Season 3 Podcast 63 Racism

RacismWhoopi Goldberg, a very accomplished actress, now a successful talk show host, recently made the statement on television that the Holocaust was not about race.  Her statement astonished many and public outcry forced her to retract her statement, but it did not force her to retract her opinion. It merely silenced it. Her error was that she narrowly defined racism as prejudice only against black people. Jews are white, and in Ms. Goldberg’s definition, no act against whites can be racist. Until we understand the true nature of racism, racism will increase.  Have you ever wondered why racism wasn’t eradicated by the Emancipation Proclamation?  Perhaps a better question would be, have you ever wondered why racism wasn’t eradicated when in response to the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s, the laws of the land protecting equality were finally enforced, and for the first time our practices were compatible with our Constitution.The answer is simple. Laws can be passed to enforce equality, but laws cannot be passed to enforce love for one another. But we must dig deeper for an answer.First, any discussion on racism must begin with a discussion on equality. Our forefathers got it right when they said,  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, Government cannot create equality because equality already exists. Equality is a free gift of God, not government. It self-exists.  All government can do is to secure equal rights. In our democratic republic we have a strong Constitution, an accompanying Bill of Rights, and a government that derives its power from the consent of the governed. Enforcing those laws should be the extent of government’s powers.There are three classes of laws. The laws of God, or spiritual laws; the laws of nature, or natural laws, and the laws of man, or government laws. The first two classes of laws are absolute, the third is relative. The first two never change, the third changes like the weather with the seasons. God created us all equal under the law. He is no respecter of persons. It is God who established both the laws of the spiritual world and the laws of the natural world. God organized all laws to advance freewill, agency, and liberty, but he gave us a choice whether to obey those laws are not. He also gave us the choice of whether or not we wanted to be free. Manmade laws create freedom. The purpose of government is not to interfere with equality and certainly not to create equality, but to protect our freedom.  Equality self exists through the absolute laws of God. The purpose of government is twofold: One, to create an environment where men and women can reach their own potential and fulfill their own desires. Two, to guarantee that all citizens are treated equal under the law. And three, to prevent others from doing harm, from encroaching on the rights of others, and from enforcing their will unlawfully on others. Government, though it must govern some actions, should not govern opinions or conscience or religion.