BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The way I see it, it should be called Black Histrionics, but not confined to a mere month of any given year. Here we are, more than a century after the abolition of slavery, and you’d think black Americans were still wearing the chains of their ancestors. And, in a sense they are: by loudly and ceaselessly demanding retribution for the enslavement of their forebears, they are refusing to look forward to the better day that has resulted and they are forever dooming themselves to a past that they themselves cannot resolve, shake off, and move on. I am not speaking for the sum total of black Americans or blacks from any nation, because there are plenty who are embarrassed, chagrined and diametrically opposed to that way of thinking. So it’s not about color. It’s about forgiveness, responsibility, pride, ambition and determination. These are the very things that “liberated” slaves freed from bondage long ago. It’s all about the DREAM that to a great extent died along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who so articulately expressed it. It’s not a dream to always expect to be coddled and spoon-fed and given special treatment. It’s about shutting one’s eyes to the color of the skin and competing in life with the God-given talents and drives that are inherent in every living human being on this Earth.

By continually whining and playing the victim of crimes long past, black Americans (and blacks from other countries who adhere to this flawed concept) are perpetuating their own second-class citizenship. It’s an easy copout to have the excuse poised on the tongue, ready to strike: “I am the way I am because of the way your great great great grandfather treated my great great great grandfather and his family.” If there’s genetics at play here, I’m willing to submit to a DNA test to prove my own innocence.

Black Americans’ self-fulfilling prophecy of inferiority is not something that white Americans themselves can dispel. It’s an ideology, a mindset that has to change one person at a time, be that person black, white, or whatever. Laws are in place and being enforced which even the playing field and prohibit discrimination. This is by no means a guarantee that discrimination does not occur. But too many times, discrimination is cried where none exists. It’s just an easy way to draw attention to a plight that all too often exists in and of itself, not because of the system.

I suppose it might appease some black Americans if we were to change the colors of our flag to Red, Black and Blue to symbolize the blood, sweat, toil and tears suffered by the slaves who helped build our country. But that would be a selfish act, one that denies the contribution of people of all colors who pulled together to create the greatest nation in the world. But why not leave it the way it was, is and shall always be, by telling ourselves and the world that we’ve washed away the sins of a bygone era and proudly proclaim our united respect, honor and pride in the RED, WHITE & BLUE.