How do you explain what happened in Charleston, S.C.?
I'm not talking about what happened last Wednesday, when a racist madman took it upon himself to first sit in a Bible study class for an hour, then open fire on those who welcomed him with open arms.
There is enough that has been said about this unthinkable act of racial hatred.
I refer instead to what happened in the aftermath, and the actions of those who lost family members, and the parish members at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
They did not talk about racism.
They did not talk about guns.
They did not talk about flags.
They did not talk politics.
They talked about forgiveness.
While dealing with broken hearts, they still managed to find the ability to open theirs to the man who caused such grief.
If there is a message to be taken from this horrific incident, that might be it.
Certainly, we still have a long way to go when it comes to race relations in this country.
We could do worse than to emulate the words and actions of those most directly affected by this act of pure hate.
Dylann Roof no doubt wanted to drive a wedge between white and black America.
In an ironic twist, he may have opened the door to finally bring us together.
And the good families and people of Charleston, and particularly the Emanuel AME congregation walked right through it.
The question now is whether the rest of us are willing to follow them.
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