In God We Trust

No doubt there is a serious problem, the cause of social injustice and systemic issues should be common ground for most people.  The real problem is what to do about it.  This video has some interesting ideas on how to start addressing the problem.

President Obama educates students about the tendency to over-simplify the motivations of those who have a different point of view than you, and use social media to call out or shame others. We need to stop intolerance and purity tests.  People are complicated and diverse.  We should embrace those differences and learn from them.

Yes, all lives matter, but the point of the movement is to call attention to the reality that there IS social injustice today and we, as Americans, should recognize it so that it can be corrected.  I know the statistic that black men are 2.5x more likely to be shot by a police officer than white men.  But we shouldn't ignore other related statistics about crime that may explain this.  And we shouldn't ignore the conditions within the community that lead to this crime.  We need to address the core issues without weakening the communities that need protection.  How many black people are killed each year in inner city violence?  Don't those black lives matter too?  We need to change the policies and governments that have perpetuated the poor conditions within these communities for far too long.

The clip explains what happened in Yugoslavia and draws parallels to what is happening now in the U.S.  But more importantly, it reminds us what happens if we don't correct the problems we are facing: division, socialism and escalating violence.  Literally, the world is at stake.