Despite all of the genuine hopes, by millions of people, of every tribe and tongue from every corner of this planet, an excruciatingly sad reality is being made perfectly clear.
The issue of race--and more specifically America's brand of racism--will never be defeated.
As the father of a multi-racial family, this reality strikes at the disappointment my soul feels about many things in our nation today, but none more personal.
Some who see the headline to this piece will immediately assume I've taken a position in this fight. Because I merely observe what is evident, and state my observation publicly. Some whites will believe I am attacking them. Many African-Americans will believe I am championing their grievances. The truth is neither, the truth is both, and the truth will never be admitted.
For it is impossible to cure a societal sickness, when parties don't wish for it to be cured!
And while there are some pockets where racial bias presents itself in the white to black reality of our culture, the overwhelming abusers of race, the manipulators of skin color, and the purveyors of hate based on ignorance and ill will--are actually those who claim they are fighting against it.
The case of Travon Martin's death is the complete evidence of that last assertion.
No where, was there an ounce of evidence that the man who shot Travon followed him, reported him, or defended himself against him--even for his very life--based on the color of Travon's skin. Yet "civil rights 'leaders'"--who in reality have more moral authority being a clown in a local circus than thoughtful and genuine purveyors of racial understanding--manipulated every element of fact in the case to convince the sleeping media--who refused to do their homework--that the man who shot Travon was racially motivated, racially biased, and hateful of races different than his.
None of which was proven in the elongated case, coverage during, or clownery following the conclusion.
Simply put, the Sharpton, Jackson, Holder, and Obama rhetoric--though stating it was dressed in compromise--actually was intended to incite further anger, resentment, and furtherance of the untruths told for months in the case.
So if the "civil rights 'leadership'" is throwing gas on the heated embers, how else will those--who choose not to investigate facts for themselves but accept these voices wholesale--react?
The accumulation of power in the minds of the four leaders mentioned above is more important than truly trying to find resolution, understanding, and accuracy.
Another bit of evidence in the matter is that when voices of reason do speak (i.e. Lisa Fritsch, Charles Barkley, Dr. William Cosby, et. al), based on seeing the facts for themselves and then urging calm they are shouted down. Or in Dr. Cosby's case--"Reverend" Jesse Jackson in a moment of candidness--utters desires to remove Cosby's anatomical manhood.
Also readily evident to any who would be honest is that when there are voices who point out that current solutions being touted for suffering neighborhoods are not working, squeals of "racism", come the same grievance inciters. So when a popular commentator on the largest news network points out the inconsistency of punishing a Latin American man harshly for an accidental death, while more or less ignoring the character, grooming, and integrity of African-American men who go on killing rampages in wholly African-American controlled neighborhoods is at a minimum hypocritical.
The truth--the cold hard truth--is that this cadre of voices (Sharpton, Holder, Jackson, Obama, et al.) benefit far more by practicing racism in theory, rhetoric, and actions, than by ever seeking honest resolutions. They continue to be propped up by those who keep themselves intellectually shallow of fact. And a handful of media outlets--mostly operated by NBC--seem to pander on the issue instead of seeking intellectually rigorous, heartfelt, passionate solutions to the problems that face the nation.
This combination of dishonesty, access, and support now furthers racist outcomes and those involved are directly contributing to the anger, vandalism, and violence that follows in its wake.
As the father of a son whose skin is darker than any of the men mentioned in this article, my fear is what consequences he faces, because of their vanity, selfishness, hubris, and greed.
See in order to end racism, you must not merely tolerate people who are different than you--but begin to truly honor, serve, and love them.
And it is the absence of honor in the character of today's "civil rights 'leaders'" that betrays their true intention: to practice racism, and to profit from it for themselves indefinitely.
Making it an issue that appears at present nearly impossible to defeat.