Being locked down and having limited movement, as a result of this global pandemic - COVID-19, has given me an opportunity for introspection and reflection. I would like to begin by stating that I am extremely grateful to God Almighty for allowing me to connect with my audience via this blog and to share my thoughts and feelings about what’s going on during these volatile times.  I am also eternally grateful for waking up each and everyday.

Yes, the climate we are living in today is extremely volatile.  For way too long black and brown people in America have suffered, inordinately, at the hands of people leveraging their assumed positions of power and influence to oppress and dehumanize us. The tipping point of what we have witnessed in the streets of America and around the world is long over due: not the violence but the massive global protests. The incredible musician and song writer Marvin Gaye sang about this in his hit single, What’s Goin’ On  which was released in 1971— almost 50 years ago.  The songs’ lyrics speak to the troubles during that that time and they are still relevant today.  This means nothing much has changed: it’s the same mind-set that existed from years past repackaged and reinvented.

Mother, mother

There's too many of you crying

Brother, brother, brother

There's far too many of you dying

You know we've got to find a way

To bring some lovin' here today,

Father, father

We don't need to escalate

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

You know we've got to find a way

To bring some lovin' here today,

Picket lines and picket signs

Don't punish me with brutality

Talk to me, so you can see

Oh, what's going on

What's going on

Yeah, what's going on

Ah, what's going on

I am grateful to those fathers and mothers whose children have gone to war, hundreds of miles away, to fight and protect the freedoms that many enjoy here in America.  The tragedy is that, in some instances, black and brown soldiers return from fighting a war afar off to fight a different kind of war within the borders of America - a war of against discrimination, hatred, social injustice and economic inequality.

For too long the actions of a few rogue individuals have gone unnoticed, unchecked and unseen. Unfortunately, I have heard of the brutality and witnessed my share of it over the years while living in New York City in the 60’s and 70’s.  The police brutality by rogue officers, the racial profiling, and the incendiary comments by elected officials and others in powerful positions, to name a few instances, is once again being brought to light but in another platform.  How, you may ask?  They are now being recorded and shared via social media platforms which were not available in times past. These recordings are being strung together and shared across this country and the world people are seeing for themselves how black and brown people are bring treated and discriminated against. We are seeing that we are not dealing with isolated incidents but with a deeply rooted systemic problem that disproportionately affects people of color.

Yes, there are too many mothers and fathers crying because they have to bury their sons and daughters much too soon.  Just as Marvin Gaye sings so eloquently in What’s Goin’On - “we have to find a way to bring some lovin’ here today.”  Love can most definitely transcend and can stomp out hate but its an individual choice to want to make that change from hatred of others with a different skin color to simply loving your fellow man.

Though attempts are made daily to legislate moral behavior we must remember that God gave animals instinct and man choice. Just know that at some point these immoral behaviors will catch up to each individual that chooses to participate in them. Eventually, you will reap what you have sown: that’s for sure - God will not be mocked.  Remember with the story of Noah when God became so feed up with the continuous evil thoughts of man that He was ready to destroy man from the face of the earth.  Let’s hope that history will not repeat itself in this fashion: only God knows.

Genesis 6:5 - And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 

and that every imagination of the thoughts of

his heart was only evil continually.

verse 6 - And it repented the LORD that he had made man 

on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

verse 7 - And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom 

I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, 

and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me 

that I have made them.

As you can see even God has His limits!  The social unrest that we are witnessing results from seeds of discrimination and hatred that have been sown for many generations. These seeds have been meticulously watered and carefully cultivated for centuries.  

Hatred for others because of their skin color is a global societal cancer that continues to grow and is worse than the sum of all pandemics. But there is hope — return to God and He will return to us. Man’s attempt to act in God’s stead has failed, is failing, and will continue to fail miserably until we humbly acknowledge His Divine Supremacy. This is the only answer.  God is Love (I John 4:8).  Man alone doesn't have the answer. Someone reading this may not believe in God and that’s okay, but you’ll have to admit that there is an energy or greater source of other than man that is running this show.