Dallas

What happened in Dallas was the tragic aberration by a deranged mind and a social misfit. Micah Xavier Johnson was a misguided soul whose choice lead to death and sorrow. His actions amplified the festering sore of prejudice innate in all accept saints and young children.

What happened in Louisiana and Minnesota was wrong. Very wrong. Poor training and the militarization of police forces after 9/11 may be a factor in the fatal aggressive tactics now used by many police organizations. Death did not justify Dallas.

America is not a racist society. There are racists and bigots and ignorant individuals within our diverse racial structure who would have us believe one race is better than another. Skin color does not delineate superiority; character does, and character is soul driven and has nothing to do with ethnic origin.

We are all emanations of the one source. We are all here to experience the gift of life. The peace we seek resolving differences is only achieved through the respect of listening, the courtesy of dialogue and not debate, true kindness, genuine concern and the charity of compassion as they are daily choices in the struggle of life.

Part of our problem may stem from the desensitizing of life in our passion for and participation in fiction and fantasy. Look at the gratuitous violence in our movies and television dramas. Look at the game applications our children play on their smartphones and computers, most of them contain violence and killing. This constant of taking life inures the reality of real death. Play-time killing and recreational destruction may contribute to the diminution of life unless there is parental and social interaction to the contrary. Dispassion is what destroys a social structure, not individual acts of terror or egregious action by police.

The government and the media are also part of the problem. The government promotes fear for it is easier to control the vox populi with fear, and the mainstream media learned too quickly from the tabloids that sensation sells and ratings make money.

Demonstrations are the right of the people to protest. All participants should realize some demonstrators have a different agenda. Those who want violence and confrontations will always be present. Anarchy will bring change, but one of authoritative control, not one of fair and righteous consideration.

These are some things to think about as we grasp and grab on to what we think is safe. Killing is never the answer. Killing is the problem.