All Hands, It’s Time To Jump Ship

If your claim that you cannot achieve equality in America because of race is true, then the war is over and you have lost. Admit defeat, recall the troops and agree to the terms of surrender. There is nothing more you can do because your race will never change. Why waste any more time, money or effort on speeches, marches and legislation when none of those actions will alter your genetic make- up? Anyone with a smidgen of intelligence would realize the folly of continuing such a mission in which the outcome of failure was pre-ordained.

Standing down the fighting forces, the caucuses in government, as well as those in private sector entities, is what the valiant commander would do when faced with eminent conquest by his foe. This not only averts loss of life unnecessarily, but precludes rebellion and the overthrow of that leader when the conflict is ended. And, although vanquished, the dauntless commander would reevaluate his goals, and should they be determined noble, use lessons learned from the previous battle, then alter the tactics employed going forward in a new campaign.

But why sound the alarm to retreat? The blueprint to move forward adopted by today’s civil rights leaders, so called, is to continue the pursuit of victory with the same strategy which led to the current defeat. That is, blame every unfortunate or negative occurrence in life as, the plight of being black in America. In place of a cogent and judicious argument, prominence is given to the inability of one to alter one’s skin color. While recruiting from a pool of misinformed novices and installing a blind following to every dictate from on high, the battle continues. With this as the mindset of a renewed fighting force to implement dogma, now realizing your vision of racial equality certainly cannot be far off.

To elicit unchallenged loyalty within the ranks, it is incumbent on the leaders to outline with clarity, the necessity in taking on the enemy in this endeavor. In this case, the overriding message delivered, is the inevitable untoward treatment of blacks by whites in America. It is emphasized as truth in every communique’ emanating from headquarters. Media programming, newscasts, printed materials and conversations between true believers, all contain implied, explicit or veiled inferences, to convey a reality of unequal justice by virtue of birth as a black person.

Dissension within the ranks is defined as the antipathy to oneself. The courage to question or acknowledge human flaws as a possibility for shortcomings in life is considered a seditious action not to be tolerated. Any modicum of dissent is immediately and openly quelled by defaming the malcontent, and discrediting the deliberated, independent thought thereof.

What is apparent is the leaders of this movement are entrenched in their beliefs and strategies. It is also perplexing in that, as leaders, they claim to have acquired great insight and knowledge of the workings of the world and of politics. So with this immense amount of data and enlightened sense of purpose, why employ a failed plan of action? Does not the intelligence scream of this as a foolhardy and futile option? Following decades of conflict, the best offered result of the struggle is oft quoted by those allied for change as, “we’ve made some progress, but we’ve still got a long way to go.” Needless to say, using that catchphrase as the urgent and compelling motivation to coalesce support for change, is inconsistent with, “what do we want; change, when do we want it; now”, the mantra espoused while in attack mode.

What now serves as the only recourse to preserve the dignity of, and bestow the proper honor to the legacy of the pioneers and true leaders who sought racial equality for all Americans, is to discredit today’s faux champions of justice. Those who see themselves as the current voice or catalyst to affect positive racial change have refused to reexamine the practices of a bygone era. It is this aversion to reality and their unwillingness to live by the creed of the hero whose words they love to inject which have validated their demise. Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when all men would be judged by the content of their character, not their skin color. Therefore, with each barrage of invective, innuendo or unqualified accusation of racism by the self-appointed spokespersons and deliverers of justice, we who choose not to be manipulated, must reject their false proclamations, then challenge that charge to be proved with reliable evidence. The leader who insists on fighting a phantom enemy is delusional or deceitful. To remain aligned with that leader is self- destructive.