“What we need in the United States…is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”

–Robert F. Kennedy

In my opinion, being called a racist is as awful as being considered an adulterer or an inveterate liar. Though we should tread carefully with such rhetoric, the “racist” label is thrown around today like Tom Brady slings a football.

We are not a racist nation. Are there racists in our society? Of course. If America were a face, it would be multi-colored and beautiful. Yes, it would bear some pimples and warts. Name a country that doesn’t.

Rather than sling epithets at each other, we need to address what underlies the biggest problems in our society–not just racism, but poverty, hunger, homelessness, and poor access to health care. And yes, many of these problems are interrelated.

I believe it all starts at home. Nothing is more important for children than to have two in-home parents who model citizenry and instill social and cultural mores into their sons and daughters. Can a single parent accomplish that? Yes, but it’s got to be more of a challenge.

Statistics show that an individual’s arc of success is best accomplished in this order: get an education, get a job, get married, and then have children. I know; very “old school,” right? Maybe we were better off with old schools than with some of the schools today, given their curricula. (If you haven’t read about critical race theory, you should.)

Minority individuals are over-represented in categories of teenage parents, single parent homes, lack of educational achievement, joblessness, and poverty. In my last post, I stated that, with racial equality, a rising tide lifts all boats. If those boats are rudderless and lack direction, however, they will aimlessly wander and get way off course.

A child or teenager of any color who has no direction will be open to suggestion and influence, and will be more likely to end up on drugs, in crime, and, worst of all, living or dying with hopelessness.

As the leader of the free world and the patriarch of a successful, black, nuclear family, President Obama had a platform from which he could have talked to minorities, especially Blacks, about the importance of a father in a child’s life, the value of an education, the dignity of work, and a respect for the rule of law and those who enforce it. Yet, he was missing in action.

Could anything have been more important in strengthening the fabric of our nation than championing these values? This work is left for us to do.

I submit that all this hate talk and characterization of America as systemically racist is not who we really are. The vast majority of us go to school with, work with, worship with, live in communities–and sometimes marriages–with, people of all colors. And we get along just fine.

As a child, I learned two of Christ’s most important teachings: to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to care for the “least of these,” those who are less fortunate. Regardless of one’s faith, that sounds like pretty good advice.

Many people who piously pontificate from public platforms on issues of racism say more but do less for minorities than many ordinary Americans who, by the very nature of their work, quietly improve the lives of the disadvantaged–teachers, nurses, and police officers, just to name a few professions.

So, while I believe those who would lecture us have every right to their opinion, I would request they carefully consider what they say and to whom they say it. I mean no disrespect, but enough already.

For crying out loud, can’t we acknowledge the sins of our country’s past, over which none of us had any control, without burdening ourselves with guilt over a time and mindset that are historical but not representative of today’s society?

Most of the outrage, protest, and violence today emanates from encounters between white police officers and black individuals. Does it do anyone any good to respond by destroying and burning down buildings and businesses? Just ask the Blacks who had their businesses destroyed in last summer’s Seattle autonomous zone.

Let our police and the justice system examine themselves, with all of us watching, but stop conflating the minority of police/suspect encounters that go sideways with the majority that don’t and, for Heaven’s sake, stop suggesting they represent our society at large.

It is time for the silent majority, comprised of all colors, to speak up and push back. Not with meanness, protests, or violence, but with words. It can be difficult, and there will be pushback, some of which will be unnecessarily hateful (trust me!). But, it is vital that we not let one view be the only view espoused. A few examples:

.When they say, “black lives matter” is all we can say, I say “no; all lives matter.”

.When they say 1619 marked the founding of America, even a not-so-bright U.S. History student like me says “malarkey, but you were only off about 157 years.”

.When they demand we say the names of Floyd, Martin, and others, I say “that’s fine, but also say David Dorn.” Who? Exactly. He was the 77-year-old retired black police officer who was killed last year by a punk looter in St. Louis. Who says his name?

.When they get cute and call Sen. Tim Scott (who is their worst nightmare) “Uncle Tim,” I say they’re guilty of the very bigotry they accuse the rest of us of practicing.

Listen, we live in the greatest country on Earth. Period. Racial relations and opportunities for all of us are better today than they’ve ever been. That’s a positive message, and I believe we can and should let it be heard.

Listen, but don’t blindly accept. Speak reason to hatred, and truth to fiction.