I went to see the movie 42 today with my son. He really
wanted to see it and I was hoping to expose him to the lesson(s) that could
come out the story of Jackie Robinson.
After seeing the movie, we sat and talked and I am confident I made the
right decision to take him. I am
writing this short post to my son Jaden….in case he finds himself in life
needing a reminder…… and to anyone else that might be listening.
I sat through this movie mesmerized. I love any movie about baseball but
this was for very different reasons and honestly my mind was a blur. I started wondering about the type of
person I am today and really hoped that, had I lived during the time period
when Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball, I would have been the guy
that befriended Jackie Robinson and was accepting of change. I would like to think I would have been
the guy speaking his mind about how the world should work and the guy that
stood up against racism. I really
believe I would have been that person. Growing up, while equality among color
had made great strides….the world certainly was not perfect. I was always the guy that tried to make
friends with and stick up for the guy/girl on the outside……..be it for color or any number of reasons. I was
the guy that wanted everyone to feel accepted and fit in. Even later in life, albeit somewhat
silly, I remember buying a t-shirt from Timberland in Chicago that read “Give
Racism the Boot”. I wore that
shirt proudly and in places that might have been considered risky. Many times I came close to getting my
ass kicked but not by white people…..by African Americans because from afar
they just saw a white dude wearing a shirt that had the word ‘racism’ on
it. They assumed the worst until
getting closer and actually reading what the shirt said. We would usually just
laugh, exchange some words and move on but every one of those many instances broke down the color
barrier a little more.
I am thankful today, that my children do not understand
racism. Each of my children has
friends of every race and religion and that is all they know. I have mentioned this before but I
literally think my 5 year old daughter is color blind. She does have some
African American friends who she thankfully only knows as ‘friends’. It is quite remarkable but if you ask
my daughter to describe these friends, she will talk about what they wear or
their sense of humor or how smart they are but she will never ever say they are
‘black’. Ask her 20 different
ways; the color of their skin will never ever be included in one of her replies.
It is the way things should be and I hope she applies this to everything in
life from color to religion to sexual preference. We are all just people and if we unite as one, we can make
the world a better place. I really
think this is a big part of the message of the movie……for my son and for all of
us.
“A life is not
important except in the impact it has on other lives”
Jackie Robinson
The story of Jackie Robinson tied to racism in the world but
if you step back it is really tied to one man helping to change the world. Look at how far we have come since 1947
when Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball. Look where the world was then and look where it is
today. After the movie, that is
what I sat and told my son. One man made a difference. One man changed the world. You are one man, you can do exactly the
same thing. Today, the world is not perfect. We have made great strides in some areas of injustice but
there are still a lot of improvements to be made. There is disease, there is suffering and unfortunately race issues still exist as we have seen by recent events. We can all as individuals jump in and
lend a hand. We can all as
individuals make a difference. We
can all as individuals make the world a better place and, as I have said many
times, if we as individuals come together as one with this mentality, changing
the world is a certainty. My fight is against cancer. What is your fight against? There is plenty of room for
change in this world. It is just
waiting for you to jump in and make it happen.
To my son and my daughter, may you always treat everyone
equally, may you fight for those that are treated less than equal and may you
always know that within you is the power to make a difference.
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