It doesn't matter.

Remember the Titans.

Coach Boone: This is where they fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today. This green field right here, painted red, bubblin' with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, men. I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family. You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. 

The movie was set in 1971.  One hundred six years after the end of the Civil War. 

It is now 2020 another 49 years removed from the events of Alexandria, Virginia that the movie Remember the Titans was based on. 

Has anything changed?

The answer is, yes. Yes, things have changed and for the better.

Is there still more work to do?  Yes, there will always be more work to do.

What drives change? 

This is not asked philosophically or rhetorically. 

What drives change is matter. 

Matter?

Yes, matter.  If it matters to you, you will be a part of the change. If not, if you do not care, are not impacted?  Meh.

Are suburban and rural white Americans racists towards blacks?  For the most part, no, they are not. 

Look, I live in a suburb looked upon by outsiders as being affluent. Yes, there are million dollar homes where I live. There is also subsidized housing and what can only be described as poor neighborhoods in the same community.  On my street we have 3 black families and a Hispanic family. We have a Jewish family. Catholics and Protestants.  It's a pretty diverse neighborhood.  Are any of us directly impacted by BLM and rioting? The Burning, Looting and Murdering that takes place in big cities? 

Nope. 

Do we care?

In passing, perhaps.

These matters do not really impact the quality of our lives, so we only marginally care.  Yeah, it's terrible what's happening we should say a prayer and maybe donate something to somebody in recognition of their plight.  Hey, honey what's for supper and could you bring me a beer please?  Are you taking Becky to dance class and me taking Danny to ball practice or you want to switch up tonight?

Gone from mind is the social injustice and upheaval others find themselves in ... because we are not directly, not personally impacted. We "care" in passing.

Now, if a BLM crowd starts marching down our street and we feel our homes, property and lives are being placed in jeopardy?  Well, look to Mark and Patricia McCloskey's response when that happened to them.  Suddenly they cared. Suddenly things mattered to them. They feared their quality of living was about to be directly and negatively impacted. 

Covid-19 is a dangerous pandemic if you are directly impacted or it's a total farce if you are not impacted.  You care very much about Covid-19 if a loved one contracts the virus. If you do not know anyone who has had the virus, let alone died from the virus, it's no big deal to you.  Wear masks or don't wear masks - it depends on whether covid-19 matters to you.  

Do you feel covid-19 will negatively impact your life?  

If you answer, no, you don't wear a mask, you frequent bars and restaurants, attend concerts and carry on as normal ... until covid-19 impacts you.  What?!  No sports?  Why the hell not?  Covid-19 ... "some" people did not take seriously the calls for all to help mitigate the spread of the disease. They didn't wear masks, they didn't practice social distancing BECAUSE it didn't matter to them. Well, at least until they took college football away... NOW, it really matters to them.

So, the question we should be asking ourselves is this; "should" it matter to me even if I am not directly impacted by it?   Should I be proactive about things mattering to me?  Or should I be reactive as to when things really matter to me?  

Personal choices to be sure.  

Perhaps th equality of the decisions we make needs to matter a little bit more to us?