Let me start by saying that I am not here because I care about you. I don’t.
I am here because I was raised in a Christian society, which means be your brother’s keeper, and, like it or not, in God’s eyes, you are all my brothers and sisters.
I am also here because I am human. We are all humans here, so we have to help each other out for the good of the species.
Finally, I am here because I am a citizen of this country. As a citizen I have to help my fellow countrymen.
I believe that this speech will fulfill these obligations, and I can then move on to other projects in good conscience.
-pause-
When you get up in the morning, and look in the mirror, what do you see?
Do you see a person? Someone struggling through life, enjoying the ups and enduring the downs?
If so, then I wish you the best and hope you find success and happiness. This speech is not to you.
If, however, you see a black person, an African-American.
A victim of oppression in a country dominated by whites.
Suffering from the indignity of low expectations;
the suffocation of cultural imperialism;
the unfairness of cultural appropriation;
the frustrations of a rigged political system;
the injustice of racial profiling by police;
the tragedy of being black in a white America;
Then this speech is for you, for you are judging people by the color of their skin, not the content of their character.
-pause-
I have to ask you – How can you live like that? Doesn’t it get…..tiring?
Doesn’t thinking like that affect every part of your life? Makes everyone not of your race an enemy? Makes the whole world seem like a battlefield? All others are bad at heart?
Why live so angry?
I met a man on a hiking trail in Ireland once. He was Irish, and he was an angry man. He hated the British. He went on and on about it.
I told him it was a long time ago, and that they all made peace. But he said it didn’t matter. He would never forgive them for what they did to his people and his land.
What about your children? Do you want them to hate the British?
-pause-
Yes!!!
-spreads hands in questioning-
What kind of father would want his children to grow up in hate?
I pondered him and his situation for many years, then I came up with the idea of thought viruses. These are thoughts that seem to be almost infectious. They take over our minds, changing our thinking, behavior and emotions. They make us see a new reality, but one that isn’t real. They give us justifications for our actions.
For instance, the idea that the Irishman had a duty to hate the British for what they did to his homeland and his people, even though it was long ago and neither he nor his family suffered from any harm.
Kind of like how I said that since I was Christian, human and a citizen that I must try to help you.
The difference is that I know it is a virus, and it gives me the courage to come up here and speak to you.
For thought viruses can be both good or bad, and they are very powerful.
It is easy to see someone infected with a bad virus, they are usually unhappy and often irrational.
In the end though, these viruses are just thoughts, and you can easily be cured just by seeing that it is a virus and stopping it from affecting you.
-snaps fingers- poof, all gone
Maybe, if I could find him and convince him that he was infected with a thought virus, he would cure himself. Then he and his family could live a happier life.
I never did get the chance to do that.
So here I am, to try and convince you to see this virus of race and maybe some of you can cure it, give yourselves a happier life.
This race virus leads to so much anger, I feel it in this room.
What if, instead of this anger, there was joy?
Why not?
Do you let others control your emotions?
Wouldn’t it be nicer if you lived a joyful life rather than an angry one?
If, instead of seeing the worst in people, you saw that they are all good at heart?
What if, instead of all this anger, there was celebration?
Wouldn’t it be nice if these halls rang with the shouts of achievement?
Over there – “I started a new business!”
Over there – “I wrote a book!”
Over there – “I was elected mayor!”
And over here – “I have a son!”
Wouldn’t it be nice if this room echoed with celebrations for the advancement of people?
Wouldn’t it be nice?
/sigh