“Why We Must Protect One Another”

So, if
Black people are killing Black people;
Whites are killing Whites;
Asians are killing Asians;
Mixed races are murdering other mixed-raced folks;
Igbos are destroying other Igbos;
Yorubas are taking other Yorubas’ lives;
Haitians, Jamaicans, French, British, Russians, Americans, Japanese, Indians, etc, are following the same pattern in taking away the life of another national or natural citizen

then the root of the problem of human destruction and annihilation in modern times is beyond the problem of racial or ethnic hatred. It is deeply rooted in the fragility of the human heart and the human conscience, and the vulnerability of the social milieu that influences the human experience and people’s attitude toward and interactions with one another.

To create a better world and humanize human interactions in society and in the world, we must cultivate the human heart, train the human conscience, and radically transform the deepest human motivations to produce good virtues, such as individuals doing good, showing kindness and compassion to our fellow brothers and sisters, and always promoting the sanctity of human life regardless of our motivation to avenge ourselves or justify our actions by human destruction.

The people who will save humanity and rescue the modern world from self-destruction are peace builders, conciliators, and the initiators of human kindness and love. To further contribute to human flourishing in the world, we must train our minds and hearts to resist doing moral wrongs, to use our power and influence for redemption and moral transformation in society, and to move away from what is deemed ethically suspect and dehumanizing.

***In addition to other ethical issues in my mind, the motivation for this short reflection is the barbarous beating and eventual death of the 29-year-old (very young) Black man Tyre Nichols by five Black Police Officers.