SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT GEORGE FLOYD AND THE VERDICT
Just trying to be a better human
All every human being wants, and is entitled to from birth, is to be treated like a human being. This is the basis of the rights and privileges embedded in the language and spirit of the Constitution. We have a history in this Country of conferring more rights and privileges on certain human beings as compared to others, or depriving some of their most fundamental rights (including the right to exist, and live unfettered and equitibly). The numbers don’t lie. For example, while the same percentages of white people and people of color smoke pot, people of color are 5 times more likely to be arrested. The George Floyd case was about history, inequality, racism, murder, and our dreams for this Country. To watch the full video of the incident was to watch murder. As a human being watching the murder of another human being, I must acknowledge that. It’s not about teams, sides, etc. It is about truth, integrity, the rule of law, equity, American ideals and how we represent ourselves to the world. To my Black brothers and sisters, I hear you, I stand with you, and I understand the powerful feelings that this case stirred up, and the emotions surrounding today’s verdict. To all my fellow Americans, I pray that this experience results in growth, understanding and common purpose. We are not enemies. One is not worth more or less than another. We must stop letting people tell us whom to hate, whom to avoid, and whom to marginalize. It is up to each one of us to make sure that every human being can live freely and safely within our borders. Only together can we form the “more perfect union”, and the diverse tapestry of humanity that creates so much wonderful possibility, but only if we see and hear one another as human beings. R.I.P. George Floyd, and all of the others who have died these terrible deaths. Only with real systemic change, and a commitment by all to do better, can it be made certain that their tragic ends were not in vain, and we become the United States of America in every sense of the phrase. One World/One Love. Peace.
