We are all one color - red - inside

Not all of the recent police shootings have been white on black. Minnesota's incident involved a Hispanic officer. There have also been recent incidents involving white victims. The tragic incident in Dallas, as has been condemned by every organization either recognized, or involved, brings a strong need for things to be seen as they are.

That is, the collapse of the entire American fundamental way of life. This simple prayer, which many have said changed their lives, should be taken as a sign under which we can join and work together to bring all of us together as the “One Nation Under God” that we were designed to be:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the knowledge to know the difference.”

It is far past time for all of us to accept and redirect our paths as well given the recent shootings, those by the police and the tragic event against the police.

I am a retired law enforcement officer, for New York state corrections, and have worked very closely with and partnered with people from many defined races, black, white, Hispanic, Asian. We all worked toward the goal of keeping everyone we were assigned to safe from harm, as well as keeping each other safe from harm, to allow us to go home at the end of our tour.

We only saw two colors, blue, which was our uniform, and green, which was their uniform. The color of a person's skin is immaterial. We are all red on the inside, and the sooner we realize and accept this, the sooner we can work to correct things.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 9:58 AM with the headline "We are all one color - red - inside."