Point of View

July is long gone and August is half over and still I'm looking at a virtual open house? Yikes! It's time to put my fingers to the keys and talk about something else.

The only thing that I've really been struck with lately, that I could talk about is maybe how point of view can totally change things. I've been reading through my latest work in progress and wondering why it lacked emotion. It finally hit me that it was written from the wrong point of view. Although it continues the story from the first book, it's really about the new character. It's her story, and through her eyes it's all new and fresh and personal, where as from the eyes of the people we already know it's rather remote.

Point of view has been in the news a lot lately as well. For example, the two "black lives matter" ladies who interrupted Bernie Sander's speech to shout about their cause.
I'm sure, from their stand point, they felt they were doing something noble and courageous. They felt it important to remind everyone about the injustice that had been done and to shame those in the group who they felt were part of the cause of all that is wrong. They felt that the incident of note was a direct assault on all black persons.
However, from the eyes of Mr. Sander's and those that were gathered there to hear him, it must have been a shining example of the reason people are antagonistic to blacks. The women were rude, pushy and arrogant. They seem to feel that because their race had been abused in the past it gave them the right to abuse others.  Although the people were gathered to hear a political platform from a current presidential contender so that they could make an educated choice in the future of our nation, they were forced to listen to rantings of racial outrage.

Okay, now I'm ranting. Here's my point of view. Think about this.
I have ancestors who were murdered just because they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons to those of you prefer nick names). Yes, in a country that was founded on freedom of religion, a group of people were persecuted, driven from their homes in the dead of winter, many of them murdered because of their religious beliefs.
Does this make me a martyr?
No. Even though I have taken some flak myself about my religion, I am not a martyr just because my fourth great grandfather was murdered by a mob.
Does it mean that the United States is a bad country, that the constitution is wrong?
No. It only means that there are sometimes miss-guided people in government and in our communities who fail to hold up that constitution.
Do I expect special treatment or government intervention because of how my ancestors were treated?
No. Nor should you.
Does the color of my skin make me more important than anyone else:
No. Neither does yours . . .
Do black lives matter?
Yes, but so do everyone else's. All lives matter. Get over it.
To expect special treatment because of the past is not justice, it's revenge.

There are just as many white's who are brutalized as there are blacks or any other race. There are people on this earth who have it far worse than anyone in this country. In fact, those two black women looked quite well off to me. They were not abused. In fact they were treated far more carefully than two white women would have been. If they had pulled a stunt like that in some countries they would have been stoned. This country still holds more freedoms than many. Lets stop pulling it apart and cleave to what is good about it.

Why can't we focus our passions and energies on things that can help others instead of scraping at the scabs of society and making everyone around us bleed?

(Hey, that's rather profound. Somebody is going to quote that some day . . . patting myself on the back now.)