Since President Obama took office in the US we have seen decreasing race relations. More specifically we are seeing more racial divide. When he was elected the first black President I was hopeful that we would see further improvement in race relations through mature leadership and unification. My disappointment is only outweighed by the current rash of racial discord in America.
Today we are seeing hatred in America at an all time high (based upon the number of protests; violent racial/sexual crime and racial/sex attacks). Our crime is now heavily focused around race and sex divisions within the US. This is sad because we should all be Americans first and then sub cultures second. We are going in the wrong direction .
I know at this point all my liberal readers are already angry at me. But before you go attacking me hear me out completely.
My assessment of America today is we have too much hate; we are too divided; and there is too much violence and death. We must break this cycle - it must stop Now!
We live in a Democracy. All of us black white Latino or Hispanic, we chose to live here. The same applies to religious segments and sexual preferences. LBGT's all choose to be a part of this great Democracy. Why do we make that choice? We do because it is the greatest country on earth. On a whole we have more freedom, more opportunity and more safety than anywhere else on the planet. I think we often forget this.
If you don't like America the good news is you can leave. Go test another country - see how we stack up. As a Democracy the majority rules. It is not a perfects sytem but history has shown it is by far the best humans have found so far. Along with our Democracy we are a country based on capitalism and it too is not perfect but is the best humans have been able to do so far. Some may argue that some forms of socialism are working well and I would agree and suggest if you like those better you should move.
In a Democracy we can not govern by exception or minority - it does not work and will lead to collapse (chaos and anarchy). That is why everyone has the right to vote and our system allows people of all races, sexes and reliogions to speak out and lobby for their needs and desires. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in our constitution and is a cornerstone of our Democracy.
In the past decade we have gone way too far in our political corerectness. It is very difficult to express an opinion without offeding someone or group. This is just childish and the Baby Boomers are responsible for it. We need to toughen up and realize that "bullets and bombs can break our bones but words can never hurt us". And to that point our freedom and democracy have made us the most hated country in the world. Terrorism is increasing and America is the number one target. We have lots to fear from the outside so we need to quit destroying ourselves from the inside.
By now my liberal friends are fuming. Hang in there just a bit longer.
Black Lives Matter
They do. So do Asian, Latino, White and Indian. While I understand why this movement started and that many liberals say it is really more about focusing on the police injustice to all rather than just blacks, that is just not true. First of all the issue really is not the movement but the divisive premiss and message it sends. The reaction it promotes in other races and how it immediately divides our great country is a real problem.
Is there an issue with police forces against blacks in the US? Maybe there is but this is not the way to fix it. Additionally, there is not enough data to draw the conclusions that the movement is making. Actually what little data is available shows there is no racial bias against blacks by police, when violent crime perpetration and percentage of US population are factored in. I could quote all the studies I reaserched but lets be truthful it would not matter cause folks on each side have made up their minds. That said go take a look at the data out there.
So my point on Black Lives Matter is simple:
America is divided. Just look at our current election. On one hand we have a career politician who has a history of lying and taking money from any source she can. And on the other we have a loud mouth billionaire who believes in protectionism and tough economics. This huge casam between left and right is not America. Sure we have always had two parties but never this far apart. Add to that the growing racial divide which is much worse under this President than the past three.
Today we are seeing hatred in America at an all time high (based upon the number of protests; violent racial/sexual crime and racial/sex attacks). Our crime is now heavily focused around race and sex divisions within the US. This is sad because we should all be Americans first and then sub cultures second. We are going in the wrong direction .
I know at this point all my liberal readers are already angry at me. But before you go attacking me hear me out completely.
My assessment of America today is we have too much hate; we are too divided; and there is too much violence and death. We must break this cycle - it must stop Now!
We live in a Democracy. All of us black white Latino or Hispanic, we chose to live here. The same applies to religious segments and sexual preferences. LBGT's all choose to be a part of this great Democracy. Why do we make that choice? We do because it is the greatest country on earth. On a whole we have more freedom, more opportunity and more safety than anywhere else on the planet. I think we often forget this.
If you don't like America the good news is you can leave. Go test another country - see how we stack up. As a Democracy the majority rules. It is not a perfects sytem but history has shown it is by far the best humans have found so far. Along with our Democracy we are a country based on capitalism and it too is not perfect but is the best humans have been able to do so far. Some may argue that some forms of socialism are working well and I would agree and suggest if you like those better you should move.
In a Democracy we can not govern by exception or minority - it does not work and will lead to collapse (chaos and anarchy). That is why everyone has the right to vote and our system allows people of all races, sexes and reliogions to speak out and lobby for their needs and desires. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in our constitution and is a cornerstone of our Democracy.
