Seeking a Savior, Are People really this Weak?

For as many years as I can remember, people have always sought a savior to save them from certain impending doom and when their chosen savior fails or refuse to oblige them, they lash out as if what they demanded from others was somehow their right to receive.  I guess Christians are spoiled by the reading of the Old Testament where the Israelites cried to God to save them from the Egyptians and God answered by sending Moses.  I guess we think the same should happen by screaming for LeBron James to sit out a few Cleveland Cavaliers games to effect change of the grand jury on indictment of the officers who were involved in the Tamir Rice shooting.  Really people, have we gotten so lazy, shiftless, selfish, cowardly and weak that we have to seek, find, secure and demand a savior at each and every turning point in our lives.  How about we stop asking others to do a job that we are and have been granted the authority to fix for ourselves.  Now for all you who think violence is the answer to any problem, you make about as much sense as a 3 dollar bill so drop the act and get with the program.  We affect change within ourselves and within our community and not some sports figure, politician or man-made preacher.  We are the ultimate judge as to what happens within our lives and community and we do this by what we allow to happen.  I could not agree with the premises of the article I read titled “Stop bullying LeBron James into action over Tamir Rice grand jury decision” written by Nick Birdsong for the Sporting News.

In the article he writes; “we want justice. In the aftermath of a grand jury's decision not to bring charges against the policeman who killed 12-year-old Cleveland boy Tamir Rice, people want to do something, anything, or see something, anything, done by someone, anyone, to change a system that far too often allows blacks to be killed at the hands of law enforcement without the perpetrators having to stand trial.  However, placing the responsibility to cure a chronic problem like police brutality on LeBron James' shoulders, regardless of how broad they are, is ignorant, insensitive and illogical. The pleas from activists for James to sit out games in protest will not resolve the issue and could create further problems.  There are things James could do, such as becoming more informed and engaging and aligning himself with those who are working to develop a plan to hold officers accountable. Sacrificing his platform and the financial resources he garners on the hope — because let's face it, there are no guarantees of change — he could move a grand jury to change its decision would be futile.  Those who are critical of James, a man who's using his influence to put inner-city kids through college among various philanthropic efforts, already think he isn't doing enough. It's not a stretch to believe that even if he did sit out, they wouldn't take him to task for having to be urged to do so by outsiders.  While much has been accomplished through the might of #BlackTwitter and the Black Lives Matter movement, singling out James is indicative of the haphazard methodology that has made some critical of social justice leaders who gain their following online. It reeks of somebody caught up in the emotion of the moment, spewing random "solutions" without much thought.  The grand jury isn't changing its decision, so any solution must be forward-looking. A better fight might be encouraging more blacks to join the police force in their communities or go through the process so they can be on grand juries. For the most part, we aren't a part of them. We could also put the heat on law enforcement agencies to do more in-depth background checks to better understand applicants' true views on minorities, press them to go through real diversity training and, with as much might as we possibly can, call them to truly commit to community policing”. 

I believe that no better way exist to say what this writer has said than what he wrote, so I am not about to try and top it but what I will say is simple and to the point for all those who still just can’t seem to get it.  You want a problem fixed in your community, stop looking to others to give it the kind of passion and determination you believe it needs.  Do it yourself and then you can add that level of drive, determination, passion and compassion you demand from someone else.  Step up and stand up for what you think is going wrong in your community and then present examples of solutions that are thought through more thoroughly than a 20 second entry on social media.  In other words, the savior you seek is not that far removed from you, the savior you seek is you.