Michael Brown Case Exposes The Divided State of America

For the past week, we have all watched the events of Ferguson, Missouri unfold with a mixture of anger, frustration, perverse fascination and above all sadness. Regardless of how one feels about the case and the events that led to the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson, we are all left with the sobering reality that America is a house divided against itself. It's a division we have all felt for some time, but in the grand modern American tradition of denial, justification and enabling, we chose to push it toward the back of our collective psyche, hoping beyond hope that things will somehow work themselves out. We can no longer afford to delude ourselves, the very future of our republic demands that we face up to reality.

As we survey the state of America in the second decade of the 21st century, it is hard to find any evidence of a united people. In an age where technology has enabled us to instantly connect and communicate with another thousands of miles away, less and less of us even have a relationship with neighbors who live next door. If we have a unifying principle it is conflict. We are constantly at odds with one another, in an era that stressed outward tolerance but practices an intellectual intolerance as strong as at any point in our nation's history. We longer "agree to disagree" and focus our debates on the merits of proposed methods, but rather attack the motives those we disagree with. We have become so convinced in the utter infallibility of our own opinions that we take logically conclude any opposition to such must be nefarious in its intent and as such the dissenter is not simply an opposition, but an enemy worthy of our scorn.

There are few, if any, among us who is without guilt in this matter. Battle lines are drawn at every level of our society. When hyperbole replaces reasoned debate, hatred is the inevitable result. We now define "communist" or "fascist" as one we disagree with on four or five percentage points on a taxation table. To take a heartfelt belief that abortion is the unjust murder of a fellow human being will be attacked as being "anti-woman," despite the fact that at least half of those children would grow up to be women one day. To disagree with granting comprehensive amnesty for a million some odd illegal aliens no longer constitutes a stance on a position, but makes one "anti-Latino," despite the fact that the vast majority of Hispanics in America are not immigrants and not affected one way or the other by immigration policy. On that same note, even among political allies, to have even a slightly different methodology for dealing with this problem will leave one open to attacks from their comrades, and be considered a "Republican in name only (RINO)," and therefore one not to be trusted on any issue.

The left hates the right, the right hates the "not-as-right," the two coasts snub their nose at their Midwest or Southern neighbors as sexually repressed "Bible-thumping hicks" who in turn view the former as drugged-up, sexually obsessed heathens. The intolerance extends to all aspects of our lives, get a football zealot and a soccer "purist" in a room together and you can bet a shouting will soon ensue. In fact the only thing we are united in is steeped in hatred, such as our collective derision for Justin Bieber.

Then, of course, is the 600-pound gorilla in the room, the relations between white and black Americans. It is a discussion that has become so tense and fraught with hyperbole that the previous sentence alone is generally enough to bring tempers to a flare, and cause many to question whether my use of a standard expression is steeped in "racial-coding." We have, on one side, many in the black community who have so prejudged whites that almost want to believe that their intentions are nefarious and on the other many in the white community so terrified at being labeled as such that they are unable to express themselves honestly and resort to patronization, in itself a form of the same discrimination they fear being accused of.

While this nation of course is filled with literally millions of sincere and lifelong friendships, marriages and business partnerships between white and black Americans, we are in many ways as fractured and apart as we have ever been. Paranoia, fear and distrust rules the conversation between the two groups that make up the largest segment of America and have (save the American Indians) been on this land the longest. One of the first men on American soil to shed blood in the name of our independence from Great Britain, Crispus Attucks, was a black man who gave his life as a hero of the Boston Massacre. Less than a century later, hundreds of thousands of young white men gave their very lives to finish was our founders could not, and ensure that the legal term "liberty" applied to all people, regardless of skin color. Our histories have been so intertwined and in many ways, interdependent yet we choose to focus on the negative experiences and those which separate, rather than unite us.

In a nation of more than 300 million souls, consisting of people from every human tribe on earth, it is foolhardy and naive to expect that there will not be conflicts, distrusts, fears and even bigotry between people of different heritage and traditions. If our goal is to be a people standing hand-in-hand, singing "Kumbayah" then we will forever be disappointed. That is simply an unrealistic condition very alien to our species. But what we can achieve is a sense of common purpose, common destiny, common cause and beyond all, shared responsibility. The latter is key, as we are all responsible for what sort of nation we leave our children. And the reasonable among us, both black and white, must agree that both communities have plenty of blame to go around which accounts for the fissures between us.

