Love the Human Race: RESPECT

As of the writing of this artcle (February 22, 2021  5:30pm PST), seeing our nation’s behavior hurts my heart.  No doubt.  May hurt your heart, as well.  

What is causing the pain in my heart?  It’s a complicated answer.  My answer has several parts.  I will explain one of the parts.  Respect.  The lack of respect for one another.  

I was born in 1966.  Two years later, 1968, our nation would be rocked by the assassinations of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy.  

In 1974, our nation would  see a fallen presidency with President Nixon resigning in disgrace.

Vietnam War, another twenty year war ends in 1975.  That war tears our  nation apart.  By many people’s action in our nation, those heroes return and are treated as villains.  

As a teenager, I would experience the “end of the Cold War,” as President Reagan infamously said while standing in front of the wall that divided West & East Berlin, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”  

Obviously, with any other fifty-five year-old American, much has happened.  Good and evil.  I realize that I have lived 22% of our nation’s existence and what has happened in that 22% of our nation’s history? A LOT!

What I didn’t know – until now – was the effort to change America!  Read “The Plot to Change America.”  Understand the foundation of “Critical Race Theory.”  

Don’t get me wrong!  Right around the time I was born and during the last fifty-five years, there has much that has needed to be changed, but not to the point where it is now!  The change we are seeing is one that is not based on the foundation of the Founding Fathers.  Again, read “The Plot to Change America.”  Understand the foundation of “Critical Race Theory.”  

We are seeing a level of disrespect that I had hoped America would have matured to a level that we would not to see again.  The disrespect of saying a certain group of people (white) are this level of “white.”  in 2021, one would never see this sort of exercise for another race of people! NOR SHOULD WE!)

I am very confident in my observation that for a majority of our 245 years as a nation, the Caucasian Male has had power.  NO DOUBT.  No argument from me. 

But, with his power, came needed changes and improvements.  Such as – not limited to:

• women’s right to vote.  Yes.  It took over 100 years to make that happen.  Too long. 
• The Civil Rights Act.  Again, it took over 100 years to make that happen.
• Women’s rights have exponentially increased, especially compared to other nations.  President Obama had a White House Council for Women and Girls (no such council for men and boys – that is not a good thing, by the way; studies are showing our boys are falling behind; weak men = weak country).  
• Numerous amendments to the Constitution (hence, it is a living document) 

Now?  We are seeing a power struggle that really has not been seen at this level since probably the late sixties.  

What I would like to see is an understanding that what makes our country great is we are AMERICANS!  We need to recalibrate our current direction back to a direction that all of us need – respect / responsible / discipline / integrity and faith.  Right now?  All those rich and important words are seen through racist lenses / “social construct.”  There is an actual argument that those words are part of a “social construct.” 

A social construct is something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction. It exists because humans agree that it exists. 

Hmmmm… here is my “simple-minded” litmus test.  Which one of those five words (respect / responsible / discipline / integrity / faith) – LEFT OUT – would improve our society?   NONE!  Which one of those five words – LEFT OUT – would lead to true love?  NONE!  Seems to me that those five words are pretty solid words.  Darn near reality for a better world. 

Respect:  a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.  I guess “qualities” would be the one part of the definition that would include race or ethnicity or gender?  But, what do abilities and / or achievements have to do with race or ethnicity or gender?  

I do not respect a fellow human being simply because of their race or ethnicity or gender.  I will not.  I will hold onto The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, the “content of character. ”  

The word “respect” should be race-blind / ethnicity-blind / and yes, gender-blind.  

We need to go back to understanding how important words are.  Truly objectively understand words.  Remove the biases.  Stop putting words into the context of “race.”  Not everything is “racist.”  “Social construct.”  

Therefore, I am going to do all I can to support those folks who want “respect” to be earned and given by their abilities / achievements, not by what they look like.  

Due to me being a white male heterosexual Christian, I have lost respect.  Isn’t that incredible?  Just by the way I look, being married to an incredible woman and shouting from the mountain top, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior,” I have lost respect.  See how silly that is?  

What I can tell you is if you have respect for yourself (books you read / how you spend your free time / the food you eat (getting better at that (giggle) / your “self-talk” / etc.), you should have respect for others.  Automatically.  You can give what you have.  You can not give what you do not have.

If you have respect for yourself because of your skin color, your ethnicity, your gender – THAT IS IT – then that is how you are going to show respect for others.  What a bummer!  You limit yourself!  You do!  You are only going to give respect for someone who looks like you?  Thinks like you?  

Bottom line.  Because, it is time to bring people together, I am going to stand for the words:  Respect. Responsible. Discipline. Integrity. Faith.  None of those words are owned by a race of people, a group of people or a gender of people.  SERIOUSLY!  Stop it.  They are HUMAN VALUES / HUMAN PRINCIPLES.  Well, at least the human beings who want to have LOVE in their heart.  

Join me.  Stand-up for THE HUMAN RACE.  LOVE THE HUMAN RACE!