Refocus like the Bible Belt on what matters

OPINION:

Racism. Police reform. Racism. Antifa. Racism. Black Lives Matter. Racism. Defund law enforcement.

It’s time to refocus on what matters. U-N-I-T-Y.

From New England to the Bible Belt to the Pacific Northwest, Americans can’t escape the nation’s changing landscapes — the thought that if it weren’t for White people, America wouldn’t be in this jam called COVID-19.

Sports, which used to provide diverse entertainment, are one-note events.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are the breadwinners, and the NFC East can’t get out of its own way.

Thank goodness NFC fans still have slinger Aaron Rodgers to root for this season, even if stadiums are empty because of COVID-19.

Public and private school campuses from coast to coast are largely empty, too, and McDonald’s is so desperate to hear ka-ching, it brought back the McRib sandwich.

What’s old will soon be new again.

Scaredy cat state and local lawmakers can’t get their bearings.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tries to one-up New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and shut down the Empire State, whose beacons of light represent America’s melting pot of immigration.

Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo, like their counterparts elsewhere, don’t even want Americans and immigrants to attend faith-based services, as if praying and testifying en masse will further darken thresholds with the novel coronavirus.

However, rather than shutting tight the doors that help entertain, socialize and educate our children, Oklahoma is employing a small measure of common sense on Jan. 1, a time when most states and jurisdictions implement new laws to rake in new cash.

Effective New Year’s Day, Oklahoma is extending a property tax exemption to religious institutions if the property is owned by a religious group and offers instruction to youth in pre-K through 12th grade.

Preschool, grade school, high school. Disabled or not. Bible studies. Mass. Literacy, history and STEM.

Local and state leaders are doling out benefits to traditional schools, and Oklahoma made a point to do the same for religious institutions.

Using race to divide America during the pandemic further spun us upside down, and dividing us as “essential” or “non-essential” did the same.

It’s time to refocus on what really and truly matters — unity — especially as we turn the bend to 2021.

Happy New Year.

⦁ Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.