OPINION: Americans must unite with integrity in the face of our common enemies to make this “a more perfect union”
Contributed
December 16, 2022
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – Americans must unite in the face of unprecedented challenges of our time. Rising crime rates and a growing disrespect for authority is like a plague on our society.
To fight this “madness” requires a people with a sense of integrity in the face of our common enemies to make this “a more perfect union”.
The unity of America depends on the unity of our leaders. When we look at the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States it contains the phrase ” … a more perfect union”.
The Preamble to the Constitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Several parts of the Preamble stands out. “… in Order to form a more perfect Union” for example. Our Founding Fathers understood the value of that phrase.
America demands integrity from leaders
From the beginning of the Union there were those who fought against the country from the inside. A case in point was Benedict Arnold (1740-1801). He distinguished himself by acts that demonstrated intelligence and bravery. Because of those qualities he was appointed as an American military officer during the Revolutionary War.
Arnold fought with distinction for the new American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780.
Even though he was born in Connecticut, he had a fatal personal flaw. He was really a British spy and a traitor to his country. He was an ongoing threat to the fledgling democracy while hiding in plain sight among loyal soldiers. What happened?
Benedict Arnold: An enemy within!
The future President of the United States, General George Washington, had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of the fort at West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780.
How was the plot discovered? His partner in crime, British major John André, was traveling on a mission to complete the betrayal when he was found to have in his possession a written agreement to surrender the fort to the British. British major John André was hanged for his crimes.
After being discovered, Arnold escaped and fled to the British lines and back to England. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion of the British army.
He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.
What’s the lesson here?
Today, there are people in positions of leadership who have amassed a great following who have a similar fatal flaw. They are traitors fighting against the country from within, while hiding among loyal Americans and speaking loud about their devotion to America.
Many of these people are very sincere and are desirous of change so they “follow the leader” and often repeat verbatim the messaging of the “leader”. What happened them? Many of these people have been duped by “fake leaders” into taking matters into their own hands.
Take the case of three Michigan men who were sentenced to prison for their part in the plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan. It was simply disheartening to hear them speak of their regret for their criminal actions and their apology to the court.
Being Black is not a crime
When you turn to the “police” for help and they are caught on tape burglarizing homes, searching for “goodies”, without warrants, while owners are away, planting false evidence, terrorizing citizens, and even killing Black people in their own homes or on traffic stops – betrays community trust.
The 2019 death of Atatiana Jefferson
For example, Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, 38, fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home in 2019. The same jury that convicted him of manslaughter Thursday, December 15, 2022, also determined the sentence — 11 years, 10 months and 12 days.
The 2020 death of Breonna Taylor
Lastly, the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, who was fatally shot by six bullets in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment on March 13, 2020.
At least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations that later proved to be false and was done by a false warrant they knew was wrong but they went ahead with the police raid.
Three Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove—were involved in the shooting.
On August 4, 2022, Brett Hankison and the three other officers were federally charged with violating Taylor’s civil rights, unlawful conspiracy, obstruction, and unconstitutional use of force.
The 2020 murder of George Floyd
Another example is Derek Chauvin and three other Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers who were called to investigate the use of a counterfeit $20 bill.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Two other police officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd.
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street. That’s right, the murder occurred on a city street, in front of a corner store, in broad daylight in front of children.
Lane had also pointed a gun at Floyd’s head prior to Floyd being put in handcuffs. A fourth police officer, Tou Thao, prevented bystanders from intervening. All four officers faced federal civil rights charges. All four ex-officers were given long federal and state prison terms.
Law enforcement is always on our side!
In each of these cases, both members of law enforcement and the public were deeply hurt by the illegal actions of these officers. Their actions DO NOT represent the caring, committed, and community-supported officers in the United States’ local communities.
The vast majority of members of local, state, and federal law enforcement genuinely uphold the rule of law and would NEVER betray the trust of their community. The illegal actions of these ex-officers genuinely hurts the positive spirit and trust of local communities. Those actions DO NOT promote trust.
The 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery
The murder of Ahmaud Arbery of Brunswick, Georgia was just one of a long line of murders of African American men at the hand of people who didn’t understand or did not want to understand America is a free country where it is not illegal to jog down the street.
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
Erroneously assuming he was a burglar, a criminal, three white men pursued Arbery in their trucks for several minutes, using the vehicles to block his path as he tried to run away. Two of the men, Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, were armed in one vehicle.
The McMichael’s neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, was in another vehicle. After overtaking Arbery, Travis McMichael exited his truck and assaulted Arbery with a shotgun. As Arbery attempted to defend himself, Travis McMichael fatally shot him.
William Bryan recorded this confrontation and Arbery’s murder on his cell phone for “Posterity”. Unfortunately, for their lack of regard for Arbery’s right to co-exist in their community, all three will live out their days in a place where people like them should be, for “Posterity”.
Even worst, if that’s possible, was to hear a police officer in full uniform show sympathy to the murderer “for what you’ve (the murderer) gone through”, the family said. What about the pain and suffering the family is going through?
In the end, law enforcement were able to sift through the mountain of evidence and present their case to a jury. Americans must unite with integrity, without prejudging, in the face of our common enemies to make this “a more perfect union”.
Unlike Benedict Arnold, who proved he was a traitor, being a “person of color” is not a reason to label them as traitors or criminal and then set out on a course to prove it with unjust extrajudicial acts followed by self-justifying punishment. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
White senior citizen: Is not a criminal!
