Protestors tonight shut down I-35 in Dallas. Similar street-level responses to the travesty of justice in Ferguson, MO, occurred in dozens of cities and towns around the country. We keep hearing that we live in a nation of laws. The people of Ferguson, indeed of the entire nation, waited patiently for the grand jury to determine how justice would be meted out by the law. Patience ran out when it was announced that the testimony of a single anonymous witness 100 yards distant from the event along with the testimony of the shooter himself apparently had been favored over all other available evidence and testimony. Remember, the guilt or innocence of the shooter was not at issue for the grand jury. At issue was whether or not there was probable cause to take the case to trial. Given the nation-wide outrage, who can question that there are no reasonable doubts in this case? That we are a nation of laws is beside the point if the legal system can be so manipulated. Most oppressive governments throughout history have been nations of laws. But the founding ideals of the American republic sought to transcend that very low bar by attempting to establish a just society. Among other reasons, we fought a civil war to clarify that point, and still it took another century to write racial justice into the laws that we the people accept as the rules that govern us. It is perfectly obvious from what happened in Ferguson that we do not live in a just society. Perhaps we never have. As President Obama said last night, the problem is rooted in realities that have a long history. We ignore those realities at our peril. By any practical definition, we are living in a police state with no right to private communication, little right to protest, a compromised legal system, and an elite economic aristocracy. This can be fixed. It requires your vote, your active participation in our political system. It will require courage and stamina. If you did not cast a vote in the last election, then you voted for more of the same.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 06:37:46 +0000