OPINION| Thomas: The New Minority Is Covered Under The First Amendment

The day is not so rapidly coming. I yearn to see for myself. To draw a deep inhale at the expressions on the millions of faces when that fateful date is boldly etched on the calendar. The shock and dumbfoundedness. The hope and exuberance. That "what's next" feeling.

The U.S. government tells us by 2043 (I believe sooner) the United States will be a majority minority nation. What an odd statement considering white people, worldwide, are a minority population. Judging by last weekend's bloody fiasco in Virginia, a lot of people don't get it, or don't want to get it. My lifetime is overflowing with revolutionary moments regularly playing out on the nightly news, in courtrooms and at blazing bonfires. Yes, we've traveled the railroad tracks a long way since slavery, Jim Crow and the annihilation of Native Americans, but if Charlottesville is any indication, a lot of spikes remain uprooted with fuzzy, translucent light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. How will it play out in 2043?

There are two major reasons it took so long for apartheid to end in South Africa. Recall, this was a nation ruled by the tiny white minority, yet overwhelmingly black.

1. The oppressors were unabashedly brutal. They naturally feared repercussions from the oppressed.
2. The oppressors had the government, all the weapons, law enforcers and the judicial system on their side. The deck was heavily stacked against the colored.

Which brings us back to the USA.This country has the greatest Constitution and Bill of Rights men have ever created. Because humans beings have a tendency to run on emotions, it's vitally important that these documents survive even more decades of turmoil. If they do not expect the red, white and blue fabric enshrined around the eloquent words "to the republic for which it stands," to obliterate.

Remember the lessons from the 1950's. Minority thought, like it or not, is protected free speech, and covered under the First Amendment. The thought majority's best two options are to watch and learn or don't pay any attention.  Present and future minorities, by virtue of existing on U.S. soil, the Declaration of Independence grants you the unalienable right to peaceably assemble, air grievances and generally to express yourself. Please don't blow it for the rest of us!

Editor’s Note:   Brian Thomas is the host of Brian’s Beat on 1420 WBSM New Bedford.  He can be heard weekdays from 10am-Noon and Saturdays from 6am-9am.  The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.