The End of Reason

Bad news. The pandemic has not been defeated. Many of the states that were in a hurry to reopen have seen COVID-19 rise to an unprecedented level. It has caused at least some of the governors to rethink their position and urge their citizens to at least wear their masks. Here in North Carolina the governor has delayed a decision to open up more facilities at least three weeks. I personally think it should be longer. This comes on the heels of the preposterous Republican National Convention request (as voiced by President Trump) for the governor to “guarantee” that social distance requirements be waived and the delegates be allowed to fill the coliseum or the convention would be moved from Charlotte. Governor Cooper ultimately denied that request and the convention, at least the Presidential nominee announcement, was moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with its Republican Governor and lack of restrictions. How did that work out?

It seems the President is intent on making sure this pandemic has the worst possible result. He has not only refused to wear a mask, he has convened what he hoped would be huge crowds to Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Dakota. In Oklahoma it seemed that the people were more afraid of the virus than they were of Trump. The crowd was disappointing. At least some of the people are listening to the White House health experts.

All of this is occurring as the nation is considering what to do, if anything, about police brutality and systemic racism. There is no doubt that the fabric of America is woven with an assumption of superiority of the white race. It seems that the conquering of the Native Americans and the enslavement of the Africans can be forgotten. It is not part of our history or it has no impact on the decisions of today. The continuing wealth gap must have its beginnings in the laziness and the ill-preparedness of those who are less fortunate. it can;t be due to racism. The Civil War should be celebrated and those who fought in it, although they sanctioned slavery, should be recognized as heroes. I am sure that African Americans are not being asked to celebrate those who enslaved their forefathers. That would be crazy.

Many who recognized the fallacy of this position are being caught in the uproar. Some accepted the racist positions of the day and went along with it, even though they thought it was wrong. Others fought to establish a new order where all of God’s creation was recognized as human beings. Sadly, it appears they were in the minority and the racist laws and policies continued until the latter third of the last century. Racism still exists in the heart of many.

It was not until June 19 that slaves in Texas knew that they had been freed. This is often called Juneteenth and is being widely supported as a national holiday. Whatever your position, you must agree that racism has not served our country well and it is past time that it be ended. Racism, sexism, homophobia, cannot be tolerated in this America. We are all citizens and should have equal rights.

President Trump seems to want us to spend more time fighting each other rather than our common enemies. There are battles that must be fought. We need to get busy. Anything else is the End of Reason.