Local police are on the front line in both the prevention of crime and coupling that crime fighting spirit with investigating crime always go a long way in making our communities safer. When an obsession with “power” bubbles to the top of their mind it can get very ugly.
The case of Austin Hopp, a former officer with the Loveland, Colorado Police Department, appeared in a Larimer County court after he pleaded guilty to charges related to the June 26, 2020, arrest of Karen Garner is a case in point.
Now ex-officer Austin Hopp, who physically injured an elderly Colorado woman name Karen Garner who has dementia during arrest for “retail theft”, who when confronted, gave the items back to the loss prevention team and exited the store, is sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Former Loveland police Officer Daria Jalali, who was on-scene in support of Austin Hopp, was in a Fort Collins court room to get her sentence. She was reprimanded for about 15 minutes by State District Judge Michelle Brinegar for her failure to protect Ms Garner during what has been described as a brutal assault.
Daria Jalali, who was in court and personally addressed the court, pleaded guilty for her failure to intervene in the violent arrest of 73-year-old Karen Garner. She was sentenced to 45 days in jail, three years of probation, and community service.
Addressing the media outside of the courtroom, one of Ms Garner’s relatives described the actions of on-scene Jalali in one word, “failure”. Adding, “She failed!”
A reporter from Denver7 quoted family members as saying they will continue to speak to police departments about what happened to Ms Garner because they do not want this to happen to anyone else.
A federal lawsuit said police slammed Garner, who was 73 at the time, to the ground and hogtied her.
State District Judge Michelle Brinegar said Hopp used his “position of power and authority to show off his toughness, disregard any sense of humanity, displayed an alarming degree of criminal thinking and caused a great deal of harm and trauma.”
“This case is not about a mistake,” she said before she handed down the sentence. “I do think you are sorry, but I don’t think you get it.”
Should we expect more from those with “police powers”?
Yes! America depends on people with “police power” to unite not destroy the lives of its citizens. To make this “a more perfect union” requires living up to the trust the badge they carry stands for and not betray the trust entrusted to them.
Those who misuse the power granted them will ultimately have to answer for those actions. The message to citizens in our communities is – we have to support the efforts of law enforcement to enforce the rule of law.
Law enforcement is on the way!
People who complain of not getting the help they need when they need it have to look at the big picture. Your problem may seem huge to you, however, America’s law enforcement community is also facing enormous issues that are in need of urgent attention ‘right now’. There are many pressing cases all across the country.
For example, there are hundreds of capital rioters from January 6, 2021 that are wanted by federal authorities for their role in attacking the capital. These individuals are on-the-run everyday. One man even flew to Belarus to hide out.
There are violent street gangs operating in many areas of the country. There are people wanted for murder and hit and run murderers on the loose. Plus, there are many unsolved cases being worked on everyday by law enforcement.
Pursuing these violent criminals are a real priority. So your website hackers are a priority but there may not be any threat against your person.
Another matter worth addressing is even though you may not have spoken personally, does not mean nobody is watching out for you. Most detective work is done behind the scene out of public view. Therefore, patience is required as your case unfolds.
Rather than complaining about the lack of police officers in your community, why not join the fight against serial criminals, protecting your community by joining the fight against lawbreakers. Contact your local law enforcement agency and let them know you want to be a police officer.
These men and women should be applauded for their work on behalf of the American people. We should all be grateful for the help we get even though we may not understand everything happening behind the scene. Be confident local, state, and federal law enforcement is on your side!
“Our common enemies are not us!”
Our common enemies are people who prove they are our enemies, FIRST! When people are terrorized by members of law enforcement that only creates new enemies. When interviewed by a reporter, a 15 year old teenager lamented why he was so angry. Trembling all over he said, “The police murdered my dad!”
Why? He said the police later found out it was mistaken identity. Local government gave his family money, plenty of money, but they could not bring his dad back. He was still in tears years later. Out of the mouth of this child came the words, “Our common enemies are not us!”
Our real common enemies do exist!
America is a young prosperous nation with abundant resources. There are countries that have been around for thousands of years. Most of those nations view us a model of good governance. Unlike some countries who execute its citizens over a dress code violation, America is a global model to follow.
Why do people want to come to America. Why sail across shark infested waters to get to our shores. Why walk 2,000 miles one way to get to America.
There are many reasons. Some for economic opportunities. Others want to unite with their families. Some see America as a land of opportunity. Some want a more stable life. Many are desirous of a life without fear. A life free of terror may motivate others. And some simply want to “taste America’s freedom”.
Regardless of the reasons, those of us who are Americans should unite with integrity in the face of our common enemies who are jealous of our democracy and want to take our place as the world leader in business and economic prosperity. We should make this “a more perfect union” in the face of our enemies.
When we see many of these appalling acts that only highlight the fragility of our Union, we should all unite in the face of nations who want to destroy us, whose “paid actors” or agents walk among us, who work with us, who share dinner at the table with us, whose bias and prejudice destroys us.
America is a young nation compared to many other countries. But we are stronger together than if we stand apart. America will be here long after we are all gone. But while we are here let’s help fulfill the dreams of the Founding Fathers, let’s “build a more perfect union”.
The history of America is a story of its diverse population, their sacrifices, their families, and their devotion to this great country.
People of all ages, from all communities, social, economic, and various backgrounds have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of this great country. They’ve fought and died in defense of America.
Today, millions of people of color, our fellow citizens, are actively working to support the efforts to build “a more perfect union.”
#GoldOverBlack
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