Crosstalk: August 15, 2017

​​On Saturday, violence erupted as a so-called 'Alt-Right' rally got underway in Charlottesville, Virginia. There were protests and counter-protests at the event which was driven by a city decision to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert. E. Lee.

A man plowed his vehicle into a group killing one and injuring others. A state of emergency was declared. Additionally two state troopers were killed in a helicopter crash after responding to the scene.

Yesterday, additional protests were held in New York, California, Washington, Florida, and Ohio.

President Trump has been accused of fostering racial bigotry. However, is he really the cause?

Joining Jim to discuss this and related issues was Pastor Ronn Euell. Ronn is the pastor of Scripture Alone Christian Fellowship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Pastor Euell began by describing what brought about the problem in Virginia. He began by describing how you have one side known as the 'far right'. Then there are patriots on the other side. These are people who simply love America. They banded together and petitioned the state of Virginia for a permit to peacefully protest the removal of the statue of General Lee. They appear to have harbored no ill intent and wanted the statue to stay because they feel it's part of their history.

The state of Virginia apparently felt that allowing the permit would foster controversy so they pulled it. The federal government was petitioned to have the permit reinstituted, which it was, and the protest eventually took place.

On the other side was the counter-protesting groups that also descended upon Charlottesville and that resulted in violence.

When we see the horrible actions of the KKK and white supremacists along with the words of Louis Farrakhan who's called for killing of the white man, what's at the heart of this? According to Pastor Euell, it's depravity. It will always express itself in various ways. One of those ways is racism. Man, who is separated from God and has no identity, seeks to feel supreme over their neighbors and brothers. One of the ways they show this is through racial supremacy.

Is the outgrowth of electing President Trump the cause for tension between the races? Pastor Euell emphatically disagreed. Just because you have certain groups that voted for President Trump doesn't mean that he endorsed those same groups. That spirit came through as Jim quoted the president who described the rally as, '...an egregious display of hatred, bigotry, violence on many sides.' It's because he used the phrase, 'many sides' that he's come under fire.

Why? Pastor Euell believes it's because some people want the president to take sides. He can't because he's president of the United States. You have the far-left who wants the president to side with them to give their movement credibility and then there's the far-right and even extremist groups who want the president to speak to their issues and affirm their position.

As this Crosstalk moves along you'll hear Pastor Euell comment on the following:

--Is the media legitimately 'telling the story' or are they 'fanning the flames'?
--How do we deal with such tensions as a nation?
--While it was just and right for people to demand civil rights during the time of
Martin Luther King, was any damage done by the civil rights movement.
--How do we restore respect for one another?
--Has our nation 'bent over backwards' to right the wrong in black America?