KAMARA TAYLOR

There is no surprise that our country is in a state of unrest. From the pandemic to the riots, to questioning and challenging the mattering of Black lives to the rebuttal of all lives. From the challenge to mask or not.

From a president who spews hate and speaks of separation instead of integration. To the blaming of government to the influx of crime.

Somehow the message of frustration has been transpired into an upheaval of acting out of that frustration. With the minimum of employment and the maximum of frustration it has become the perfect storm for what we are witnessing in our country.

Most have found a cause in a hashtag that makes them seem that they are invested. And others understand the complexity of protest and policy and the power in the polls.

It doesn’t matter about leadership as this country was founded by leaders who were not inclusive to natives, people of color or immigrants, unless it was beneficial for them.

What does matter is we the people.

Have our minds really been so warped by technology that we are more upset with the banning of TikTok than the disappearance of our civil liberties?

When does having a voice make you a threat and not a martyr?

When did protest go from pushing for change to looting?

Who’s sending the message? And when did it get lost?

As we move to an election season, the belittling of women and people of color is on the rise.

The media continue to focus on the crime and violence amongst Brown and Blacks and not the growth and progress of coming together.

Black Lives Matter has begun to matter less now that the young white students who made this their cause have put down their homemade signs to pick up their textbooks as schools are opening and resuming.

Whether it was the multitude of deaths due to police brutality, or the pandemic in communities due to violence or COVID.

The message has gotten lost.

We the people hold the power in coming together to understand that our power in economics and votes is what shifts policy and makes changing things more of a reality.

When did social media become a catalyst for distraction? And when did the message get lost about protest, political unrest and holding agencies and individuals responsible for destruction?

Food for thought keeping it real.