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When the civil rights movement came to the American forefront in the 1950s and 60s Catholics stood up to be counted. It was the right thing to do. Black Americans deserved better than the status quo.
A century after the Civil War and the death of 300,000 Union troops (that is reparations enough), Democrat led oppression by the Klan and by Jim Crow held black Americans in political and economic chains. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society made matters worse by adding multigenerational poverty and family breakdown to the issues facing our black citizens.
So when Dr. King spoke of judging people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, it resonated with many Catholics and most Americans. But where is that struggle today and what can Catholics do to advance policies that would help black Americans rise from the aforementioned poverty, crime ridden neighborhoods, and an epidemic of out of wedlock birth?
We start out by realizing that the noble civil rights cause of yesterday has been betrayed by leftist race hustlers of today. Marxist Dem led, these hucksters preach racism and hatred of America. Ideas like racial quotas and a loathing of "whiteness" take the message and ideology of the Klan and just changes the targeted race. Catholics, as a faith that sees people as individuals under God, must reject the false narrative of the left and advocate a return to the colorblind society envisioned by Dr. King. Individuals should be judged on merit, character, and their actions. Anything else is merely a cover for gaming the system for unearned advantages.
We see this kind of hatred and bigotry evident in the BLM movement, far left Dems in Congress, and in the culture per entertainment, media, and academia. Their vicious racism would make Bull Connor and Lester Maddox smile with envy at their success in pervading so many American institutions.
What can we as Catholics, also as Americans, do to fulfill the promise of opportunity unfettered by bigotry? We can start with our kids and monitor what they are taught at school. We can give parochial school scholarships to poor urban kids. We can emphasize marriage and parental responsibilities as the best way to lead a happy and prosperous life. Our parishes can reach out to the inner city and offer help and guidance.
We can fight back against the race hustlers of the left who get rich and influential by setting American against American. We can vote for people who are not infected by racial bitterness and who do not support the twisted ideologies of terrorist groups like BLM.
Most of all, we can fight bigotry in all its forms, especially the malignant form championed by the modern left and the Democrat Party. American citizens of any heritage deserve the rights of person, property, and political participation. We paid for it with 300,000 dead during the crucible of civil war. Lest we forget.
A veteran of service with NATO forces, US Army Intelligence, and the First Infantry Division, David Kamioner is a cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland’s European Division and spent over thirty years as a political consultant, academic, writer, and corporate PR director. He hails from New York City and grew up in South Florida.
He served with the American Red Cross as part of the relief effort for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. For several years he ran homeless shelters, most recently homeless shelters for US military veterans. He currently works in veterans affairs.
