History and Charlottesville

All eyes and hearts have been on Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend following the tragic events that occurred during a protest over a statue of Robert E Lee.  My prayers have been for those that lost loved ones during this tragedy and for the parents of the young man that drove his car into the crowd of protestors.

I am not planning to make this a political post and I pray that no one takes it in that context, but I am truly trying to understand why there was a protest at all. I understand that many places in the south still seem to hold faith in the confederate flag and what it stood for. I also understand that many people do not hold to those beliefs. This is a statue, nothing more, that honors a Confederate soldier that led many into battle. This statue is part of American history, whether it is history that we like or not.  It is a period of time that we can learn from and move on from, but I don't feel that moving on means that we must remove the statue because it holds a replica of a belief that we truly do not want to admit that some had at one time.

I like chocolate ice cream over vanilla, but I would not expect my company to not carry vanilla ice cream just because I don't like it. It is a flavor of ice cream and any ice cream shop should carry it. The statue is part of our history and whether we like it or not, it does not change history, but it can change the way we think about the events that led to the statue. Robert E. Lee was a confederate soldier and leader and we can't change that. No protest, no crime, no death, absolutely nothing can change that part of our history!

Race has been an issue in our country for many years and yet, have we truly learned anything from the history of race relations? I don't believe so. Lives matter , whether black, white or any other color, they matter. People matter! Skin color does not! Whites and Blacks commit crimes, white and blacks can be educated and contribute to society. Whites and Blacks can live in peace if both sides are willing.  What makes race an issue are the people that seem to believe that they are better than the others. However, we are never better than another race. All Men are created equal! God never made one race more superior than another. White Supremacists are simply whites that feel that they are better than another race. They do not convey the feelings that many whites have.

Many would say that a protest is a right and I would say that I agree to a point. What makes a protest a bad thing is when you add someone that thinks they are better than another group of people or someone that does not understand that their views are not necessarily right and someone that does not believe in authority or discipline, then the protest can turn violent and wrong. A peaceful protest would not need shields and guns or other weapons.

For some unknown reason to us, this 20 year old young male decided that he had a right to drive into a crowd of people for standing for what they believed in while he was protesting for his right to do the same thing. What sense is there in that? NONE! What difference did his taking of innocent life have to do with a peaceful protest over a statue. A piece of art that truly just honors a true life person that is a historical part of our country.

It is time for us to wake up as a society and realize that children need to be taught respect and discipline. It is time we realize that history is there for us to study and learn from. It is time that we stop attempting to offend others when they are doing something that we should never allow in any part of business. It is time for us to take a stand for intelligence and realize that all lives matter.