Racial profiling may be taboo, may be politically incorrect, it may even be wrong, but the truth is, we all do it in some way, shape or form every moment of the day.
Matter of fact, I even did it with a fish just last Friday.
Picture this, there I am, face to face with the fish monger, awestruck by the sight of about a dozen flaming red fish filleted and lined up all in a row, just waiting for me to come 'round and pick one off.
They were beautiful, I tell you, just beautiful. It was like the unmistakable call of the sirens luring me in, calling out for my gaze, for they knew -- just one look, it would be all over.
So with my rabid appetite leading the way, I said to the guy 'I'll take some of that salmon right there', as I stared at them, quite possibly with drool rolling out of the corners of my mouth.
Then he looked at me funny. And I'm like, what? Is there something between my teeth? Was it something I said? What?
Ahh, Mame, "did you want salmon? as the salmon is over there" -- pointing to a rather pale by comparison specimen... I guess that's fish trying to look like salmon... clear on the opposite end of the case.
"This is trout" as if it were the hundredth time he's had to say it.
Seriously?
No way.
Way.
How could I -- and with so much as just one look have sized up this fillet so terribly wrong? How could I have jumped to conclusions like that without giving any other type of fish a chance -- equally and fairly -- as one fish to another?
Oh, but I got the trout. I had it swaddled up in paper so fast...I took it home, alright... it was mine, all mine.
Truth is, no matter who we are are, automatic deductions as to what or who we are dealing with, from the trivial assumptions to mass generalizations, come uniquely to each and every one of us from the schooling of our experiences coupled with the jewels who raised us. We automatically size up everything -- every person, every situation -- with on the fly reactions every day, whether they be good, bad, or indifferent.
The thing is, in this morning and according to natural law every morning, the first cause to everything under the sun and in the big wide ocean blue is a thought.
While many of us endeavor to understand this law of cause and effect, action and reaction, as we go about our days knee deep in whatever life seems to throw at us, the common thread that unites us is that this law is always at play -- whether we accept it or not; while if we expand our understanding of it as a people, we may actually find ourselves wrangling with a very big fish indeed.
As a people, we always seem find on the line at any given moment a judgement or an acceptance, a question or an answer, a wide divide or an opportunity to unite as one; for even in opposition and protest we have cause to unite; even as a means to an end we have reason to come together; even as one judgement against another gives license to attack.
If anything be more true -- after a history of racial animosity and blame, of dividing and uniting and dividing again -- we must train our eyes to see beyond the color of our skin.
Going off on another tangent, what comes to mind all of a sudden is a situation from a difficult movie to watch, "We Are Soldiers" -- and one particular scene found Mel Gibson giving his men some final words before entering into battle (Vietnam war). He reminds them of a lesson from Crazy Horse -- every woman in the village nursed every child born of the Sioux Indians. Referring to a era when the village actually did raise a child, he made his point quite clear; every Indian boy went into battle watching out for the back of another -- brother to brother -- because in essense he was.
Gibson was speaking directly to the racial divide of the day, for it was the sixties -- it was a time for war, and there was no room for racism of any kind. In that moment, there was no spirit more worthy of enlivening than that being we are all connected, trusting in the brother next to us, no matter what the color of the skin; that trust and confidence, that unification, would be what saved lives.
We are soldiers and we are one was the only thing that mattered, the only command he gave(and he really meant it to).
So let's spin this one more time.
With the jingle for the census still ringing in my ear, and tweaking it just a bit -- as Americans one and all, we must recognize that we cannot move forward until we know you have our back...and that means all of us.
And we will never be able to do so until we let go of that which does not serve us or serves us well; it is all in the release!
Like any other negative which happens to have it's way with us in life -- whether it be personal grudges with our family and friends -- economic challenges, job loss or a loss of our home -- political rhetoric and belief systems which challenge the very framework of our country -- individual or collective thought which keeps a person, if not an entire group, waded down in false assumptions and limited thinking -- we can never be, do or have the something better until our thought changes first; we must believe.
Which is why so much of the Christian faith centers around this very idea...be still and know that all things are possible with God.
From the father of the Science of Mind, Earnest Holmes, he gives us this:
"To live in conscious communion with Life, even for a short time, will convert our fears into faith, our doubts into certainty, our hurt and sense of failure into something triumphant. There is a sublime and a divine hope for everyone who is willing to surrender himself to the great Good; to the warm embrace of the "Over-Soul" in whose lap, Emerson tells us, we lie as in the lap of an Infinite Intelligence. Every man has a subliminal depth to his being . We can plant our feet firmly on this faith and realize that we are divine beings now, the choice is ours.You just can't convince me that Chicanos, or African-Americans, or italians or Jews are any more or less immune nor predestined to making a racial profile than the white man; for the responsibility is there for all of us to understand and recognize how our assumptions shape us and ultimately create the society in which we live, and to live by a code of honor in peace time or conflict.
There is but One Creative Principle. It is always responding to us. There is but One Power and we are using It either negatively or affirmatively."
We all do it; one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish we all do it. Some of us just do it better than others.
There are good cops and bad cops. There are good citizens and bad citizens. There are those here legally and those here illegally. But I believe, for the most part, the majority of us just simply want to be surrounded with good Americans -- we would be happy with that.
For the most part, some of us just want all Americans to be productive, courteous, law abiding, family oriented, village affirming, all for one and one for all American citizens. We expect everyone to have our back.
The majority of us believe it is a crime that our jails are full to capacity; that it is a crime that so many of our child are molested and abused throughout their entire life; that it is a crime to wish harm on another human being just for the color of their own skin -- or for any reason; that it is a crime to enter into America illegally and, of all things, stay here, committing crimes of robbery and burglary and rape and murder upon the innocence of American citizens. It is a crime.
- 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
- 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally
- 75% of most wanted list in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
- Less than 2% of illegal aliens pick our crops, and 29% are on welfare.
- 70% of the US Annual population growth results from immigration (2/3rds of all births in the state of California are to illegals on Medi-Cal, and paid for by taxpayers.)
Americans today -- more than ever -- find themselves in a position of having more loyalty to this country than they are to their family/spouse or even to their job, as uncovered in a Reuters article from last week highlighting the author of the poll and book, "Why Loyalty Matters," by Timothy Keininghan. I mean, we're talking 70% of Americans questioned said they were most loyal to their country!
Even our dear President, upon his inauguration day, said this:
My Fellow Citizens,
"...At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our fore-bearers, and true to our founding documents...
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward a precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from one generation to generation; the God-given promise that, all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned."Amen to that.
And I wonder, do you think our dear Obama has a copy of this speech out every morning to remind himself of the ideals and convictions of a true American President, recollecting the first cause for his blessed lot in life today?
Little does he give us credit as he sits denouncing the actions of Arizona, for We the People had "chosen hope over fear...with unity of purpose...to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history..."
Yes, majority rule -- the village was in unison.
We thought we did just that.
We thought he was just the one who could take us there.
I guess, sometimes -- as a little fish once told me -- our first thought may be a wee bit misguided.
Make it a Good Day, G
"...This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
Just a little more
click back on Dear America...turn up the music and dance to a brighter day...
I BELIEVE a brighter day is ours to make today...even on a Monday.
God bless you one and all.
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