The Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Amazing, But it Cannot Hide the NFL’s Racism Problem

Like many people, I watched last week’s Super Bowl for the Halftime Show. I’m not a fan of either team and to be perfectly frank, I don’t understand football.

From a personal perspective, I loved it. The artists who performed are ones that I grew up with. It was a lovely throwback to what I remember to be a simpler time. My only complaint is that Mary J. Blige was the only female headliner. But other than that, I was thoroughly entertained.

Charlie Kirk, however, was not entertained. He referred to the show “sexual anarchy”. He has yet to see his 30th birthday. I would have anticipated this kind of opinion coming from someone much older, not from a guy who only graduated from college a few years ago. But I expect nothing less from people who think like him.

As excellent as the performance was, it cannot hide the accusation of racism that exists within the NFL. The lawsuit against the league by Brian Flores, claiming sham interviews for several coaching positions based on skin color, speaks volumes. When most if not all of the workforce are people of color and upper management, are either close to or 100% Caucasian, that speaks volumes.

Games like the Super Bowl are supposed to bring us together. It is one of the few uniting forces in our otherwise divided nation. I just wish that the cracks were not revealed along the way.

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The Generation That Dies in School

Every generation is known for something.

The generation that lived through the Depression and World War II is known as the Greatest Generation. Their children are the Baby Boomer generation. My generation, otherwise known as Generation Y (aka Millennial’s or echo boomers) is known for the technology that become ingrained in our world.

I am convinced that the current generation that is growing up in 2019 will be the generation that dies in school. Too many young people have died in school shootings over the last few years. The most recent shooting happened earlier today in Colorado. One student was killed and seven were injured.

After Sandy Hook, after Parkland, after the UNC shooting last week, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Our kids should not be dying in school because of guns. They should be learning so they can one day become responsible and prosperous adults. They should not be afraid to go to school. On the same token, their parents should not be afraid to send their kids to school, not knowing if they will see their kids at the end of the school day.

I have no problem with the 2nd Amendment. I have no problems with people who purchase guns legally, are of sound mind and use their firearms in appropriate situations.

What I do have a problem with is that our leaders continue to allow murders of innocent children in the classrooms to happen. When did the 2nd Amendment and guns become more important than our children?

May the memory of the student killed be a blessing to their loves ones. And may we, once and for all, do something so this generation does not become the one who dies in school.

Got Religion: How Churches, Mosques and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back Book Review

A recent Pew study revealed that young people are increasingly moving away from organized religion.

Naomi Schafer Riley’s non fiction book, Got Religion: How Churches, Mosques and Synagogues Can Bring Young People Back, explores this shift in American culture and why many young people are  not as apt to openly declare themselves to be a certain religion as their parents and grandparents were.

Interviewing a variety of sources and researching a vast array of American religious institutions (one Muslim, one Jewish and several Christian denominations), Schaefer Riley comes to the conclusion that the Millennial generation (born between the late 1970-s and the mid 1980’s)  is looking for community to call their own.

I liked this book. As a member of the Millennial generation, I can understand why many of us choose to not identity or practice any specific religion. Religious practice is often associated with marriage and parenthood. Many of my generation are putting off marriage and parenthood or choosing all together to not marry and not become a parent. I think this is an important book, not just for my generation, but for parents and religious leaders. It might be the key to our religious future in America.

I recommend this book.