Landry Shamet says the best way to drive change is "through education"
The United States of America is in its most critical period in modern human history. There's just so much happening at once, that it's hard to take it all in.
Landry Shamet took some time to figure out his feelings, and address it on the NBA's Twitter account.
"With the recent killings and the national news, it's been more emotional draining just to continue to see this narrative play out, Shamet said. "You just wonder how many more times is this same narrative going to play out. The biggest thing is just the frustration you feel, the hurt you feel for those families, and everyone who was close to them. It's just painful, and hard to deal with and see. You just hope that here soon, we get to a better place in the world where we don't have to deal with stuff like that."
This has been the biggest fundamental question of America. How many times are we going to see the same headlines over and over? How many times are we going to see hate crimes? How many times are we going to see a mass shooting? It seems like no matter what happens, the country refuses to change. Shamet believes the answer to that problem lies within education, and holding the country accountable with that knowledge.
"The biggest and best way to drive real change with all of this is through education," Shamet said. "Holding ourselves accountable to educate ourselves. Be more educated on this matter, and our history. Understanding that we're not that far removed from Jim Crow, segregation, and the civil rights movements of the 60s, slavery, everything. We're not that far removed from all that. I think if we understand that and we educate ourselves on our history, and the history of America and what's going on."
The hard part about that is the ugly truth of it all. America is the mecca of sports and entertainment, the mecca of glamor. At some point, there needs to be a legitimate conversation about how that is a facade. That's the point Landry Shamet is trying to make.
"However ugly it is, uncomfortable it is, it's important to know, acknowledge, and address," Shamet said. "That's the only way you can move forward. There's times in this country where we tend to suppress the ugly truth about this country. We try to make it look glamourous and beautiful with the American Dream."
Through knowledge, comes accountability. That's the light at the end of the tunnel for Landry Shamet, the only way he sees America moving forward.
"We don't acknowledge it enough in schools, or to one another. I think the best way is to be educated, be able to acknowledge this, and be able to move forward."
