It’s looking Biden might win. As a progressive (though Biden is hardly one), I am hoping he does. But whether he wins or loses, we as Americans need to begin to have difficult conversations amongst ourselves. Perhaps ESPECIALLY if he wins. We need to be gathering together (safely, of course) to discuss these sorts of things: Some of us think that separating families, taking children from their parents, placing them in cages WAS ACCEPTABLE. (At the time I’m writing this, 545 of these children STILL have yet to be located.) Now, I realize that those who are okay with this won’t like the way I describe this. Fine. Let’s talk, and you can tell me why crossing an (imaginary) line makes this a moral act, and not something you protested. Some of us believe that BLM is a terrorist movement, that systemic racism does not exist, and that the police treat everyone the same. I want to ask those who believe this WHY do you think this is so? ON what basis? Because of YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE? I’m really asking here. But you need to having these talks with folks near and dear. I’m sure you know someone close to home.
These are just a couple of examples. You get the gist of what I’m trying to do. But until we face what we’ve done the past four years, look at each other squarely and come to terms, then I don’t think we’re going to heal. We’re merely going to do what we’ve done in the past with the hard things: cover them up; pretend they aren’t there; hope they’ll go away on their own. (Yeah, how’d that whole “post-racial society” thing work out for us? When Obama got elected? Hmmmm?) Americans unfortunately are not known for doing this. We like fast, convenient, easy, and comfortable fixes. But I fear that unless we do this, the reckoning will come whether we want it or not. And it will take us all.