Millions of children stand in their school each morning with their hand over their heart reciting the pledge to the flag. They finish with the following line, “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Right now the people of our country are not living by these words, nor have we lived by them for a while now. The riots in Charlotte are a representation of a torn nation that has simply turned to hate.
Our country is trying to fight a battle between the police force and black communities. So far, we are all losing terribly. Yet another black man, Keith Lamont Scott, was shot and killed by police. His brother reports to the media that all white people are “devils”. Several graphic videos were released by the media, including one of a white male being beaten and dragged by rioters. An unidentified civilian was shot by another civilian during the riots and died shortly after being put on life support. At this point in time we are all in a battle against each other. There is no “good guy” in this scenario simply because we are living in a country that is being fueled by hate and anger. We are not living as one nation, we are divisible, and there is absolutely no liberty and no justice for all.
It is about time we figure out how to end bad relations between the police force and communities. This issue is not just something that has recently appeared, but has actually been around for decades. Police brutality can be traced back to Rodney King who was beaten by the LA Police Department back in the 1990s. It can be traced back to 2006 when Sean Bell was shot 42 times and killed by police the morning before his own wedding. This is clearly not an issue that can be solved overnight. We cannot continue to wait around to see justice for others and justice for ourselves. It won't be easy and it will take time, but it's about time we find balance.
