What’s Going On?

In the 20th century, an infamous (flawed human being) singer, Marvin Gaye, asked the question, “What going on?”  This question is still relevant today, in the 21st century America, because we are moving from one confused moral state of existence to a higher level of moral confusion; there seems to be no end in sight. This is why we must become spiritually intelligent enough to understand the solution (answer) to the question, because whatever is going on is not good for American society.

Subsequently, we are more segregated and politically divided today than we were prior to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act (Jim Crow Era). The question is why: what’s going on?

In part, the answers lie in these socio-economic-political-religious realities:

• The breakdown of the nuclear family structure. Too many children being born out of wedlock is a serious spiritual, moral, and societal problem that must be remedied. Children must be taught character development traits and spiritual values at home, before going to church and school. Tough love must be exampled in the home environment. Children must be given positive modeling behavior responsibilities in their home environments.
• Educational institutions are allowing too much of the societal “instant-gratification” confusion to influence the structure of schooling; which in turn, influences educational development (thought processes). This has produced the: me, myself, and I syndrome. The human mind is our greatest resource, and not enough economic capital goes into the development of minds and hearts (attitudes). We need a better quality of professional teaching in our educational institutions, and teachers who have the spiritual desire and professional ability to motivate, develop, and inspire the students entrusted in their care.
• The current two-party-political system has divided America by race/ethnicity, social class, religion, and gender discrimination. Even so much so that some seek to keep “certain” individuals from exercising their Constitutional sacred right to vote. Lest we forget, charity begins at home, and then spreads abroad. This in and of itself creates political governing confusion-polarization. But, more importantly, the “corporate party” that is big-money (dark-money) is controlling public policy by buying elections and influencing voting patterns.
• One of the primary obstacles to societal unity is workplace economic-discrimination. Most Americans know that work is a spiritual commandment from God (the gift of God): no work, no eat (Genesis 3:19). Work is a spiritual obligatory reality with a sacred purpose.
• Eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace and social structure of society: equal pay for equal work.
• We need a “dollar” that circulates at least three times in underdeveloped and underserved communities as common-sense-spiritual solutions for economic justice. Governmental incentives should be given to entrepreneurial investors who are willing to provide goods and services in economically deprived communities (income inequality issues).
• Law enforcement agencies must be transparent in their policies, procedures, and enforcement of violations of laws. No ethnic-category, social class or religious persuasion of individuals should be profiled by police departments.

State legislatures should enact laws mandating civilian review boards with subpoena power in order to ensure police-citizen-accountability. Police officers are the first line of defense for apprehending law-breakers, and they should never become the judge, jury and executioner.

Police departments should be very, very concerned about “Stand your ground laws”, and the “open carry of firearms”. These types of laws make community policing more difficult and potentially more unsafe. Body cameras have become a “social-justice-must” both for the legal protection and civil rights of citizens as well as policemen.

Police officers must be professionally trained in techniques of how to handle family domestic disputes and violence “emergency” calls.

Police car-chasing incidents have become life and death situations both for policemen as well as civilians, and therefore helicopter and drone-surveillance should be the first-line of defense used in pursuit of criminals. Community-neighborhood policing is needed in order to foster better community and police relations (societal stability and social justice). In addition, policemen (citizen policemen) should be given financial incentives to live in the communities-neighborhoods in which they serve. This will help reduce the fear-factor associated with policing in urban environments.

Sunday morning at eleven o’clock is still the most segregated hour in American society.

Question: why? (Individuals of the same religious persuasion, serving the same invisible God, but cannot worship that spiritual God together in the same physical buildings: choice). This is a monumental spiritual problem. Most of all, churches should model “charity: love and service”.  Christian churches are speaking “social-truths”, but not the kinds of spiritual truths that make individuals free (John 8: 31-32).

In conclusion, “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” (Isaiah 9: 16-17). “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). At one time, we were in some-superficial-symbolic-respects “one nation under God”. Today, America has become a “No-God” society, because too many Americans do not want to spiritually know God. Selah!