If you have not caught on by now that I have great admiration for Joe Cadillic, you’ve been asleep. I’ve never met Joe in person or seen him, and we could pass each other on the street without knowing each other, but in Joe, I recognize a kindred spirit and someone, who, like me, remembers the dream and hope for America…. a dream that has been increasingly under attack.
Today, Joe blogged about the past 13 years and the changes he has observed. Here are just a few snippets from his post:
The driving force behind my blogging is for an America I once knew…a pre-9/11 America. A country that did not treat everyone like a suspected criminal or terrorist in the making.
Well, except that things weren’t quite so rosy. Non-whites were viewed as criminals until proven innocent, and by way too many officers in the NYPD. And as someone who lived through the civil rights movement and anti-war movement of the 60’s and 70’s, I know things weren’t always equal for all. But even when they assassinated those who had a dream for our country or who took a stand for human rights and civil rights by getting into “good trouble,” we had some hope for America.
A country that once treated law enforcement as a public calling, now treats police officers like heroes for shooting, tasing, and beating people of color on a scale that makes the U.N. and Human Rights Watch condemn us. (Click here to see the U.N. resolution and here to see Human Rights Watch resolution.)
And would we even have that condemnation now if it were not for body cams showing the world what minorities have claimed for decades? I find myself gagging on the words, but this surveillance tool may have helped change the tide in some respects.
A country driven by fear is a country destined to lose its civil rights. A country spoon-fed “if it bleeds, it leads” news stories about COVID-19, is country that has lost its moral compass and is being lead by mainstream media fear-mongering. (To learn more click here.)
What Joe doesn’t touch on in this particular post is the threat to self-determination posed by increasingly restrictive abortion laws. Women’s rights are going *backwards* and may be further eroded by the Supreme Court.
How can we claim America is the “land of the free” when women are not free to make choices about their own bodies and their own lives? How can we claim America is “the home of the brave” when we disrespect the brave police and guardsmen who defended our national’s capitol against an insurrection by refusing to even investigate the insurrection?
Our country is going backwards. The GOP has lost its way and is pandering to values that do not represent America and to an egomaniac who belongs in prison for inciting an attack on our democracy and government. And while some members of Congress are finally speaking up to protest Israel’s inhumane treatment and slaughter of Palestinians, not enough are. Saying Israel has a right to exist does not require one to endorse all of its actions, just like believing in unconditional love doesn’t mean you have to put up with really unethical or immoral behavior.
But I meander….
Read Joe’s whole post. I do not always agree with Joe completely on issues, but I think it’s fair to say we genuinely respect each other and value each other’s volunteer efforts to increase public awareness of issues.
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