The nation is in an uproar. For the most part, I’ve remained pseudo-neutral on the topic of debate. While admittedly, I haven’t exactly remained quiet on the issue, I also haven’t picked up the torch for either side. Recently, I pointed out the faults in both sides of the argument (e.g. the players actions only mean something to the wrong audience and the wrong audience response to it is a waste of energy and time for something that in no way tangibly effects them), however, what I did not do is present a solution because I believe the solution is largely out of reach for our collective nation.
Then the unthinkable happened. The players protest affected me in a tangible way (not that it is necessarily their fault). I texted my parents this morning in hopes of catching the next noon game with them as a family only to find out my father is boycotting the NFL in response to the protest. For some, that may mean nothing, but for me our family watching football together was one of the most important past times that shaped my young life. It was one of those times where regardless of our differences, we came together as a family to enjoy the game and by extension each other’s company. And now in my adulthood with a family of my own (wife and two boys), it is one of the few times we can find a pretext to get together and rekindle our familial-bond. Granted, we don’t need a game to accomplish that, but it’s the vehicle to that experience we know and love together.
In a last ditch effort (however feeble or effective) to maintain my grip on that favorite pastime of my family, here’s the Nation’s much-needed solution:
The solution is simple in the telling, but (I believe) impossible in the execution.
Let’s start with the “Why.”
Imagine your mind is a bottomless pond fed by five tributaries. Each river represent a sense (Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch, & Smell). When you are young, all manner of God’s creatures are represented with one exception: Predators. As you grow and are introduced to various forms of expression with various intent, the opportunity for predators to be introduced to this pond increase exponentially.
The issue is when you introduce a predator (which represent the negative in this world) is the eventual and subsequent result of these predators eating all of the herbivores (which represent the good in this world). This means, of course, the earlier a predator is introduced to a child’s development, the more dangerous that person’s pond (mind) can become to not just the bearer of that mind but to everyone that mind comes in contact with.
As we grow older, experiences allow for various filters (or damns) to be put in place that either weed out the predators or the herbivores, dependent on the nature of those experiences. This is a paramount understanding to the issues that oppresses everyone (and, yes, I mean everyone, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, or creed) in America today.
The root cause of these issues?
The freedoms we should not enjoy. To fix the problem (and why I believe it is impossible) we must fix the constitution. That’s right, no more freedom of speech. No more freedom of expression. No more saying whatever we want however we want whenever we want.
Why?
If not for our sake, our future sake…our children’s sake who lack the fundamental ability to discern the good from the bad. These sensory injections shape our children’s perspective on the world that surrounds them; how they view the world and how they act as a result.
Now for the (Impossible) “How.”
We need to delete from our collective conscious, our hard drives, our smart phones, our clouds, our internet every cd/movie/other form of entertainment any and all music, TV shows, video games, movies (or other form of political or artistic expression) that make disparaging remarks about race, sexual preference, political affiliation, creed, sex, and the police/government. That’s right, no more NWA, no more Beastie Boys, no more Eminem, no more celebration of drug use, a life of crime, murder, rape, or any other negative unproductive use of our time regardless of their stated intent. If it can be misperceived as a celebration of that life, even in the form of ones testimony as to why they turned away from it, it should be deleted (ideally worldwide, but nationwide would be a beautiful beginning). Obviously, this would also mean a nationwide ban on the production of such forms of entertainment/expression/political views going forward.
Now I get it. This is not a popular (and most likely impossible) solution. But considering the “Why” I already covered, it is the only solution, regardless if you accept that as truth or not. Whether or not you believe in God or the bible (Philippians 4:8 / Ephesians 4:17-19), science itself backs my assertions. The unconscious mind believes everything it hears, says, feels, taste, and smells. The unconscious mind lacks the discernment to decide between what is a truth and what is a lie; what is good for us and what is bad for us. So everything you feed your mind has an impact on how you perceive and view the world. It shapes your perspective and how you act accordingly. And this, of course, is especially the case for our children who lacks the experience (damns) to filter out predators that can otherwise pollute their young minds.
People are often under the mistaken impression that we can only eat things that are bad for us. The truth is, everything we consume (with every sense we experience the world through) can have a positive or negative impact on both our physical and spiritual body.
The ugly truth is it’s too late for many of us; the proverbial die has been cast as far as how we adults see and perceive the world. But it’s not too late for our future generations. Every day that these various negative forms of expression exist in our world, another child is exposed to the potential of becoming a racist, a bigot, a rapist, a criminal, or perhaps the worst thing they could possibly become: a hero in the eyes of the world who champions these various negative expressions (singer with a negative outlook/rapper who celebrates crime, drug use, hate towards the different or police themselves/bigot politician that would speak against a race, sex, religious belief/athlete whose negative actions off the field of play are shouted from the rooftops/police officer who racially profiles and has an automated fear-response to seeing a person of different race and acts with overt or passive aggression as a result).
As has been stated by many, what these protest and boycotts lack is an offered and acceptable solution. Like it or not, above is your only solution. Whether or not our nation applies it (which I doubt) is beside the point. Because if we can all at least recognize that the above is the only solution, maybe (just maybe) we can collectively (at least) agree that we American’s still have it pretty good as compared to most of the world, agree that we aren’t perfect but thank God we aren’t who we were as a country in yesteryears, and maybe we can just agree to disagree and get back to watching and enjoying football as one big national family.
