Sharing my perspective in this excerpt from my conversation thread with a group of young people:

Here is what I know to be true. The VAST majority of ALL Americans of ALL colors and creeds are good people trying to go about their day making ends meet. The 24/7 mass- and social-media sludge of urban protest and violence is but a tiny fraction of who we are as a people.

Turn it OFF!

It can be difficult sometimes NOT to see beyond our differences — how we look, how we dress, etc. But love transcends all those differences.

Reach out to those who are not in your tribe, especially right now. Make a point of smiling at other people and saying hello. Create opportunities to learn more about the lives of people who are different than you.

Embrace the “dream that one day … the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, ‘My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims’ pride, From every mountainside, Let freedom ring.‘ When we let freedom ring … we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, We are free at last!’” (Martin Luther King Jr., 1963)