Democrats in Congress acknowledge their history of racism.
As I watched Nancy Pelosi and her crew at their press conference this morning touting the introduction of their bill to reform police action in our country I was amazed at their refusal to acknowledge their own roles in creating and promoting the exact social and policing behavior they now bemoan. I guess they believe that Americans are too stupid to see the oxymoronic realities of their actions. Perhaps we are, at this moment, but if we take some time to think it through it will become obvious that this is just another political tactic, a posturing not unlike the African themed scarves draped around their necks. It’s all about theater.
Before I go on I want to make it clear that I believe that change needs to occur. I believe that injustice has been leveled disproportionately upon our citizens of color; and that needs to change. My point here is not to question the validity of the need for change, but rather to question pandering and posturing of those now trumpeting their being the champions of that change. They are the same ones who put us in this situation!
Think about this. According to Nancy and her crew our country is in a horrible place of injustice and inequality for our black citizens. (Something I don’t disagree with.) But think about who is giving that message. Nancy Pelosi was elected to the House of Representatives in 1987…33 years ago. Chuck Schumer was elected to the House in 1980, and won his Senate seat in 1998. That’s a total of 50 years in Congress. There are obviously more people than just these two involved here, but as leaders and power-brokers over most of the last half century I ask what, if anything, did they achieve in terms of social justice for citizens of color. At times during their tenures the Democrats have held power in the House, Senate, Presidency or all three at one time. If we just look back at the last 4 Presidencies (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump) we see that in those 28 years, the Democrats had 16 and the Republicans 12. That tells us that just short of 60% of the time Democrats had the power to deliver change. So what is it that Nancy and Chuck actually accomplished over their many years? How is it that they have held seats of power for such a long time and done so little to fix this horrific bias that exists within our society? Were they asleep at the wheel, or was because they simply did not make it a priority? Talking the talk, but forgetting about walking the walk.
Anyone who takes a moment to think this through will realize where responsibility actually lies. The reality of our circumstances is a reflection of the decisions, actions and achievements (or lack thereof) of the “leaders” over the preceding decades who got us to this point. It is easy for them to blame “systemic racial bias” on the American people, but if that is where we are that is where they have taken us. We did not get here because Americans, of any color, are inherently evil people. We did not get here because police officers, of any color, are inherently evil people. We got here because our elected representatives allowed, and in deed directly participated in our country arriving at this critical situation. And now they want to fix it? Really? What happened to all of the other promised fixes? Why would we trust them to actually get this done? Very good questions we should all be asking.
One thing I can tell you for sure is that if the winds of public opinion swing back towards a cry for reinstatement of the rules of law and order and need for increasing policing capacity to assure that happens, they will switch their faces and claim to be championing that cause as well. I know that because they have done so repeatedly throughout their careers. Nancy, Chuck, Joe and Barrack have all cried for more police to control crime. And all of a sudden their on the other side of that equation? That only shows that they go wherever the votes needed to remain in their seat of power demand that they go. For them it is politics, not principles that determine their path, and thus our destination.
For anyone who read this far and thinks I am just another conservative promoting faultless Republicans, that is not the case. I hold them responsible as well. What prompted this writing was the absurdity of the imagery and language of Nancy and crew presenting their bill. These are the same people who have been in charge for decades, telling us what a horrible job they have done over those decades of their leadership; bringing us to this point of crisis. Think about that! How can you so consistently fail to get a job done and still claim to be the solution? That sort of disconnect could only exist in the world of politics. The real world would never allow for it.
Think….then vote smart!!!!
