The Failure of Humanity
But what about our aspirations to be great people collectively?
What about how we are strengthened together as a people?
I wanted to bring up this topic because I reflect on how the nation and even the world is watching the recent events that have unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri with protests and riots over the tragic and untimely death of Mike Brown.
Although I’m sure that there have been many blog posts written concerning the situation of Mike Brown, I’d like to offer my own commentary.
If we aren’t careful, history repeats itself. Those awful, destructive, self-defeating, barbaric, hateful, and ignorant parts of history try to replay themselves again in ways that are more systemically blended into the culture and customs of the current generation at that particular time.
The problem that created the unfortunate circumstance of Mike Brown’s death isn’t an old one. It’s an appalling theme that seems to repeat itself throughout the history of the world in the form of murder and oppression committed by those who believe, for whatever reason, that they are superior to others of different ethnicities, nationalities, tribes, cultures, belief systems, and even genders.
It is indeed an epic failure of humanity.
It is the failure of humanity because it seems that collectively, human beings will never rid themselves of the prideful concept of racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual superiority. Having and maintaining the mindset that another person is worthless and that their life is expendable simply because they are in some way different.
Like many key events in history, Mike Brown’s death, although tragic, has become a catalyst. Inadvertently, his death has become the boiling point of a people unwilling to accept the current status quo of racial inequality.
It isn’t a new problem. It’s an old problem. It’s an old problem that so many have grown tired of facing.
Yet history has shown that it is a recurring problem. Ultimately oppression of any kind, is a quest for power and control. Nevertheless, as humans, we damn ourselves with every act of murder, oppression, and genocide and we leave our descendants to carry the burden of the effects of our actions.
The solution will never be as easy as singing Kumbayah together and holding hands, but part of the solution must come through the teaching of accurate history and reviewing the harsh yet truthful realities of the atrocities of the past, understanding their damaging and longstanding effects, and making certain that we do our part COLLECTIVELY to be certain that history does not repeat itself again.
We must not choose to be ignorant. We must educate ourselves. We must be willing to face the truth. We must be willing to stand. And we must be willing to act.
Failure is no longer an option.
A. L. Hearn