I was 10 when I was first confronted with racial bigotry because of the color of my skin. This was in Southern California in 1964. The place where a man could move his family and see the prospects of the American dream.
As it was for me growing up and dealing with the hate and bigotry, it was more difficult for my father. By the time I was a teenager it was apparent that life’s challenges would become more difficult.
I volunteered for service in the army in 1973 and the bigotry was worse in the southern states of America where I first served.
After my career in the army, I settled down in Cortez and found a place where I felt welcome, yet the bigotry was still here – hidden, a facade, now affirmed and politicized.
The Constitution and its amendments are who we are, that makes us a great nation. Right now, today, the belief of the few are working to take away who we are.
The bigotry and hatred are not just rooted in the color of a person’s skin, but in their opinion, too. We are afraid of discussion and the confrontation that it may bring and that is what divides us.
The hate is rooted in politics, the bigotry is still rooted in the color of skin. In whose image are we created – in man or God? We are supposed to love each other. Think about it.
Robert Valencia
Cortez
