To Those Who Seek Change in Our Government,
Find a time in your life where you’ve given up hope, whether it be a job, a goal, a person, a team, anything, and think about that feeling. Think about those ramifications, from your loss of hope. Now flash back to a time where we, as a country, lost hope. 1955. The start of the Vietnam War. Not only was our nation led into war, but our lack of faith in our own government led us to despise them, and act out accordingly. Now think of the ramifications of THAT: riots, protests, shootings, war, poverty, hopelessness, economic turmoil, you can name it.
Now ask yourself, why is this important today? Because yet again, our nation is losing faith in our governing body, but more specifically, our law enforcement. Cop killings are at the forefront of today’s news coverage, and we are not doing anything to justify it. 235 African Americans have been killed by police this year alone. Michael Brown, Eric Garner; you know their names and their story, but do you know their sacrifice? Their deaths mean the hopes of a better tomorrow, an exposure to the inequality that runs rampant in our streets. Day to day racial inequality is a catastrophe we must avoid, but a catastrophe we have let ruin our once great nation for so long. Do not let their deaths be in vain, do not let their deaths be for nothing.
We are all losing faith in this government who once sought for protection. If you think you’re alone in this fight, you’re not. “Just 13% of Americans say the government can be trusted to do what is right…” These numbers are not motivation to join the winning side, to let our nation crumble to inequality. Instead, let these numbers be a reckoning to you, to everyone. Let these numbers be our chance to fix what we have broken, our chance to rewrite the numbers once and for all.
Tradition is something that lives in all of us, and thrives in all of us. If we let this inequality continue, our nation will be flooded with the terrible tradition that THIS is how we live, that THIS is how we operate as a nation, that THIS is what we have become. I, for one, will not support this lifestyle, nor will I support the transition down this highway to hell.
The problem is clear, we are dealing with injustice all around us through our government and our law enforcement. The solution to this problem is not always clear, nor is it always the same from person to person. I encourage anyone seeking change who are affected by this injustice, whether it be directly or indirectly, to rise up and make a change. I believe in the hopes of making this nation fair and just once again. Am I encouraging you to take up arms against our leaders? Of course not, but I am encouraging you to use your all-powerful voice to shout your feelings of wrongdoing and use your greatest gift, your mind, to propose new ways for a better tomorrow.
Find a time in your life where you’ve given up hope, whether it be a job, a goal, a person, a team, anything, and think about that feeling. Think about those ramifications, from your loss of hope. Now flash back to a time where we, as a country, lost hope. 1955. The start of the Vietnam War. Not only was our nation led into war, but our lack of faith in our own government led us to despise them, and act out accordingly. Now think of the ramifications of THAT: riots, protests, shootings, war, poverty, hopelessness, economic turmoil, you can name it.
Now ask yourself, why is this important today? Because yet again, our nation is losing faith in our governing body, but more specifically, our law enforcement. Cop killings are at the forefront of today’s news coverage, and we are not doing anything to justify it. 235 African Americans have been killed by police this year alone. Michael Brown, Eric Garner; you know their names and their story, but do you know their sacrifice? Their deaths mean the hopes of a better tomorrow, an exposure to the inequality that runs rampant in our streets. Day to day racial inequality is a catastrophe we must avoid, but a catastrophe we have let ruin our once great nation for so long. Do not let their deaths be in vain, do not let their deaths be for nothing.
We are all losing faith in this government who once sought for protection. If you think you’re alone in this fight, you’re not. “Just 13% of Americans say the government can be trusted to do what is right…” These numbers are not motivation to join the winning side, to let our nation crumble to inequality. Instead, let these numbers be a reckoning to you, to everyone. Let these numbers be our chance to fix what we have broken, our chance to rewrite the numbers once and for all.
Tradition is something that lives in all of us, and thrives in all of us. If we let this inequality continue, our nation will be flooded with the terrible tradition that THIS is how we live, that THIS is how we operate as a nation, that THIS is what we have become. I, for one, will not support this lifestyle, nor will I support the transition down this highway to hell.
The problem is clear, we are dealing with injustice all around us through our government and our law enforcement. The solution to this problem is not always clear, nor is it always the same from person to person. I encourage anyone seeking change who are affected by this injustice, whether it be directly or indirectly, to rise up and make a change. I believe in the hopes of making this nation fair and just once again. Am I encouraging you to take up arms against our leaders? Of course not, but I am encouraging you to use your all-powerful voice to shout your feelings of wrongdoing and use your greatest gift, your mind, to propose new ways for a better tomorrow.
Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, let’s keep it that way.
J.F.