In search of the right questions, answers

Naivety is a cruel and unusual mistress.

It allows you to go about your business without allowing issues to bother you. Simply because you have no way of connecting or relating to the subject matter.

That is inexcusable.

Growing up in the Southeast, in mostly rural parts of North Carolina, life felt pretty constant. There was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I played numerous sports, and dove into learning about history of everything. My dad was the one who spurred this part in me, even taking me to see "Gettysburg" in 1993. I was seven.

So, it was natural that I jumped into books, movies and other subjects just to learn of where we came from as a people and country. The thing about this material, however, is you are never able to ask the question, "Why?" There's only so much you can learn from the history books.

That question has been on my mind for the past week as I watch the events unfold across the country after the senseless murder of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department.

For all of my life, I've viewed the police as people who are there to protect everyone in their day-to-day lives. I've met and known plenty of them, and even have family that were officers. I've never had an issue or reason to believe any cop I've crossed paths with would have ulterior motives.

Unfortunately, my naivety came into play here. Because, there's another portion of the country that has had vastly different encounters with our police force and that angers and upsets me.

Why? Because for far too long I just believed that while we come from different backgrounds, general concepts are all the same.

We brush our teeth, and go to school. Dentists and doctors look out for us, while the police protects us.

And now I sit here with many questions on my mind while trying to put reason behind what has been happening in this country for longer than I realized. This goes back farther than the senseless murders of people like Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

For too long we as a society heard of the names of those murdered, and the events that transpired around it. From murders of African Americans, and those of police officers, we live in a society that's attempted to put a band aid over something that's plagued this country since inception.

It's something I've been trying to wrap my head around over the past week as I've been sick to my stomach. From Floyd's murder, to protests across the country and senseless acts of violence this country is reeling. Now is the time for answers to the questions I have, and answers I'm sure many Americans have to their own questions.

I say this because that while we've heard about excessive force from police and looting during riots, there have been signs of solidarity.

From police kneeling or marching with protesters, to officers resigning over recent events it provides brief glimpses that change is possible.

It does nothing to excuse what's happened over our history. If anything it gives a chance to see all is not lost.

What's been going on in this country is wrong, and the band-aid can't cover it anymore. All I want to do is offer my empathy and support to people of this country who have been wronged for far too long. It's obvious that I have no means to truly comprehend what's happened over the course of history, I simply want to gain knowledge in the areas I don't understand.

While I may be naive, I'm not ignorant. I've always been one to search for the right answer, or the whole story. I'm not one that shuts off reason when it goes against my own beliefs, like some in the United States choose to do.

I'm in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Some may say, "All Lives Matter." For all lives to matter, black lives must matter too. It's not that hard to understand. We've just taken too long to take notice.