Black Americans, what are we doing? We are shooting ourselves and each other in both feet. What has hate ever accomplished? Yes, protest. Yes, shout against injustice. Yes, demand what is due us. But, NO, I won’t work with the sitting US President even when he reaches out to you?
What is the cost of hating President Trump? Does it make your family safer, happier, better educated and better poised for employment? NO First, we create the deadly results of destructive negative thinking. Second, we become distracted from the real issues of dismantling systems for racial uplift that were in place long before Trump arrived. Perhaps, worst of all, we are not at the decision-making table ready to express and demand what is needed for our people. Where were we when overhauling the criminal justice system was discussed?
Another question must always be asked. Who gains from distracting us from the table? Who benefits from Black internal fighting? What are they doing while our backs are turned and they whisper in our ears talking points to believe and act upon? NOT MY PRESIDENT. Well, who IS your President? And, how many years do you want to sit with no leadership but worry about your future?
Our ancestors through every American generation would weep. They loved America. They died for America. They served in EVERY WAR. When given the option to move to Africa or the Caribbean, they said No, this is my country. We are going to make it work for us.
As I study Black American history, one thing is consistent and enduring. Black Americans achieve, give back, love, excel and are second to none as a people. We need to reinforce these truths. Regardless of your political position, throughout each of our 400 plus years, somebody tried to work with the sitting President regardless of his personal position on race. We cannot do less for our legacy.
I am righteously dismayed because ADOS has survived everything, in spite of …. we believed that we could rise. Believed that this country has always been a land of opportunity and we didn't have to break down fences to claim our place like so many immigrants today. Citizenship with all its flaws is still ours by birth thanks to the hard labor of our ancestors.
TODAY WE ARE TEACHING OUR PEOPLE TO HATE AMERICA
What now? When our leaders and ministers feel comfortable, in fact, compelled to disparate the President of the United States like it's just another day. When we encourage our youth to disrespect the sitting President, the flag and the anthem. When they emulate adult hate talk then China and Russia could do no better job of undermining the well-being of our nation.
What you may miss is the psychological distress caused by hate and displacement within the only nation we know. Depression and anxiety has been our constant plague, yet we add to it by putting down America rather than lifting it up. We have reviewed the self hate studies and its lifelong effects. What would you expect from the hate my country, my President, the land of my identity effects? What country can you move to? These are the unintended consequences innocently claimed when so many Americans decided that they were too angry to accept the outcome of the last Presidential election.
Daily we are bombarded by hateful media stories spewing negative slants on topics to reinforce hate. They put an anti-Trump spin on positive stories to achieve their goals. America First means setting aside anything that divides. Omitting good news of this administration is as shameful as overemphasizing their errors and failed policies. Let there be no doubt, our children will live to feel the costs.
WHAT IS THE COST OF HATE?