65,853,516 vote for the Democrat, 306 Electoral votes for the Republican, 59 people are dead, 32 NFL teams bending knees, 23 guns in a hotel room, 1 VP takes a trip to a game on taxpayers backs just to leave, 0.
"Zero what?" you ask. Just Zero.
Zero represents nothing, it is empty. This is the feeling many have inside when any number of people are killed for what seems to be no reason at all. Empty is what people would like to see at stadiums nationwide because of the seeming disrespect players are participating in. Empty are the rooms of the people who while enjoying a concert on a Sunday evening were gunned down for no apparent reason. Zero is the number of gun laws that the NRA want. Zero is the number of protests many people would like to see. Zero is the tolerance level for bullying but zero is also the tolerance level from many of the bullies for those who fight for their equality. We can't keep living in the world of zero, of doing nothing. It is empty.
When some people hear "Black lives matter" they feel it means then "other lives do not".
When some people hear "White privilege" they feel it means "white people have no problems".
The actual meanings could not be more the opposite. If we were to finish the first statement it would read - Black lives matter as much as anyone and every life matters. And "White privilege"? Let me explain ...
First what it doesn't mean:
It doesn't mean all white people are rich.
It doesn't mean all white people have no problems. AND,
It doesn't mean all white people get whatever they want.
What it DOES mean is simply because of your skin color you are afforded certain advantages without earning them. These advantages may be obvious but many are less obvious especially to those living in predominantly white environments who may be on the lower income scale. Even low-income white people are afforded certain privileges they did not earn. The privileges can be anything from presumed greater social status to the freedom to move about, work, play, and speak freely.
When white people say things such as, "Prejudice doesn't exist anymore." or "Racism isn't a problem." When white people add, "It isn't about the color of their skin, if they work hard or don't break the law then they have nothing to worry about." Those statements could not be further from the truth. An innocent white man could be walking down the street at dusk without a care in the world but an innocent black man has to be aware and "on" NOT because of any other reason than the color of his skin.
People say this country is divided, and it is. And anything divided by zero is undefined. Is this country "undefined"? Well, maybe it is. Unlike many countries, we do not have an official language. There are 43 countries that have an official religion. The United States of America is young and was founded on freedoms. The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. The Constitution was written in 1787 and the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution) was written in 1791. These would be the documents that one could argue define our country. I personally think they are good documents and to be clear the Bill of Rights specifically was written to protect the rights of ALL the people of the United States. The Constitution's preamble is "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." All of us.
We. We the People. That is much more than zero and the rest of the document, each article, each section, they, together, define our country. Let's not define our country by zero, by that empty feeling. Let's yell for the equality. Let's come together and treat one another with respect. Let's talk about the needs of everyone throughout the country. Let's listen. Let's not give bullies with a title the ammunition to divide our country, to create a country where only some enjoy all the freedoms and rights afforded to ALL OF US by the documents our great country was built on.
Anyway, that's my view - in a nutshell.
