It’s my firm belief that the number of Americans holding racist views is small, whether white, black, or Hispanic. At this point in our history, the vast majority of Americans try to live up to the challenge delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We keep moving toward the hard-fought dream he envisioned of an America where a citizen’s character would mean more than the color of their skin.

We are a different country today. I’ve presented leadership programs to hundreds of companies over the last 40 years. I’ve seen the work they’ve done to embrace diversity and advance capable employees and leaders from all races. Many minority members have advanced and earned their rightful place in making this great American economy work. At a time we should be celebrating and furthering our progress, our American culture is under attack from the left. Angry race-baiters are doing everything they can to increase our racial divide through pushing the 1619 Project, CRT, and BLM. They make extreme racist claims with a clear goal—to expand the government gravy train that only racial “victims” can justify.

I lived in pre-civil rights Atlanta where there were separate schools, separate bathrooms, and the baseball team was the Atlanta Crackers! Today, it’s more likely that leftist blacks are the ones who want separate schools, separate rights, and special reparations for their race.

As one anonymous post asserted, “Only in America can an ethnic group of black awareness month, black holiday, black only colleges, black only dating sites, and black only bars and clubs…and turn around and call everyone else racists!” You don’t have to look far to find evidence of extreme black racist demands.

In California, the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee released a report calling on the city to pay every qualifying black California resident $5 million and absolve them of their outstanding personal debt. This is madness. California was a free state and did not condone slavery, but the committee is doing all it can to justify reparations: “While neither San Francisco, nor California, formally adopted the institution of chattel slavery, the tenets of segregation, white supremacy and systematic repression and exclusion of Black people were codified through legal and extralegal actions, social codes, and judicial enforcement.” To the left, this “failure” warrants millions of innocent California citizens being forced to pay higher taxes to fund exorbitant benefits to one race they haven’t abused in any way.

In Washington, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is proposing a law that could codify black racism in America. There is a common mantra in her political speeches: White America is defined by institutional racism, systemic racism, white supremacy, and white nationalism. She attacks “white” America and seems to see the clan in the face of every white citizen. Such general attacks are evidence of a new racism—black racism.

Read for yourself Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s proposed law, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023. The legislation promises to criminalize criticism of any minority that is subsequently used to incite anybody else to commit a hate crime. The law reads: “A conspiracy to engage in white supremacy inspired hate crimes shall be determined to exist between two or more persons, at least one of whom published material advancing white supremacy, white supremacist ideology, antagonism based on ‘replacement theory,’ or hate speech that vilifies or is otherwise directed against any non-White person or group could, as determined by a reasonable person, motivate actions by a person predisposed to engaging in a white supremacy inspired crime.”

This is a chilling attack on freedom of speech against one race—caucasians. In short, if you criticize a minority and another person states that your statement was all the motivation needed to do a hate crime, you may be jailed because your criticism “motivated” a hate crime you did not commit. Get the message—be silent and conform or we will put you away.

Black racism is real and just as evil as white racism. Both must be soundly rejected by responsible citizens. As a Christian, I affirm my Savior’s claim that all God’s children matter! No responsible citizen should be shamed into silence by the irresponsible racist attacks of the left. Be proud of yourself and of America. Whether black, brown or white, success as a small business person or advancement as a good employee had to be earned by hard work, long hours, and diligent sacrifice. As with Americans for generations, it was not handed to you. You didn’t depend on government handouts to get ahead, you had to find a way to earn your own American Dream.

Reparations will never happen! Politicians can’t even afford to fund the entitlements they’ve already promised. Special black racist demands are unethical, divisive, and risk fueling a new racism backlash. Politicians from the left keep making the promises to fuel racist anger and secure special interest donations and votes.

Don’t fall for their racist rants and demands. Depending on government entitlements is never the answer. Instead, get busy following the models and learning from citizens of all races who have made America work for themselves and their families.

Let’s reclaim the American Dream Martin Luther King, Jr. affirmed. Do not judge a fellow citizen by the color of their skin. Celebrate the character of the vast majority of good American citizens you meet. Keep rejecting racism of any kind. It’s time to stand proud and applaud hard work and success wherever we find it, no matter what the race. May it always be so in this great republic we treasure…America!