At the root of our blame is our inability to deal with the present as the only absolute we are able to control. We are a nation that jeopardizes our futures because we are unable to shed a past we as individuals played no part in. Not one of us who is white ever owned a slave and and as such should feel no guilt for the deeds of our ancestors. Nor should we take credit and boast of the courage of the 18th Century abolitionist, or bicker among ourselves as to which political party they would belong to today. All of those men and women, good and bad, no longer walk the earth and they have long since turned to dust in their graves. That any among us should somehow carry the guilt of "white-privilege" is as unfair as to suggest that Jaden Smith should acquiesce certain movie roles to other young actors to atone for being born into Hollywood royalty.

There is a responsibility to live in the present on the part of African-Americans as well. Whatever plight a black individual faces today, it is disrespectful to the memory and struggle of black Americans who came before them to use this as an excuse for failure in the present. Without dismissing true inequities and problems that exist in the present, it is because of their incredible sacrifices in the past that set the stage for the accomplishments of Barack Obama, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Thompson, Ben Carson, Lebron James, Jay-Z and the millions of African-Americans who have achieved incredible success in modern America. At the same time, their successes are because of their own efforts. For all that Frederick Douglass did to advance liberty and legal equality for black Americans, he did nothing to make Ben Carson a world-renowned brain surgeon. It was a young kid named Benny, and the structure established by his parents, who decided it was more important to spend another hour studying than to watch another episode of Leave It To Beaver. It was a young Barack Obama who admitted to himself that he was spending far too much time smoking weed with his buddies and wasting the brain that his parents and the Creator had bestowed upon him. Crispus Attucks didn't come to him in a dream to force him to get his together any more than the Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan was forcing him to roll up a joint.

And this brings us full circle to Michael Brown and the events in Ferguson, Missouri. Even as more information has trickled out over the past few days, we still don't know the full story and the truth demands that the system play out and this includes a full investigation of the facts and proper depositions from witnesses whose statements will be backed by the obligation to be truthful at the risk of perjuring themselves. It is very easy to make claims on Twitter or Facebook. As we look through the world of the social network, you would think there were thousands of witnesses who know exactly what happened, or rather one of the thousands of version of what happened. Many questions should rightfully be answered any time an unarmed American citizen is shot by a policeman. But there are also questions as to the actions of Mr. Brown on that fateful day. Just as Darren Wilson needs to provide the reasons he shot an unarmed man in broad daylight, we must examine all available evidence and witnesses to determine what role Michael Brown's actions played in the result of the incident. That the videotape of the QuikTrip shows that Brown had already left the market after having taken the cigars and then return to continue aggressive interaction with the clerk at the very least opens up the possibility that he was in a confrontational state. As reasonable human beings we should be able to introduce this into the conversation without it devolving into a black versus white argument.

Racism is not responsible for the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. It is very unlikely that Michael Brown woke up that fateful morning set on provoking a deadly confrontation with a white police officer. It is equally unlikely that Darren Wilson, an officer who had to that point a relatively spotless career in law enforcement and no previous complaints from within the community, decided this broad daylight meeting, in front of dozens of people was the perfect opportunity for him to let loose his inherent desire to act on racist impulses and gun down a young man because of the color of his skin. As a servant of the people, he must be judged on his actions and legitimate questions remain to be answered. Did he follow proper procedure? Did the situation possibly call for requesting additional back-up? Did he allow fear or the heat of the moment to cause him to act hastily? If indeed Brown acted aggressively toward him and he felt in danger, could he have shot to disable? All of these legitimate questions. But there are also legitimate question to ponder regarding Michael Brown's actions. We know from his collection of hip hop recordings that Michael Brown wrote and performed the following lyrics, "I only like white men on my money." Once again, that in itself does not suggest race was on his mind in those moments.

There are white cops that are racist, certainly. There are also cops, white or otherwise, who are trigger happy and abuse their authority. But there are also incredibly straight-laced cops, cops who are truly colorblind, who steadfastly believe in right and wrong and take serious their responsibility to protect and serve the people. There are good and bad store clerks. There are good and bad young black men. All of that is irrelevant in this case. This is a case about events, actions, reactions and facts. All of us, good, bad and ugly are human beings capable of misjudgments and poor decisions which often have devastating consequences. We are responsible for our actions, not the deeds of others and certainly not our nation's history.

