Jason P Roberts

Justin Denison
12/9/15
DO WE STILL HAVE THE DREAM?
America is one of the greatest cultural melting pots on earth.
People of every creed, color and ethnicity call this land home. It is upon
this premise that this nation was founded. All men (and women) are
created equal. In the midst of many police shootings and confrontations,
widespread violence, and terrorism the question of equality has become
one of the most controversial in our media and society as of late.
It is true that this nation has not always honored this creed. Many
groups religious, ethnic, or orientations have felt persecution. As we well
know, this country has been host to slavery for several hundred years, as
well as indentured servitude, sharecropping, and many other forms of
oppressive servitude. It will take work, hard work, to break free from the
manacles of servitude that our country has relied upon economically and
historically for its success.
Not so long ago a great man said these words from the steps of
nations capital. On that memorable day in 1963, in our nations capital, A
memorial speech was in the shadow our capital. Now this was no ordinary
gathering, it was a gathering to address the racial injustice and suffering
that was haunting our nation, and putting the standard of freedom in
jeopardy. Dr. Martin Luther king, a prominent minister and key player in

the civil rights movement, delivered a piece of oratory mastery that went
down as the one the most memorable speeches of the 20th century. His
words ring as relevant and true today as they did then.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce
urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to
take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the
promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate
valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to
lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of
brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's
children.
(http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)
In the midsts of racially or driven shootings, lootings, and atrocities
plague our society and televisions, the clarion call of the past to lift our
nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of
brotherhood has never been truer today than any time in history
.Racial tensions are one the hottest and most controversial issues
of our day. If only looking through the lens of the media, you would think
that every person in the United States is racially persecuted and unsafe,
or a perpetrator of racist behavior. Many villains and heroes are named
and accusations of racism so commonplace as to lose their credibility.

Picture yourself listening to two different sides of an argument. Both

sides are extremely persuasive and make many good points. They
present evidence, facts, and even qualified documentation of the veracity
of their statements. Where do you go to establish credibility of the
statements being made?
This question is not new one. It has been asked by every person
since the beginning of time. For many Americans, and the modern world in
which we live, the answer is the internet, social media, or local news
outlets. This searching can result in a change of persons beliefs or faith,
views on the world, and ones own personal consciousness. As I have
read this article of mob violence rising in America, I am sickened that our
nation has gotten to this point

In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of

wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by
drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct
our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow
our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again,
we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul
force.

A prime example of this is the shooting of young black male Traven

Martin by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman while on a routine

patrol of the area. Once the Media heard the name George Zimmerman
they automatically assumed they had a racial case on their hands and
labeled it as race driven shooting. The only problem with that accusation is
that George Zimmerman was later found out to be Hispanic. In addition a
thorough federal investigation was given showing that there was
absolutely no racism in his past or racial motives for the night of the
shooting. The media had made a completely false report on national
television. Rather than apologize for their mistake, the media added fuel
to the fire Zimmerman, however, has been stripped of his Hispanic racial
identity across almost every media outlet in America because it is was
inconvenient to the white versus black racial narrative the media are
hyping, the media refuse to identify Zimmerman as a Hispanic.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2013/07/17/10-facts-the-mediaarent-telling-you-about-the-zimmerman-case/
The media has omitted many of the facts that would show that this
was not a racially motivated shooting. He continues by saying that while
the media is so ready to accuse, they are willfully ignoring widespread
violence and actual racially motivated assaults they have occurred in the
wake of Zimmermans not guilty verdict This article helps my argument by
showing how truth can be manipulated by changing or leaving out details
to promote publicity.
How something told in a slightly different light can affect People so
dramatically. It also shows the fallacy of our thinking as a society in whole.