As we enter year three of the “Biden Administration,” enduring a clown who was installed, not elected, the nation’s stress level, collectively and individually, keeps ratcheting higher. As such, here are more than six dozen one-sentence tips on reducing stress for your edification:

• Half the battle in alleviating stress is simply being aware of how you react to situations.
• Let go of low level decisions.
• It’s hard to feel stressed when you’re looking good.
• You feel less stress if you allow yourself to be who you really are.
• Take a break by helping someone else with their problems
• To win the war on stress requires you only need small consistent steps.
• Make your boss look good–he or she will appreciate it.
• One good laugh can change your whole temperament.
• If a choice is of little consequence, let someone else choose.
• Given enough time, people will usually apologize for blowing up at you undeservedly.
• For most people, most of the time, most of the stress they encounter is self-induced.
• Narrow your priorities and focus on what’s vital– the clock of your life is ticking.
• Never make a promise you can’t keep.
• If someone tells you to “take it easy,” heed the advice.
• Give yourself quiet time throughout the day.
• Sing in your car – it’s the best stress reducer when barreling down the highway.
• Allow yourself five minutes to worry, then put the issues in the back of your mind.
• Look for the best in others.
• Screen your calls; you don’t have time to be available to everybody.
• You always have the option of not answering the door.
• Find ways to make yourself indispensable on the job.
• Combat perfectionism because you are not perfect; nobody is.
• It could always be worse; try to find the good points in everything.
• Treat your children as full-fledged human beings.
• Be true to yourself; don’t jump off a cliff simply because the lemmings are.
• Build your life on a solid base, then don’t worry about the foundation.
• Strive for objectivity.
• Accept input and advice from trusted others.
• Be conscious of what you say to yourself.
• Compete with yourself, not others.
• Challenge yourself to perform better than you have in the past.
• Never mind the symptoms – get to the root causes of issues you face.
• Avoid participating in the rumor mill.
• Your instinct will often guide you – don’t be afraid to listen to it.
• Don’t let juggling tasks become procrastination.
• Take long, deep breaths whenever you choose to.
• To feel more content be less concerned with what others think about you.
• Move with a purpose.
• Revenge is almost always counterproductive.
• Delegate, delegate, delegate.
• Open your mail over the wastebasket.
• Laughter can lower your blood pressure.
• When you’re under stress, sips of water can make you feel better.
• For more energy, ignore the clock and go to bed when you’re tired.
• You can’t use of all the promotions and bonus offers you encounter – so don’t worry about them.
• Jumping into water changes your outlook.
• Take responsibility for your mistakes rather than trying to assign blame.
• The key to organization that works every time is grouping similar items together.
• The hardest task is doing something different from the way you’ve always done it.
• Let negative comments fall away like water off a duck’s back.
• When you have trouble finding your way, step back and look at the big picture.
• Look for the good in others and they’ll see the good in you.
• Treat new employees with the same respect you show your CEO.
• Let go of the excess and clutter in your life.
• Avoid making decisions in anger.
• Build enough slack into your schedule to deal with routine upsets.
• Over-focusing on yourself leads to eye strain.
• Step back and develop perspective – will you recall what’s bothering you, a month from now?
• All else being equal, the better shape you’re in, the less stressed you’ll experience.
• Learn from your mistakes or prepare to repeat them.
• There is nothing so stressful as attempting to be someone you are not.
• Be on the lookout for distraction-free sanctuaries, wherever they are.
• Challenge yourself to make small improvements daily, and big ones will follow.
• The best results often show up a day or two after you thought they would.
• Regard each stressful experience as an opportunity to learn.
• You cannot change the past but you can always learn from it.
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
• There’s always more to learn, so enjoy the process.
• The natural state of human beings is alertness, health, and mental clarity.
• Boil it down – get to the essence of things.
• Acknowledge the accomplishments of others; everyone seeks acknowledgment.
• Despite it all, maintain your ethical standards.
• Give your complete and undivided attention to one task at a time.
• Have fun with new ways of doing things – don’t let your habits become ingrained.
• Practice the art of doing one thing at a time.