The Worship Wars

The term ‘worship’ is not listed as one of the seven deadly sins of Christian lore. But it probably should be.  It is also not one of the seven virtues – which is promising.

Worship has connotations beyond a Sunday church service. Cults worship leaders; religious orders worship gods, prophets and supernatural deities; cultures can worship monuments, flags, the pledge of allegiance, sports heroes, a national anthem,… you name it – we humans will figure out some way to make it something worth ‘worshiping’.

The terms ‘worship’ and ‘faith’ are often used together, if not interchangeably, but they are not interchangeable. You can have faith that something is going to happen without worshiping the result. You cannot worship anything without faith in its infallibility. To me, that is one of the deadliest sins.

Today in America there is widespread destruction due to civil unrest. Destruction of what some people, and entire cultures, worship.  Confederate flags, monuments and memories are challenged. The U.S. flag and monuments to founders are being challenged.  Monuments to explorers, conquers and empire builders are being challenged.

The current President (worshiped by many) wants a mandatory 10 year sentence for anyone caught defacing or damaging a monument (worshiped by many) or desecrating the American flag (worshiped by many).  Young people, many teenagers, with a can of spray paint, will not be sentenced to clean, repair or pay for restorations, they will be sent to federal prison. Where, I am told, they worship teenagers.

As a military veteran I thought I was serving my country for a different purpose. I was serving to protect the Rule of Law and the right to dissent; the right to assemble; the right to burn a flag (if I owned it, of course).

While I agree that civil destruction of public or private property is NOT one of the rights I fought for, I can see where 400 years of systemic racism can boil over into the destruction of all things worshiped by my oppressors. When they react with more oppressive tactics – like a 10 year sentence – it justifies the unrest all that much more.  

It also shows the white right will never learn – because they never listen. They only worship.

Our Common Purpose

Two years ago, the 240-year-old American Academy of Arts and Sciences created a bipartisan commission to analyze the state of American democracy. The group [Our Common Purpose] is now issuing a report detailing 31 recommendations for how to strengthen it.  Read the summary here: https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/report/section/3

Several takeaways from the report give me hope that we are on the right path.

• Ranked-choice voting for House of Representatives. In other words – you can rank candidates in the order you approve of their polices and representation of your interests - regardless of party affiliation. The top ‘n’ candidates all go to congress. This also eliminates the ‘winner-take-all’ model that can leave as much as 50% of a district without symbolic representation.
• Congressional districts defined by the citizens themselves, rather than politicians and courts. Independent citizen redistricting commissions that are federally funded would ensure all constituents have a voice in representation.
• Establish eighteen-year terms for Supreme Court justices with appointments staggered such that one nomination comes up during each term of Congress. No more ‘loading the court’ in one election cycle.
• Amend the Constitution to authorize the regulation of election contributions and spending to eliminate undue influence of money in our political system. This is a BIG deal. It is a recommendation, in essence, to overrule the ‘Citizens United’ Supreme Court decision that allows corporations undue financial influence in elections.
• Automatic voter registration. Yea! I often wondered how the IRS new exactly who and where you were and what you owed no matter where you moved or how often you changed jobs. But yet we will send voter mail-in ballots to hundreds of long gone or dead ‘voters’.  Let’s use the same system – one Social Security # one vote – no matter where you are.
• Mandatory voting.  Yes – just like Jury Duty – it’s a required responsibility for all ‘citizens’. You can vote for ‘none of the above’ – but you must vote. If you do not vote you pay higher taxes than those that do (or a fine - I like the tax idea myself).  Love It!
• Turn Veterans Day into a national election day.  Love this too. What better way to honor veterans than to exercise the basic rights they fought for! Not to mention election day should have always been a federal holiday. Having it on a workday makes it extremely hard for the middle & lower class citizens to take off work, manage day care, commute to polling stations, etc. Of course, the entitled among us had no intention of making it easy for the rest of us.

There is much more to this than these seven points, so I hope everyone takes the time to review it in detail. And I sincerely hope our congressional leadership gives these proposals weight.

I see two formidable omissions from this report, however.

1. No mention of congressional term limits.
2. No mention of tax reform.

Now, I understand the need to focus on what is ‘possible’ with such a report, but I’m dismayed that two of the most corrupting policies in American politics were not addressed. 

On Term Limits see my post: Terms & Conditions

On Tax Reform see my post: Taxing Caesar

Let's make We The People really MEAN something!

George Floyd

In Minneapolis, Minnesota at around 8:35 PM on May 25, 2020, videos recorded the death of a petty theft suspect at the hands of police officers. The victim was a 46 year old black man, George Floyd. Civil unrest ensued on a global scale.

Persecution and abuse of non-white suspects at the hands of predominately white law enforcement has an ugly history in the US. Successes of black leaders from Martin Luther King to President Barack Obama, have had little effect on the racist undertow of white privilege.

There is, however, one ‘privilege’ white America still has. It is only white America that can end this plague of unjust and bigoted law enforcement.  We need to recruit and train law enforcement officers as examples of justice – not examples of authority.

The militarization of local police is seen as one of the causes. But most of the military weapons and training are in direct response to the availability, and frequent use, of military style weapons by the general public. You can write a thank you letter to the NRA.

Militarization, in and of itself, leads to an authoritarian and dominating command structure. A structure that is essential in the military – but can be disastrous in local law enforcement. The mentality of militarization has much more to do with the problem than military equipment and training.
 

The threats that law enforcement face vary and range from simple human emotions to outright assassination.  It is always prudent to prepare for the worst; a fully armed public can pose the worst scenarios.  I expect further militarization of law enforcement is inevitable as long a gun laws are as liberal as they are today.  However, some of the highest profile police misconduct came not from the use of military weapons - but from physical abuse (choking, beatings, etc.). A mentality of 'authority'.

I see several possible approaches in cities and states that employ 25 or more officers:

1. Police training that emphasizes being purveyors of justice - not dispensers of justice. This includes: 
• Learning to be a shield more often than a sword; 
• Staying in top physical condition and becoming experts in martial arts;
• Applying lethal force only when other means have failed. 
2. Mandatory body cameras and 360 degree vehicle cameras:
• Recordings sent immediately to the cloud - not held in the field. 
• These cameras cannot be turned off or deactivated. 
• Loss of signal means the officer (or vehicle) is recalled immediately.
3. Today, camera footage is only reviewed when an incident is reported. Thus, aggressive tendencies can go unnoticed until it's too late. 
• All camera footage should be reviewed - possibly by AI programs - to look for excessive force, questionable actions or language on part of officers. 
• Having a recording of every license plate, every person's face, every street corner,... - every day for every officer - could be a trove of investigative data later on.
4. Removal of officers that show tendencies to use undue force or react with violence BEFORE they are instrumental in an incident. 
• If reports are correct - this policy alone would have saved George Floyd's life.
5. Lastly, and more to the point on #4 above, we need to overhaul and give greater responsibility and accountability to Police Unions. 
• Unions should preserve the integrity of the profession, not promote immunity of individuals. 
• It would be a fine day when Internal Affairs is all but eliminated due to the effectiveness of the Union.

Technology is a tool. How we use it is the key. Technology that links every police officer with a permanent record may be objectionable by some rank and file. But if you START a new police officer recruit under this policy, they will learn to adjust and adapt. If they are told that every working hour of their police career will be part of a training video - they will adapt - and act accordingly.

We will have a much more professional and accountable police force for the time, effort and money needed.  The federal government should lead and provide resources for such a process.

You have ideas or experiences? Please share.