We live in an era of instant gratification and instant answers. This greatly

diminishes our logos ability by giving the internet and media instant ethos.
We have lost the art of taking time to think things out.
Some might say, Well what about cases where real racism and
religious persecution occurs? Shouldnt it be the Medias duty to bring to
the publics attention to the actual wrongs committed? My feeling is yes,
but communities across the nation can address many of the wrongs
committed on a personal level, so it can be addressed and corrected on a
community level through active efforts to show each other that we are not
so very different.
In an initiative taken by CEO of Starbucks corporation Howard
Schultz, has capitalized on the coffee shop ideology of open
communication and discussion by introducing coffee cups that have the
words race together written on the outside of them. Schultz hopes that
this is only the beginning of a much larger dialogue that will go beyond
Starbucks and lead to greater compassion and understanding among the
American people by following there example of crossing racial boundaries.
By hosting conversations about race in neutral territory where people can
feel free to express their opinions and beliefs, Starbucks believes that
such dialogue will open communication channels between police,
member of the community and new partnerships to foster dialogue and
empathy and help bridge the racial and ethnic divides within our society
that have existed for so many years. One of the ways they hope to do this

is by continuing to focus getting jobs and education for the rising

generation. Starbucks has set a goal of hiring 10000 youth in poverty
stricken areas. https://news.starbucks.com/news/a-letter-from-howardschultz-to-starbucks-partners-regarding-race-together
A great example is a review given by African American Author and
writer Jason L. Riley on the black lives matter movement. Riley
continues by reviewing a tragic story in the New York Times about black
mothers of murdered children. Brooklyn native Sharon Plummer has seen
two of her children murdered and a third wounded by gun violence. She
lost her 16 year old son on august 30, 2015. He was gunned down on
street corner only two blocks away from where his older brother was also
shot down only a few years earlier. Ms. Plummer has since to a safer
community not escape predatory cops, rather she moved to protect her
children from their predatory peers. He quotes New York City police
commissioner William Bratton We have, unfortunately, a very large
population of many young people who have grown up in an environment in
which the . . . traditional norms and values are not there.
Riley continues by saying the most unfortunate part is that
neighborhoods that are most affected are predominantly African American.
In a press conference given this September, South Carolina governor
Nikki Haley that the movement was harming the very people they whose
interests they claimed to represent. She goes on Most of the people who
now live in terror because local police are too intimidated to do their jobs

are black, the governor said. Black lives do matter, and they have been
disgracefully jeopardized by the movement that has laid waste to
Ferguson and Baltimore.
The movement has become part of the civil rights industry, one
that is very profitable for civil rights lawyers, media, music industry,
movies, and political candidates. It has become an industry which uses
the underclass to push an agenda that invariably leaves the supposed
beneficiaries worse off. http://www.wsj.com/articles/black-lives-\matterbutreality-not-so-much-1441755075
Unfortunately, relying solely upon one source of information can
lead to a generalized view on race, religion, or ethnic groups, all the while
completely forgetting the individuals. Who can be trusted? To what source
might we look to discern the real facts from fabricated fiction?
My personal opinion is that the media does not consider what is
best for the people, but best for coverage and publicity. There is no
consideration of what damage such headlines may cause. It also shows a
hidden agenda in which the media promotes race baiting and racial fault
finding where there is none. It creates a system in which finding racial
conflict is rewarded, thus in the populous mind, becomes an acceptable
and profitable behavior.
We must look to each other as an American people. Nobody
deserves to be judged based on the color of their skin. It my belief that we
can cut through the hate perpetuated by the media by looking for the best

in each other. Getting to know a person through sincere, personal

interaction, will give you a more accurate perspective about them than any
media outlet or newspaper article that has ever been written.
One of the greatest growing periods in my life was my experience
as a full time missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. This experience has forever changed my perspective on the
diversity and beauty of the human race. There is no greater way to learn
about, and love other people that are different from you than serving them.
For two years I had the privilege of speaking with, serving in communities
of, and eating in the homes of people from all corners of the earth, with a
wide variety of religious, cultural, and lifestyle differences. The grand
conclusion that I have come to in all my wanderings are that people are
good, and they want to do good. I have grown to love the faces that are
different. Their different experiences and ideas have come to enrich my
own. They only serve to flavor, and add richness to the melting pot that is
America today.
If there is a hate in your heart I invite you to love. Look to your own
family line and see that peoples origins in this country are not very
different than your own. I dont pretend to know what the manacles of
oppression feel like, I have not been enslaved nor do I hope to ever be.
But I do know that racism hurts and it is not becoming of a nation that is
founded on freedom

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the
content of their character.

He had a dream then America, do we still have it today?