Divided States of America

I have now lived in the United States for 3 and a half years. I, my wife and 3 kids are all Canadian citizens. One of the most interesting things I have discovered while living here is the sharp racial divide that exists here.

There is nothing similar in Canada. Even the systematic racism against First Nations people is not the same. There is simply not the same amount of large populations of First Nations peoples living in urban centers. There does not seem to be a very large or significant First Nations middle class. And Canada is simply not an old enough nation to have the lengthy history of race relations as America does. First Nations peoples were not brought here as slaves but they were subjugated to European colonialism in their own land.

Felicia and I just watched a very compelling documentary called 13th on Netflix. It is a history of the black experience in America since the passing of the 13th amendment outlawing slavery. It is a fascinating piece that chronicles the continued control and coercion of African Americans. The film shows the stark divide that still exists. The fear whites have of black and the suspicion blacks have of whites.

Mass incarceration is a way of controlling and segregating a significant number of African American men. A stunning 30% of African American men will have some dealing with the criminal justice system. And the mandatory sentencing laws are simply ridiculous. Years and years in prison for minor drug non violent offenses. And then once freed these people can not get jobs, live in certain areas - they are still imprisoned.

One of the most stunning statements in the film comes from of all people, Newt Gingrich who admits "no white person knows what it is like to be black in America". I have to place myself in the category of a white person. I have encountered some racism growing up in Canada - but nothing like what African Americans have felt throughout their time in the United States. What I have observed in America is that the white friends I have seem completely oblivious and ignorant of the African American experience. The races grow up segregated from one another in separate silos. My white friends would not say they are racist - they simply don't know any blacks at a deep level.

This is a divided nation that no one wants to admit too. I do not feel reconciliation and healing will come until there is a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission such as what took place in South Africa after apartheid.

America has never done that - she has never fully reconciled with her history of brutality, torture and dehumanization. Its as if a couple of laws are passed and that's that - we're all equal. We are not all equal.

You would have to be blind and deaf to say that a 12 year old boy in inner city Chicago born to drug addicted parents, without a father and with no real options except to enter the drug trade has the same opportunities as my son. In many of these communities, the drug trade is the only working economy that people see. Conservatives point to individual morality. Liberals point to systematic and institutional dysfunction. Both are true. But, I think it is hard to exercise moral choices within an immoral and broken system.

America is changing. It will become less white and more brown. And this change scares some people. I think part of this fear has led to what is called the "alt-right" movement which is a movement defending western values. A lot of these groups are fiercely anti immigration.

But the truth is, we are not going back. America will actually soon be a white minority nation. This is simply the result of living in the times we live in where mass movements of people groups are much easier than in previous generations.

We can't go back. We can only forge forward and embrace the present and coming diversity. But America still needs to come to terms with its history. And then and only then can she move forward and build upon truth and not myth.