Most of us would agree, American cities must do a better job of securing public safety, especially regarding systemic racism and the use of excessive force by our local police. We hear the chant from demonstrators across the nation for defunding police departments. But I doubt they want criminals taking over their streets. Instead, they want their local constabulary to address criminal behavior in their community, rather than deliver the social services that social workers and community health professionals are better trained to provide. And, most especially, they want actual police work done humanely by better trained, closely monitored, and fully accountable officers. Unleashing tear gas and brutalizing peaceful protestors cannot be the actions of any police force trained and dedicated to public safety. Legal loopholes, like qualified immunity or complicit relationships with politicians or State attorneys must be legally and structurally eliminated. Otherwise, how can we restore/maintain integrity in our local police departments and trusts in the communities they support.

Changing policing in America will fall mainly upon local governments, though the Federal Government can be more supportive. Consent decrees and Federally sponsored data collection efforts can aid the States in their efforts to address issues like excessive force and racial profiling. But the current Administration ended these efforts immediately upon taking office in January of 2017. And the President’s Attorney General shows no interest in police reform. Currently, Congress is proposing legislation that would, among other things, outlaw choking as an appropriate means of police restraint and restrict the use of force in “no-knock” entries. But the Administration and the Republican-controlled Senate have so far refused to consider these proposals. Instead, the President has advocated for harsher policing. Recently, he ordered an odd mixture of prison riot police, ICE officers, park police, and the National Guard to attack a peaceful demonstration so that he could stage an unimpeded political stunt, aka, photo op.

Unbelievably, he even ordered combat troops to Washington D.C. to “control” demonstrations. And, yes, if you are wondering, this action is an abuse of power and a violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights. Thankfully, many military officers, including the past four Generals of the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed alarm at the President’s actions. These troops, fortunately, were not used and were quietly ordered back to their bases. As one four star general and former Secretary of Defense in the current Administration stated, the President was using the Nazis’ playbook of “divide and conquer.” Many other military leaders agreed, stating that the President would not be justified in invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to engage the US military in the suppression of overwhelmingly peaceful and lawful protests. Such action violates the concept of the bill of rights as outlined in the US Constitution. Donald Trump, however, characterizes himself as “the law and order” President opposed to criminal arsonists, looters, and miscreants. Ironically, he associates hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors with a few bad actors and provocateurs. In his own words, he correlates “looting and shooting” thereby justifying an indiscriminate response to all protestors in lieu of the actual instigators. He even tweets a Russian propaganda conspiracy that implicates the “left” which he identifies with his political opponents. With this phony conspiracy, he attempts to justify his Administration’s suppression of peaceful protests. But, contrary to his purpose, his actions merely establish him as an instigator of violence.

Today, George Floyd was laid to rest, next to his departed mother—the woman he called out in his last moments of life. Besides the protest marches in all our 50 States, there is one image I cannot remove from my mind. It is the expression on the face of Floyd’s murderer as he slowly crushed the life out of his victim’s body. He could not have appeared more nonchalant—as if he were casually stomping out a roach. I have seen that face before. And it chills my blood still.

In combat, soldiers face death in a kill or be killed situation. For even the most battle-tested warrior, the killing field presents an intense and emotional experience that persists in memory or nightmares for the rest of his/her life. For any person of conscience, the experience of taking another person’s life—however justified as self-defense or the preservation of life and liberty for others—leaves one with feelings of remorse. But this experience may not be shared by a soldier who napalms a village of defenseless civilians or who mistreats a helpless prisoner of war. That soldier may not consider the “gook” a fellow human. He has no conscience! For he cannot recognize humanity in the enemy. We have seen his like in every war—whether it is “japs,” “ragheads,” or “gooks” he dehumanizes—he justifies his superiority by subjugating, even killing others “not like him.” From the story of the Good Samaritan to the history of tribal warfare between and within nations and civilizations, we have witnessed “man’s inhumanity to man.” Thankfully, there are few times we confront this dark image of our species in the face of a soulless individual. I described such a person in my first novel (“A Culpable Innocence” ˟). His face still haunts me. I saw his likeness in Floyd’s murderer. And it still chills my blood.

There are many reasons why soldiers and police volunteer to “serve and protect.” Killing the innocent or helpless cannot and must not be one of those reasons.

Many thousand protestors have reacted as I have. They see the common humanity we all share trampled not just by a few bad cops, but by systemic racism. The Africans that were kidnapped and sold into slavery 401 years ago became a millstone around the neck of America’s conscience, strangling the life out of our founding ideals. “All men are created equal,” if not born into slavery. We all have “inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” if not descended from slaves or share their skin color. But the protestors are not merely demanding justice for Floyd’s murders, but for themselves. They are speaking for the conscience of America. In the most diverse nation in history, Americans must realize our common purpose “to form a more perfect union,” else lose the promise of our founding. And that promise is America’s soul.

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˟In case of interest, my first novel is still available in paperback. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618563246/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vamf_taft_p1_i0