Have you forgotten the bile and bigotry slung feces of the left towards Brett Kavanaugh?  

O'Brien attacks the President concerning rioters? 

What really happened in Charlottesville the media refuses to acknowledge? Black Lives Matter and Antifa confront a low moral value group. (BLM and Antifa) are bussed into Charlottesville without a permit to assemble. The white supremacist group had an approved permit to assemble and exercise free speech, you know, lawful assemble. Two low moral value parties come together, and you wonder why a fight breaks out while the police stand by and watch? Why are the police standing by and watching? We know the police were told to stand down by the Mayor et al. and allow the chaos to explode.  We know there is a leftist culture found in Charlottesville. Combined with this entity, local leadership, and UVA, we get a lack of responsibility for law and order. Reminds me of the lack of policing in other leftist cities like Portland or Seattle. Looking back, Charlottesville is no different than Portland or Seattle's unruliness today. The end results in all three cities are people died, and the police did nothing at the bequest of the Mayor et al.  

Looking back, it is not unreasonable to think about the true mission of Black Lives Matter. BLM leaders Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors, now confirmed communists and followers of Mao, follow Marxists' philosophy.  A recent video has surfaced speaking to this Marxist allegiance to Mao. 

Mao was responsible for mass murder. From 1958 to 1962, his Great Leap Forward policy led to the deaths of up to 45 million people – easily making it the biggest episode of mass murder ever recorded. I am of the opinion it is the BLM's and other leftists' goal to mass murder all white people in America today if Alica Garza's goal is to follow Mao's example. 

One of the sayings in Mao's book reads: "Every Communist must grasp the truth: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Another reads: "A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery... A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."

The media, leftist, and BLM are full of a sad bunch of people if they do not recognize their own vile pitches for money, disinformation, darts at critics, racism, inciting violence, and other political feces found in between the pages of our local paper. O'Brien's hate for President Trump is real. His hate is as real as my discontent for hypocrites like O'Brien.  

Reference: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blm-patrisse-cullors-maos-red-book

Systematic racism, who is really to blame?

 

Growing up in the 1960's I lived through genuine systemic racism. Trust me when I tell you, it is accurate. Perhaps one should say systemic racism was real. 

Civil rights leaders, race-baiters, Democrats, and advocates are demanding an end to systemic racism, a reference to the systems in place that create and maintain racial inequality in nearly every facet of life for people of color. "This is not about one incident," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. "This is about the systemic and pervasive nature of racism in this nation that must be addressed." Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines, defined it as "the complex interaction of culture, policy, and institutions that holds in place the outcomes we see in our lives." 

Harris used the example of housing, explaining that today, a disproportionate number of people of color are homeless or lack housing security "in part due" to the legacy of redlining. Redlining refers to a system used by banks and the real estate industry in the 20th century to determine which neighborhoods would get loans to buy homes, and communities where people of color lived — outlined in red ink — were deemed the riskiest investments. The question becomes, was this racism, or was the redline statistically correct in gauging risk? I might suppose this is another topic to research later, but for today let's say some loans were declined based on the color of one's skin, which is wrong. 

Harris, of course, is referring to an era of 1900-1999 in his example of systematic racism. Harris blames racial discrimination in mortgage lending starting in the 1930s, to be specific 1934-1939, shaped the demographic and wealth patterns of American communities today. The discriminatory practices captured by the redlining maps continued until 1968 when the Fair Housing Act banned racial discrimination in housing. 53 year years later and Harris is still blaming racism for the ills of the black community. 

Never mind the social ills of the black community since 1968. Seventy-five percent of black children being born to single mothers with no father. Never mind the 1980's when politicians like Joe Biden incorporated a drug war. A war that sent millions of black men to jail for lengthy sentences. Never mind the poor decision made to participate in drug dealing and the self-destruction of one's own life when the decision to use drugs is made. Never mind the idea of being responsible for oneself and, of course, for the decisions, one might make that could be detrimental. No, never mind a look inside; let's blame the actions of others 50 - 83 years ago. 

The problem is, systemic racism is not coming from white people today. Systemic racism is not a part of our laws, both federally and state. There are a few incidences that appear to be racist to some and not others, and indeed there are instances when racism rears its ugly head, but it is also well to say this is a rare exception and not the rule. 

Today like decades before, black culture is born out of rebellion and resistance towards an unfair system captured in a historical timeframe and applied to today. The idea of rebellion and the want to blame others have failed to change with society's changes and evolution of our laws and our people. In other words, if one believes white people are just as racist today as we were 80 years ago, I think I would have to disagree. If a person were to say black people are just as rebellious today as they were in the 1960s, then I would have to say no; it is worse today. 

Today, black culture is not a culture that can mix with other cultures readily because it is, by design, rebellious, low moral compass, and resistant. It was not always like this, mind you. Dr. Walter Williams wrote about black families of the1950's and earlier. These families were, in fact, far better off social-wise than after the 1960s. Today, everything from language, music, and appearance is almost the direct opposite of social norms, for lack of a better term. I am not saying one is better than the other. I am saying social models in one society of America are vastly different than another. Asking a group of people to accept or adapt to the American black culture is not practical or even possible because black culture today is in direct conflict and geared to rebel against most white people. We see this play out in the black lives matter movement, black music and lyrics, black leaders calling for others' death based on religion, black leaders calling for our law enforcement officers' deaths, and skin color. Do I have to educate anyone on the anti-Semitic teachings of Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton? 

I have to say I am proud of my fellow brothers. Living through the 1960s compared to today and I see a significant improvement in the black community. I see a portion of the black society assimilating into a higher moral value of society's social norms. That is not to say all of our brothers and sisters of the white race are of higher moral value, as they are not. What I am saying is brothers and sisters of the black community are making great strides through education. My best advice is to stop blaming all white people for the social ills of those who do not or have not simply made good life decisions. If I had the chance, I would create communities where life is taught. That is to say, how to make good decisions. Some in the black community, as in the white community, need to be reprogrammed to think good and not evil. Life is as simple as good and evil, and we tend to forget that.  

This isn't hard to understand. In America, black culture has been conditioned to believe white people are the enemy from the start. This hate training perpetrated by the media and the left has to change before anything else can make our world a better place. Sixty years of higher educational indoctrination of our youth, describing white people as the enemy has brought us to where we are today—blind followers of the Democrat party, which offers free trinkets and does not deliver. Promises like a 15.00 minimum wage, the free trinket is another false hope the black American must begin to recognize or forever be at war with white people. This indoctrination is based on lies offered by elitists who use black Americans to divide the country. 

Naturally, an inherently rebellious culture is not sustainable, even for its people. Once the rest of society distances itself from the culture, the same rebellious qualities will turn inward toward each other because that is all they know. This is why you see horrendous murder rates in our large cities like Chicago. Black Americans are right about a systemic problem, but they are looking to make changes in the wrong place.