Changing our ideas about racism over time

Martin Luther King Day just passed and it was a good time to reflect on how many Americans have moved forward and gotten past racial issues. However, as I was looking on Facebook, I saw a status saying "Happy Robert E. Lee Day." Then, I watch the news and hear of an interracial couple being denied the right to marry.

I feel it serves as a reminder of the ignorance that is still alive in America. Who should we blame in this day and age?

First would be the parents. Some parents force their beliefs on their children and, therefore, breed more Americans with hate towards others who are different. A few years back, I was watching The Tyra Banks show as she was talking to a white supremacist family and other families about their children forming stereotypes about different races at a young age. To me, this was a big eye opener because the children really did not know why they thought this way about other races, they just repeated what they saw and heard from their parents.

Second I would blame bad experiences that people encounter throughout their lives. When people are exposed to other races actions, they can sometimes immediately take first impressions and feel every one of that race acts the same way.  

As a black male, racial slurs don't really bother me. I feel we can take away the power of the "N" word; let me clarify: nigga or nigger. Reacting to racial slurs pleases others who use them to hurt or offend you.  When you really sit back and think, you realize our nation would not be the country it is today without the different races that populates our nation. After that realization, I believe the healing of our great nation can begin. Racism is improving with time as each new generation is born but it also is becoming more secretive. People will always stereotype, and if we can ever get past the misconception that everybody in a particular race does not act or believe the same, our country will become stronger. When it comes to stopping racism, now I believe people need to be more open minded towards the idea that we are not that different. God did not put us on this Earth to be separated but to work together to bring out the best in each other.

Ephesians 2:16-18, Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.