An Open Letter to Black America

 An open letter to my brother and sister Americans who happen to be black:

First of all, I'm sorry. I've said a lot of things in the last few months that aren't exactly indicative of my desire to find common ground between us. But I want to make something abundantly clear. I don't hate YOU. I hate terrorists. I don't care what shade they are. I hate the people who are murdering black kids in our big cities every weekend. And yes, I hate the people who make judgments about me based on nothing but my skin color. I believe you deserve not to be judged that way. So do I. I can understand race issues, even though I'm white. Empathy is a human quality. It's not unique to any race. I was not born privileged. Less than three years ago -- at 43 years old -- I found myself living at my local rescue mission. After my divorce, I lived in my car for 6 weeks. I don't want anyone to boohoo for me. I picked my ass up and I fixed it. I just want to be clear that NO part of my life has been easy. I respect the fact that that's true of yours as well.

Ordinarily, this would be the part where I start listing Trump's accomplishments that have improved the lives of black Americans -- and there are quite a few. But I'm not going to disrespect you and spout them off. I will make the assumption that you're more than capable of being informed politically, and I will assume that you are AT LEAST my intellectual equal.

Look, I don't expect to make a difference in our national narrative or current situation. But I do want to tell you what conservatives have to offer you, and why you can rest assured that when we call you "brother and sister Americans," we mean it.

First, conservatives believe that everyone is capable of reaching their fullest potential, unhindered by any race or class system that would prevent it. We believe that your life matters. We believe our lives matter. And we believe that if my life matters to you, and your life matters to me, then only peace and progress can result.

We also realize that, just like us, the overwhelming majority of you are God fearing, peace loving, police supporting good citizens. Just like us. We understand that the ideals in the Declaration of Independence -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- are the desire of every man, woman, and child walking this planet. We believe you deserve those good things and many others.

It's been a very long, very hard, very embarrassing, very challenging road to get to the point where life, liberty, and the pursuit are available to all. The terrible scourge of slavery during the founding of this nation is disgraceful, hideous, and shameful. I have no use for anyone that believes otherwise. But that wasn't all. Once slavery was over, people that look like me practiced segregation. People that look like you were forced to eat in separate places, use separate bathrooms and water fountains, sit in the seats you were assigned on public transportation, and worse.

I will not try to minimize your pain, especially if you're old enough to have experienced segregation. I always try to listen carefully when an older black American talks about race issues. Segregation was real and was discrimination of the worst kind. They speak from a different place (not more or less respectable) than younger black Americans.

Let me ask you this. Have you ever done something when you were younger that as you grew up you realized wasn't right or didn't serve you? Did you use drugs? Were you an alcoholic? Were you a bad employee? Were you an angry and intolerable spouse? Whatever the issue, we all had problems because we did things that were stupid when we were younger. I certainly did. There are still things I want to improve about myself. The good news is that I have made a great deal of progress, and I'm happy with where I am headed.

I have no illusions of self-grandeur, but my story is like the story of this country. So is yours. The United States was an embarrassing little child in many ways when it was founded. I do believe that our Founders were great men with an immense vision, that for over 240 years has worked pretty well. (And by pretty well, I mean better than any experiment in democracy in the history of the planet.)

As our country moved into its teen years, when it was really beginning to understand who it was, we sent 363,000 Union troops to lay down their lives. Why? Because those young men believed that the freedom of the black man was more important than their own lives. I happen to agree them. It's discouraging to me that their memory is all but forgotten in today's discussions of our history.

As we moved into our young adulthood, we looked for a mentor. Just as we as individuals seek out wise people to motivate and guide us, and chastise us when we're wrong, the United States found its racial conscience in Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King and his black contemporaries lived through TRUE racial discrimination and entirely misplaced hate. There were dogs, fire hoses, and a nightstick that literally cracked the skull of John Lewis. (Who would rise in a more mature America to become a U.S. Congressman.) In the face of violence, Dr. King said no every time his people asked him to meet violence with violence. He preached peace, unity, and of a day when his little kids could play with little kids that look like mine.

I'm glad I wasn't alive when Dr. King was shot. I don't think I could have handled it. I would give anything in this day and age to see a peaceful black leader rise from the ashes of our charred cities and guide us forward. Dr. King is the man we need now. Instead we get more violence than Malcolm X ever imagined.

Now the United States stands on the precipice of a mid-life crisis. There is hate everywhere. There is violence in our streets. There are the most evil things imaginable being said and done every day. The questions now are, "Will we rise to meet the challenge as those soldiers did? Will we honor Dr. King's memory by not only realizing but demonstrating that violence isn't the answer?"

I don't know. I know that this is by far the most divided I have seen this country in my lifetime. The battle lines are drawn, between parties, between races, between factions on the street, between family members.

But I personally want to invite you to come give conservatism a chance. Remember what president Trump said to black voters in 2016? "What have you got to lose?" It turns out nothing was the correct answer. And the true gains, lowest unemployment ever, highest rank on the prosperity index ever, largest and longest commitment to HBCU's ever, opportunity zones, police and sentencing reform. (Woops, there's that list I said I wouldn't post.) My brother and sister Americans, this president has been very good for you. And I'm glad. You deserve to benefit equally as our nation continues to mature.

Conservatives are here for you. You are our equal. You are important. We believe that when it's presented, you will turn opportunity into achievement. Don't listen to the lies. You don't need bigger liberal government to carry you. You are already out there working hard to carry yourself and your family. And that's another one of the many things we share. You know how to take better care of your family than anyone else.

I'm not optimistic, but I'm hoping November will bring about a renewed vigor to continue this great American experiment's maturing. Rosa Parks was a "regular" woman who changed the world and moved us miles forward by simply refusing to move to a different bus seat. Regular Americans like us can do the same.

I hope I have the honor of shaking the hand of that black man or black woman who sees not despair but hope in us. Dr. King said, "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." May his words resonate with all of us in these dark days, and ring fully true for this land we love.

Respectfully,

Jason Fornwalt

-- ToL Times editor