Christian Living
I’m a screenwriter. Since I was five years old all I’ve wanted to do is write. In the aftermath of the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and Stanton Island, I’ve wondered how valuable we “fantasy” writers are in turbulent times like these. How do we make a difference?
There are things we can’t do. We can’t pass legislation; we can’t create an oasis of peace and love; we can’t even console people agonizing over the loss of loved ones. In my freshman year at Bowling Green State University, a humanities professor who was an artist said his ultimate goal was to create a work of art that could make someone not drop a bomb on a country or stop someone from picking up a gun in anger.
As writers we can create characters who within the framework of a dramatic story illustrate principles of morality and how love, real unconditional love, can change how one views the world. As an African American man who has lived through the end of the Vietnam War era, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, I have seen enough violence to be scarred by it.
Through some of their comments on social media, I have found that some of my non-black, non-urban friends have a far different view of police and citizen interaction than inner city dwellers. To many of them, police are law abiding peace makers who keep neighborhoods safe. I submit that most police officers are that. I have gotten to know some fine police officers. I also have a niece who’s an outstanding police detective.
However, my formative years in Philadelphia were shaped within a cauldron of violence. There were violent youth gang wars occurring in many neighborhoods and there was a police commissioner who later became mayor whose platform was law and order. Law and order apparently included intimidation, confrontation, and protecting corrupt police.
I recall many nights coming home as a teenager just as frightened by gang members on the corner as I was with angry cops in red patrol cars who stared down anyone in their path. There was needless harassment and violence perpetrated by some of the police who were charged with keeping us safe.
As a screenwriter, one thing I’m passionate about is writing stories that depict people of diverse ethnic groups either getting along together or who by story’s end have learned how to get along and love each other.
There is yet to be a consistent, calm, intelligent discussion of race in the country. I was hopeful that President Clinton’s “Initiative on Race,” would stimulate a meaningful discussion on racial issues but that fizzled out about the time of the impeachment proceedings.
I was encouraged by President Obama’s speech on race, “A More Perfect Union.” I hoped it would provoke a productive dialog that would lead to the healing that we sorely need. It did not. The issue of race appears to be a huge obstacle in our country, but race, as confirmed by geneticists, is not a scientific designation. It’s a social construct to install in society a fabricated hierarchical caste system where some groups are supposedly superior and others are supposedly inferior for socio-economic purposes.
The fact is there’s one human race. As quietly as it’s kept we’re interdependent on each other. We share a planet that has enough resources to meet the needs of every inhabitant if we’d work in concert for the common good. Martin Luther King stated “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
Jesus gave the healing prescription for a divisive world when addressing a cynical lawyer: "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
My writing may never stop a bomb from dropping but through my characters, it can show how we are all neighbors in a global neighborhood capable of loving each other when we’re ready.
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