Racism

In my life, I have never seen a slave. I have never seen a man fight another over his color but certainly over his opinion or voice. In school there were few men or women of color and the ratio of race concerns to the usual opinion concerns wasn't of significance, if at all.
I saw and participated in my share of fights of anger but none over race. No one cared for that back then or at least I didn't. I have hired men of color in my business, men of Spanish, Irish and any other dissent. I have had two native American friends, although I have never checked peoples spermatic origin.
In my life I have been barraged with the plight of the black man, the wrongdoing of the whites and the need to make up some ground that we have done, and by association of origin I too have done. Throughout my day I hear radio and news bulletins infected with hate toward each other disguised as black power, black pride or simple black culture. I see the same from some white groups.
Maybe I am naive, but slavery was in the past and the hate belongs in that time. I have no need to relive the experience of false accusation against my neighbor for something he has never lived nor been a witness to. I am proud of my life. I am not so arrogant or self righteous as to think I am superior to my past or invincible toward the future. I live here now and in the day.
I read history. I see hate has no color barrier. I read the news, it has no time barrier either. The commonality is ignorance, fear and the desire to belong.

I don't belong to the past nor the hate of today disguised as political correctness. I choose my friends not by their color but their value as friends and confidants. I apologize to those that think their color or lack of it holds some merit. Deeds and attitude to others has my highest respect, all else seems below merit and of the childish nature.

In my life I have seen slaves. The ones that choose to follow the past and develop hate and direction from a day gone by. Ones that would enslave another for their own personal gain and force political concerns based on the past and not the future freedom and equality of all. We cal that liberty and it needs the support of humans that are mature enough to get over themselves and define their lives by what they do now, not what their fathers did in the past.

No one passes through life without resistance and all will face a foe. I'd be careful not to label all opposition racism as the freedom to resist a tyrant may transcend color. At least I hope so. and always be aware that your battles are from within your own self and not always the man who opposes you.