In the past decade we have gone way too far in our political corerectness. It is very difficult to express an opinion without offeding someone or group. This is just childish and the Baby Boomers are responsible for it. We need to toughen up and realize that "bullets and bombs can break our bones but words can never hurt us". And to that point our freedom and democracy have made us the most hated country in the world. Terrorism is increasing and America is the number one target. We have lots to fear from the outside so we need to quit destroying ourselves from the inside.
By now my liberal friends are fuming. Hang in there just a bit longer.
Black Lives Matter
They do. So do Asian, Latino, White and Indian. While I understand why this movement started and that many liberals say it is really more about focusing on the police injustice to all rather than just blacks, that is just not true. First of all the issue really is not the movement but the divisive premiss and message it sends. The reaction it promotes in other races and how it immediately divides our great country is a real problem.
Is there an issue with police forces against blacks in the US? Maybe there is but this is not the way to fix it. Additionally, there is not enough data to draw the conclusions that the movement is making. Actually what little data is available shows there is no racial bias against blacks by police, when violent crime perpetration and percentage of US population are factored in. I could quote all the studies I reaserched but lets be truthful it would not matter cause folks on each side have made up their minds. That said go take a look at the data out there.
So my point on Black Lives Matter is simple:
We don't have enough data to prove the bias that is being stated
All police violence needs to be investigated and bad officers prosecuted
Statistically we know that people who obey the law very rarely get shot or killed by cops
Focusing on one race in the American population whether true or not is a guarantee to divide us and not solve the p[roblem
Retaliation is not the answer
Shame on our President for endorsing this
US Justice System
It is not perfect but I don't think there is any system worldwide that is. Would you prefer to live under Sharia law? Look the system is administered by humans and with all things human there will be flaws. The good news is in America we have a bunch of checks an balances and our system is clearly the most fair. That said I have been a victim of the system and of police discrimination so I do not speak from some rich white persons perspective. I have been there and let me tell you we have made marked improvements. Are we here we want to be? NO!
While I believe that 90% of our police officers are honest, reasonable and courageous people, they are human and do make mistakes. We do hold them to higher standard but as society changes we must revisit those standards. So we need to get better at screening hiring and training our officers, We need to have tougher penalties for infractions against citizens. We need an independent police review board that can truly evaluate charges of discrimination or wrong doing. We can get better and we are making progress. Just look at where we were even back in the 1970's and you will see how far we have come. Now I know that will not help console the grieving families of victims of police or other violence but we must keep the big picture out there.
Our DOJ is a disgrace in my opinion. On the one hand they can skip prosecuting Mrs. Clinton for gross negligence despite the FBI clearly finding such violations but they can find a way to review and prosecute any officer who shot a black person. Now before everyone sends me death threats let me be specific. The DOJ and the President have become fixated on black shooting victims which is fine if it were not to the exclusion of other shooting victims. This bias is clear, visible and is creating a divide in the country we cannot have.
Let me highlight that. The President has held news conferences about every black shooting by police recently but has never done so about a Latino or white shooting? Does this seem like the leader of America or the leader of black America? My point is we must focus on all police shootings on all races that might be wrong. In my community about a month ago a young white man was fatally shot by police in the street. Later it was found he had no weapon. The video was released nationally. The president and the DOJ have known of the shooting for more a long time. There has been no mention of it in the numerous press conferences that he has done on this mater. This type of bias is only dividing our country further.
Our Realities
- Our way of life is under attack internally and externally. Democracy, capitalism, equality, freedom of speech and our constitution are all being eroded.
- Aside from our internal mess we have real enemies - ISIS, North Korea, China, the Taliban and more
- Our economy is not strong, our military is depleted, and our morals are gone. In short we are easy prey.
- Terrorist and our enemies are rejoicing as we tear ourselves apart. It has never been easier for them to infect our young and confused and inject them with their radical ideas. Easy to convince our own to turn on fellow Americans.
- Our leadership is focused on the wrong things. We need to get back some concrete American ideals and stop this division based on race sex or religion. They need to lead unification and stop celebrating any division in America.
- Without unity we will fail and our enemies will conquer us. Our way of life will be over.
Summary
We have major problems in America. The solution is not pointing fingers and blaming others. It is not dividing us by race, sex or religion. It is not showing preference to any one segment of our population or trying to take guns away from Americans. No the answer is to unite. To have open dialogue about our issues deal with facts not emotion and supposition. To develop a plan and work to heal the wounds that divide us. I would suggest we reintroduce faith and patriotism. Let us move this to a higher level. It is time to heal. Time to send a message to our confused and unhappy that we value life and the American way and we will work this out. Send a message to our enemies we are still strong and we are not distracted. Send a message to our children that all lives matter and we are one people despite our different religions, races and sexual preferences.
So lets stop the insanity. Back to Peace and Respect. Obey the laws and use the justice system to right the wrongs. Express our opinions but be respectful and mindful of others feelings. Don't divide - unify. Create solutions and less criticism and hatred. Put the past behind us and heal and change for the future. Make our new slogan - #AmericaMatters.