An Open Letter to All from Brandon Coates
I've thought long and hard about what I want to put in this article and I am still not sure. So I'm just going to wing it. I've had multiple people reach out to me over the past week about things I have said on the air. Things that have struck a cord with them. First, there's Joe. He emailed the show last week and this is what he wrote:
I live near Albuquerque and I drive a truck to Las Cruces four days a week, Tuesday through Friday. I usually catch the first couple of hours of the show before losing the signal heading back north. Sometimes I'll listen live on my phone if the conversation is compelling. I'd like to chat with Brandon about the recent George Floyd events. He's made some very interesting comments that have made me rethink my views, especially this morning. (06/05/2020) I'm 60, white, married with two grown children. I suppose that's pertinent to the conversation. My views on the whole "Black Lives Matter" issue has undergone some serious overhaul in the last few days. I look forward to your reply.
I was able to get Joe on the line and we spoke with him. You can hear that phone call here.
Also this week, I went on a bit of a rant about change and being stuck in a cycle. I have received a few requests to put what I said in an article and post it. So, here is a synopsis of what I said:
We need to find a middle ground because we've gotten to the point where we're in a cycle. Things continue to happen because nothing does change. A band-aid is put on it or something else pops up in the news and it just gets glazed over, every single time. Leslie Dwight's poem might be right. Maybe 2020 isn't cancelled. Maybe 2020 is the year we finally realize things need to change.
There are some positive things on this planet and there are some negative things. We need to embrace the positive but we need to look at fixing the negative, and the only way to do that is together. One person's not going to do it. A group of 10 people aren't going to do it. And yes, there will always be those contrarians who will argue against what you want to do. Ignore them. Everyone else needs to work together.
We all need to realize we have the same goals. No matter your race or gender or whatever makes us different, we all want the same things. Treat each other that way. Take that step forward. It's the Golden Rule for crying out loud. It's what we teach our kids. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Unfortunately as we become older that seems to get blurred because we become so self-focused on what we need in that moment, or for ourselves in general. That is why we keep getting stuck in this cycle.
Sacrifices need to be made on all sides. If you only look at the sacrifices you need to make or someone else needs to make, that's a selfish move. You need to realize change comes from everyone. You need to be willing to adapt. And you can.
There are a lot of people out there who are scared of change. You need to realize that change happens on a daily basis, an hourly basis. Minute by minute. Second by Second. But people consistently stop because they worry about it or they overthink the future. "What about..." The worry-warts out there. I'm one of them. I constantly worry about the future or how something is going to affect me later on down the line. Something that I am trying to change is to not let that control me. The second you stop letting it control is the second you start moving towards change. And we have to do that now.
Let me end with this. I don't have the answers to any of life's big questions or issues. But I'm willing to talk about them to find the solution. I don't care about being right. I care about finding the right answer.