As a nation, we need to have a long overdue discussion about race and our relation to one another. But this discussion needs to be focused on the honest reality of the present day, not the grudges, guilt or events of the past. We need to face the reality that there are inequities in our society, and that despite the success of many black Americans, this community is not where it should be given its remarkable progress from 1776-1964. But we need also be honest that the black community itself shares in the culpability and is primarily responsibility for addressing the negative trends of the past half century which have largely reversed a previously historic and impressive rate of progress.

This past week in Ferguson we have seen scoundrels and opportunists, both among rabble-rousing elements on the ground and within the media advance their agendas by playing off of our divisions, our apprehensions, our distrust and our ignorance. It is the duty of all Americans of righteous motive to rise above the workings of the wicked and take control of not just this situation but our country. White, black and otherwise, our children's futures are at stake, largely due to our generations inability to break free of our racial obsessions steeped on our past. The Michael Brown case has exposes the ugly underbelly of an America state divided against itself. We all share a responsibility for equality, but we are also equally responsible should this nation fall.

I think it shows the divide between some blacks and the rest of ALL of America.

If you listen to the police you usually don’t get this outcome.
As long as some view listening to the police as a threat to their manhood, then those thinking that way or on drugs could end up dead. Sad but true IMO.

we are all left with the sobering reality that America is a house divided against itself.

Tell me then how Obama was elected?

It wasn't white guilt. Racists feel no guilt.

Either a majority voted for him or it was vote fraud.

:: The left hates the right, the right hates the “not-as-right” ::

Not even close! The so-named-right embraces everyone ^to their respective left as erring Americans that can be made to recognize their error.It is the choice of those on the left to ignore history and reject the Constitutional expectation.

I do not ^hate^ my communist SIL, I grieve that she will not recognize her error and return to the freedoms offered by our form of governing.

SHE is diminished by her ignorance.

Back in the 70's if you used the word "minority" you most likely meant "Black". Black people were the official minority. Anything related to improving race relations or improving the conditions of minorities in the US was directed at Blacks.

Now Blacks are behind Hispanics and will soon behind Asians in terms of numbers.

It's tough being kicked to the back of the minority bus. These riots, IMHO, are the last hurrah for Blacks as a major interest group.

Soon they will have to stand behind the Gays, Trannies, Hispanics, Asians, Public Employee Unions, Crony Capitalists, etc. and wait their turn to get their portion of government attention and largesse.

Too bad they listened to the Democrats and went along with their abortion goals. Too bad they helped elect someone more concerned with employing illegal aliens and H1-B indentured servants. Too bad they're more concerned with being "real" than being educated.

“t wasn’t white guilt. Racists feel no guilt.”

the guilt ridden white “liberal” doesnt know he’s racist ....he FEELS hes ALL CARING....and proves it ..to himself by support less than qualified “blacks”

“we chose to push it toward the back of our collective psyche, hoping beyond hope that things will somehow work themselves out”

Yeah, well, here’s something else ya’ll pushed out!

Legal experts: D.C. cops murdered woman

http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/legal-experts-from-left-to-right-d-c-cops-murdered-woman/

Ms. Carey!!!! Gone, and not a single word.

(title):" Michael Brown Case Exposes The Divided State of America "

SkyDancer:" Right - between law abiding citizens and those that are not."

True about the division between law abiding and thse who are not.
Furgeson, Missouri is a media event whereby the media is now the news. It's a diversion from the real problems
The "Race Baiters" got the situation wrong based on outright lies of Brown's codefendent, and the media jumped on it
presenting an 'opporunity' to invite other race baiters to participate including the "JUST-US" Dept., Black Panthers, Rev.(?)Al Sharptongue,Rev(?)Jessie Jack&son.
Now we can look forward to 40+ agents "JUST-US' Dept. CRS (Community Relations Service)Division who faciltated protestors from the Trayvon/Zimmerman hanging.
We all know where this is gunna go !
But the media will keep churning the racial divide, the protestors ,the riots,because the original show must go on by the Ministry of Propaganda .
The media don't want to address the incidental issues of unemployment ,falling wages, inflation,doubling of healthcare costs, etc. .
The real issue is the divide between the lawful silent population versus criminal race baiters and looters (but I repeat myself), many of whom are "imported" from elsewhere.

We don’t need to have a conversation about race. It’s all we talk about. The Obamas of the nation don’t want harmony. They thrive on the division and work hard to keep it going. The black agitators lik Sharpton make too much money to let it go.

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