I live, here in Nashville, Tennessee, off Dickerson Pike, six miles from downtown. It’s a working-class neighborhood, a little rough to the north, more gentle to the south, and racially mixed, 70-30, black to white. If you want to comment on race, and do so accurately, this neighborhood is ideal, a microcosm of race relations, a model for what is authentic and true.
Here, I see and feel America—not the lies sold by charlatans, but the nation we cherish: the good and decent America, the noble country, which President Reagan called “a shining city on a hill.”
And nothing exemplifies this like what I see through my window—it warms my heart. It makes me nod, smile, and thank Jesus—for what I see, this endearing sight, is America.
And what do I see? Well, pretty much everyday (weather depending), a man appears, across the street, on the sidewalk. A white man, he’s 77 years-old, wonderfully cheerful and wearing a hat, the kind with gold filigree—his Naval ship’s designation, the vessel on which he served.
And when he appears, he’s joined by another man, not a homeowner (Mr. Navy, a block away, lives in a well-kept, ranch-style house), but a man from my building, an elderly black man, who, seeing his buddy, shuffles into the parking lot, crosses the road, and takes up with his friend.
Off they go, two Americans, men of different economic/financial means, different backgrounds and races, walking, enjoined, without a care in the world…
Everyday.
It’s heartwarming. It’s real and special and the opposite of what is “sold.”
There is no “systemic racism” in America—not outside division-obsessed “news” rooms, Dem strategy sessions, and faculty lounges.
I see it daily—REAL AMERICA… The accepting, gracious, color-blind nation embodied by two men - one white, one black - who have no idea that they’re love is inspiring, a common (yet wonderful) example of realism, of benevolent truth, in malevolent times.
~ Greg Halvorson
Note: Please, sign up to receive Greg Halvorson Blog by email. This helps me circumvent Big Tech platforms that suppress free speech and pro-American content. Also, if you want to help out, you can support me via my PayPal and SquareCash sites. Thank you, and keep fighting… We have a country to save.