I was working on another blog post on this site but current events have shifted my focus to another topic which I will address here. The majority of my posts are more likely to be frivolous in the grand scheme of things — sports, TV shows, math nerdery, etc. However, occasionally I may feel compelled to post some serious thoughts on certain topics. After all, I have a blog now, and the current events of this week have led me to post my thoughts here.

2020 has certainly been quite the year in the news. This week, we have seen a black man senselessly die at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota. This has led to nationwide unrest, increased racial tension, protests, and rioting in several cities, including here in my city of Indianapolis. Back in Minnesota, we have seen the officer responsible for this man’s death arrested and charged with murder, although we have also seen a CNN reporter arrested on live national TV while reporting the news. Bizarre times indeed. With everything taking place and with all the unrest, it is more abundantly clear that this world is broken.

Like everyone else, I found the news story of George Floyd to be troubling. People everywhere are understandably angry at what happened. Some are exercising their First Amendment right to launch protest gatherings, which is also understandable. However, it is also upsetting to see these gatherings turn to violence, and additionally upsetting me to see the prevailing anti-police sentiment going on as well. I have law enforcement in my family, and from that perspective, I often dread the potential of escalated situations which put the personal safety of our officers at risk. I understand that the actions of the police officer in this man’s death were reprehensible, and that certain police actions in other incidents that have occurred in our nation in the last (insert time frame here) have been wrong as well. However, most of our police officers are upstanding people who have a very difficult job to do and put their lives on the line to protect and serve our communities, and we need to make sure our officers are shown their proper respect.

My struggle with doing posts like this is my concern (especially in this day and age) that anything someone says may be misinterpreted using reductio ad absurdum, or making an argument seem ridiculous by taking it to its logical extreme. (Incidentally, I learned that phrase from Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory.) As such, I am asking you not to take my support of our police officers stated above and interpret this to mean that George Floyd and other similar incidents don’t matter, or that the actions of all police officers in every situation are right no matter what, or that I am trivializing racism or minimizing the feelings of fear and anxiety of a large contingent of our population who feel oppressed. I am not saying any of that at all. Rather, I am pointing out that a better approach needs to be taken rather than one of bitterness and hatred.

First, as a Christian, I would encourage us to pray for our nation. We need for healing to take place, and this can only happen with God’s help. Second, let’s not participate in any rioting, vandalism, or any other forms of violent or criminal protest, including any attacks on police, or support those who do. Such action is counterproductive and must also be called out along with the racism and wrongful actions that prompted it. And while this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list for how to heal our nation, let’s at least start there.

One person who can express these thoughts more articulately than I can is a man for whom I have great respect: former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. Perhaps I’m biased as a Colts fan. From the football side of things, he is the best coach the Colts have ever had, guided them to a Super Bowl title, and did so in an honorable way that made Colts fans proud to have them as the coach of their favorite team. But more than that, as a Christian leader and as an African-American man, particularly one who lived several years in Minnesota, his voice should carry some weight here. Here are the words of Tony Dungy on this matter, as expressed via his Twitter feed yesterday:

I couldn’t have said this better myself. In fact, after posting this quote, I’m now wondering why I spent most of this time up until now trying to articulate it even better. After all, it’s not like 300 million people are going to read this post anyway, so what difference does it make? Well, I felt compelled to say something on here, so I did. So there you go. On that note, I think this is a good time to wrap it up. (Wow, this post was heavier than usual.)

Before I go, I can’t end this post without inserting an obligatory Simpsons quote. As Lisa Simpson once wrote in an open letter to Springfield, “I write this not to nag or whine, but to prod.” So that’s what I’m doing here — not whining or nagging, but prodding. We can do better. Let’s do better. Not with bitterness, but with love.

Stay safe, America.