I was sitting on the backyard swing last evening thinking about lots of things but I kept coming back to one thought; things we Americans say we wish to 'talk' about but never really do.' For starters, I offer this: As a young father with children approaching puberty, I always wanted to have that 'birds & bees' talk with the kids but actually allowed mother to engage the conversation. This does not mean that I was not interjecting opinions along the teen-journey. I recall telling the girls, "Boys will talk about love attempting to get sex whereas many girls may tease with sex as they look for love. Participants beware." I am not sure but I think that parent-child conversation is easier today.
There are two national conversation that we will never seriously engaged: (1) education and (2) racial relations.
Fixing crippled schools is a huge need across the United States. It requires shoulder-to-shoulder participation from parents, local businesses and the community at large. It begs the grass roots phenomenon, which would ultimately serve as models and subsequently move across the country causing change. This is difficult work that takes time and demands cooperation and patience. Please look back at the last sentence...difficult / takes time / cooperation / patience...our fast-moving society is in short supply of those traits.
Every time someone puts their 'bigoted-foot' in their mouth, we hear people scream and holler about the need to have a National Race Relations conversation. Actually, these outcries are some of the most disingenuous statements made aloud. I believe this to be true because it appears that most people, of all color and beliefs, are most comfortable finding fault in the 'other' group and rejecting any ownership in the problem. This 'not-me-finger-pointing-position is an inherent 'deal-breaker' to any worthwhile race-relations conversation.
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