Have you ever heard the old saying if you took all the money in the world and divided it up equally in less than 10 years the money would revert back to the way it was before the distribution? I often wonder what would happen if the white race suddenly became black and black race became white?

Over a decade ago, I was flying out of the Atlanta airport. I had a little time to spare when I noticed an exhibit on display. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was a collection of Martin Luther King Jr’s belongings.

I walked the display diligently. In the cases were clothes, his Bible, writings, pictures and dozens of other articles. I don’t know why I was drawn to inspecting every article as if I were a crime scene investigator but I was drawn to the richness of what each item stood for. It was as if suddenly I was propelled back in time and each piece became alive and manifested rich with history.

I felt ashamed that another human being, just because of their skin color, was not already given the same privileges that I had. I tried to put into prospective what it must have took to go against all the hatred in order to gain privileges that should never have been different to begin with. Few people have accomplished a movement of such magnitude that shook the very foundation of human culture like Dr. King.

What I ask myself is why is there so much hatred in our world today? Hate plastered all over the media in every form imaginable. The violence is always in your face close up and personal. There are senseless killings of all races, but it seems whites killing blacks and blacks killing whites dominate our media. It’s everywhere and abundant.

It seems both white and black races have a reason to be concerned and angered. With the invention of camera phones and internet, some evidence is irrefutable. With that said, some of the videos are taken out of context and inconclusive on both sides. However, the final outcome of each incident does not negate the fact that we are on the verge of spiraling out of control. Some would argue that we are in fact out of control.

What is the answer to all this violence? What has caused our nation to, in essence, be at war with each other? Why can’t we work together in healing our country?

I wish I knew. I wish somebody knew. Unfortunately, I think it’s going to get much worse before and if gets better. Nikita Khrushchev once said that the United States would one day be taken over and not one shot would be fired. I’m beginning to think that idea might not be out of the realm of possibility.

Maybe we should consider changing what he said to no foreign country will have to fire a shot to take over the U.S. because we are doing too good of a job without their help. My wish is that everyone will at some point experience that feeling I had on that summer day while waiting on my plane to board.

George Bell
Flowery Branch