And so it is… the engine is STILL SOUND. When we choose to put our foot down, the acceleration GROWS. As the velocity of this change increases, in-sync with the fluidity of the passage of time, we breathe deep and shift gears; opening another level of expansion… attaining that which was once said to be unattainable.

Attaining that, which was once said could NEVER be done… after four years of the Donald J. Trump Administration, does anyone truly believe there is anything this Nation cannot DO.

Cyclical in nature, the gears turn… just as it was when this experiment was set into motion. Where once there was nothing, with the stroke of a QUILL thus it was born; zero to sixty one HOT afternoon in July. Today, the promises of SPRING bloom… may our work preserve and protect the harvest of a Just and Righteous fruit this FALL.

Where once there was doubt grows HOPE. Where once sprawled a field of brambles, now lies neatly tended rows… cleared by PATIENTS, with a devout adherence to the marking of the passage of TIME. The Fields of Destiny now call us. Let us move FORWARD and dispel the opinions of those who stand opposed to the MAJORITY and SHOW THEM how it will be, how it MUST be… it is for THEM we do this as well.

Equal Justice Under Law is NOT an opinion… in this country, that must be our REALITY. It’s our DUTY to ensure it is so.

… 

Accountability for offensive actions is a GOOD START.

The George Floyd Accountability in Policing Act must be passed.

It doesn’t matter who that knee is upon, so long as it’s able to happen again…  you could be next. Without LAW, they retain that right.

IF we granted Qualified Immunity to EVERYONE we employ to operate a deadly metal machine, we would see an increase in the number of pedestrians struck and killed by CITY BUSES. Because they can be held accountable for their split-second decisions, they err in-favor of the PEDESTRIAN and not the LAMP POST.

 … 

But this legislation does not go deep enough. It does not SOLVE the problem that created the need for this legislation in the first place. While accountability itself can act as a deterrent, it will ultimately lead to more of the SAME. 

Locking up Police Officers for abhorrent behavior will not stop the killing of Black Lives. Only KNOWLEDGE can do that… knowledge leads to UNDERSTANDING, and anyone we deem worthy of carrying a BADGE and a GUN should always be striving for more knowledge, to better understand the communities in which they serve. 

Right now, where do these Officers gather their information? What level of education should we require for our Law Enforcement Officers and what fields should we require them to be fully knowledgeable in before we consider ARMING them and sending them out into our communities?

Racism, discrimination, prejudice… these mindsets are NOT default settings. They are TAUGHT to others, they are LEARNED. The best weapon against racism is knowledge.

We need to create a four year degree in Law Enforcement and Peace Officer Education, in which we require extensive learning in the methods of policing and the historical relationships between police and minority groups in this country. To simply say police need more training is not enough, we need to fully establish and accredit what it is they should know and how they will be trained.

Once established, Officers will fully understand what it is we expect from them in the line of duty. They will have no doubt as to when they should pull their service weapon, and there will be no doubt as to when they should be held accountable for their actions. It is in our Nation’s interest to make this training mandatory for all Officers, so it should be free of charge for anyone who earns the degree.

The FAA requires 1500 hours of training before a pilot can fly commercially in the United States. According to Wikipedia, that can take about two years to complete. That amount of time should be the MINIMUM requirement for all Law Enforcement Officers in the United States, on top of a four year degree.

… 

 

I still believe in the mission of Law Enforcement. I believe they play a vital role in our society, of both deterrence and security. 

Understanding the diversity of situations Officers find themselves in, we need to incorporate a multi discipline approach to Law Enforcement. We need cops who are specifically Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists. Officers trained in Law Enforcement with a specialty. When called, they respond with a Badge and authority, but armed with KNOWLEDGE instead of a gun. Their primary objective is to correct a situation by any means necessary including arrest, but not specifically so. 

Discretion. Empathy. Compassion. Community Assistance… responding to those situations that are not solved by incarceration. If we can avoid bad outcomes for both police AND citizens, then we should do so. 

 

… 

 

The guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin has shattered our perception of reality, exposing a tectonic shift… a generational divide. My teenagers saw the outcome of the trial as a given, the evidence was too overwhelming. ‘There’s only one way the jury could decide.’ 

I did my best to tell them. I told them to go watch the footage of Rodney King and remember… a jury let those Officers GO. Mr. King was resisting arrest. 

Our children now view JUSTICE as a given, unlike their parents and grandparents who have been conditioned to expect the opposite… because it’s been proven to be so many times before. For them, that world no longer EXISTS. 

All they have is HOPE, and now their beliefs have been affirmed…  
I want THIS WORLD to be more like theirs. 

JC