Editorial: Finding Peace

The verdict is in; justice has prevailed.

Now is the time for healing.

The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief when a Minneapolis jury courageously convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, an incident that sparked racial unrest that left cities in ashes, a tattered society and family pitted against family.

The video that captured Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes will likely carve out its own indelible chapter in racial history, but hopefully mark the turning point of finally undoing centuries of injustice.

Arising from the incident was a renewed awareness of racism and a bi-partisan determination that has also transcended racial lines to bring about a society where diversity is celebrated and bigotry expunged.

With Chauvin now likely to spend the better part of his life behind bars, the focus must shift to healing a splintered nation.

When will African Americans be able to walk the streets and feel comfortable when encountering law enforcement officials? How will parents instill trust in their children regarding the police?

Perhaps most importantly how do we as a nation look at each other through the prism of equity?

Early results are not encouraging.

In a cruel irony, during the Chauvin trial a police officer shot and killed an African American man during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis. Additional shootings have followed, exacerbating the frustration and weariness.

For the country to mend, to ameliorate a fissure centuries in the making, divisive ideologies must be set aside for societal unity, ills of prejudice quelched by racial harmony, the “isms” challenging modern culture replaced by acceptance and love.

Quite simply, the answer lies in peace, a peace that can only be found in Scripture.

St. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews stressed, even 2,000 years ago, to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone.”

In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul issues a message that is powerful even today: “Agree with one another, live in peace.”

In Galatians, the message continues to resonate: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There is hope as the movement toward healing, toward equality, toward justice is gaining strength. No longer should voices for  justice be silenced. 

Failure means Floyd’s and the death of so many others will have been in vain.

And that may be a tragedy from which the country can never recover.