I do not want to hear WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS.

[spin]

42. It's our America. ...

One time before I retired I attended a diversity class at my work. The instructor was a black man who said one of the most profound things I had ever heard. It applied to the company I worked at but it could also apply to our nation.

He said, "This company is like an old Roman galley that we are attempting to row to the other shore. If we all row together we will reach out destination quickly. However if some of us row, some of us don't row and others are busy drilling holes in the bottom of the boat we may sink or end up going in circles but at a minimum it will take us far longer to get to there where we want to go."

I sincerely want this nation to become a better place to live in the future. Over my lifetime of 70 years I have seen a lot of positive change but we still have a long ways to go.

I believe in equality and fair treatment for all races, genders and sexual orientations. The problem is that far too many people are racists or bigots.

Hopefully we can all learn to get along with each other and accept the fact that those who differ from us deserve the same respect that we wish for ourselves.

I have no problem with using violence to fight violence as long as it is not against innocent people. One of my heroes is Robert F. Williams who in 1950s and early 1960s formed an armed group of his neighbors and friends to stop the nightly KKK rides where he lived.