The concept of systemic racism has been bantered around a lot lately. As a trained sociologist, I am always interested in the proper use of such terms as they relate to our society.  According to the dictionary the word systemic relates to something that permeates a whole system.  It affects the body as a whole. For example, a systemic disease affects the entire body or organism, and systemic changes to an organization have an impact on the entire organization, including its most basic operations. In the cultural setting it would be a practice built into the structure of the whole society. Does racism meet this criteria?  Let’s look at some aspects of our culture.
         If systemic racism existed in the economy we would have no black CEOs, no owners of small businesses, and no black mid-level managers in large corporations.  If systemic racism existed in the sports sector we would have no black athletes drawing huge salaries for their talents.  We would have no coaches.  If systemic racism occurred in the political arena we would have no black mayors, governors, congressmen or women, or a president of the United States.  If systemic racism occurred in our educational sector we would have no black teachers, faculty members or college and university administrators.  Systemic racism would not allow any black or non-white advancement in any of these areas. 
         This is not to say that we don’t have a racism problem in these areas.  We do.  However, it is at the individual level not the systemic level.  It must be dealt with at the individual level within each segment of our society.  The only example of it happening at the societal level was the civil war and some laws regarding school segregation, which were not too successful.
         The only real basis for racial equality at the individual level is a book that has been around for ages, the Bible.  It points out that God created all men and women equal and promotes the only real solution to the race problem, loving one another. There is no other lasting solution.  

 
Over the past year or so the character of a number of public figures has been maligned by reaching back in their lives to when they were in high school or college.  Now, everyone knows that what we do from 18 to the mid 20s has little bearing on what we become later on in life.  People change over time some for the better and some for worse and we usually can tell which by looking at their current behaviors. 
 
In fact, our whole judicial system has moved towards a rehabilitation model because we believe that humans can be changed if they choose to embrace treatment.  Some do and others do not.  We can tell which by evaluating attitudes and behavior.  In some cases, especially for youth, a record may be completely expunged.  That is so the foolishness of youth will not be a hindrance later in life. 
 
People change over time.  Most of us today would not like to be judged by what we did 30, 40 or 50 years ago.  Nor should we be. Christians especially know the power of forgiveness and a changed life.  Every Christian knows that a changed life is the identifying mark of a Christian.  And it doesn’t matter how terrible one’s past has been.  We can all have a new identity in Christ.  

We recently had another horrific mass shooting of school students in Florida.  Again, this brought out the pundits trying to explain the reasons for such violence.  Mental issues, the failure of law enforcement, and guns.  Then along comes the public marches, some peaceful, but many have elements of violence and destruction of property.  While the answers are definitely complex, the discussion seldom deals with two very important reasons behind the violence we see in our society today.
 
First, as G. K. Chesterson would say, there’s something cheap and unworthy—and inhuman—in a heart that has no roots, that feels no love of country.  And where do we develop roots and love of country?  In a school system that teaches the history of our culture.  But somehow I think we have failed to place much emphasis on this in our current high school curriculum. Or what is taught is a revisionist history fraught with many omissions and inaccuracies.  A look at some subcultures in our society, such as the Native Americans and the Amish, and you find minimal rioting and violence.
 
Second, and not totally independent of the first, is the lack of a strong religious basis for morality in our society. While the early founders of our society were not all Christians, they did agree that without a strong religious, morality, our culture would not survive. Research shows a continual decline in the basis for morality in our society. This relates to the first reason above in that no religious morality can be taught in our school system. 
 
Without historical roots and a strong internal morality, we will not solve the issues of violence, drug addictions, and other social problems that plague our society.  External rules and regulations, such as gun control, will never solve the problems.

         Our public school system, our popular media, and our purveyors of higher education have taught and promoted Darwinian evolution as the only model for explaining the origins of the human race for over 50 years.  That model in a nutshell results in a human being that is no more than an advanced animal with animal instincts that must be externally controlled.
          In an evolutionary model there is no place for sin, no expectations of an internal morality, and no built-in self-control mechanisms to govern a person’s behavior.  As a result, the idea that “whatever feels good” is the ruling criteria.  And society establishes the rules and regulations regarding our lives.  So big government becomes the progressive’s solution to the social problems we face.  After all, pre-marital sex, sexual assault, rape, and pornography are only a natural result of our animal nature.
          After more than 50 years of evolutionary teaching we have a society dealing with rampant social problems, not willing to consider that the cause may lie in our assumptions about the nature of the origin of humans.  What’s up with that!!!

Ethics deals with what ought to happen whereas morality deals with what is happening.  At one time the connection between the two was close, but that has changed in recent years.  With the advent of scientific polling, morality has become based more on what a majority of the people feel is right or wrong than on a personal world view.  The Christian Worldview that once formed the basis of our ethics seems to no longer be the basis for our morality.  Barna research has documented that about 4% of the general population holds to a Christian Worldview.  And only 17% of practicing Christians hold to a totally Christian Worldview.  If this trend continues, standards of right and wrong will no longer exist.  We will live in a society where the phrase, “if it feels good do it” becomes the standard of behavior. Perhaps we are already there.  And the Christians who hold to a Biblical Worldview will complain, but not be able to do much about it. And those who do take a stand for a Biblical ethics will likely feel the heat.  What’s up with that!!!