Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.
It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.
America’s greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America — from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr. — are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation’s disturbing bigotry and exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America's need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised.
That is exactly where we now stand. Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all.
This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way — the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way.
I never thought I would respect this guy
I never thought I would respect this guy
Statement of President George W. Bush:
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
I never thought I would respect this guy
Amazing.
George Dubya Bush -- from White House buffoon, to elder statesmen.
There's always someone worse who will make you look better.
George Dubya Bush -- from White House buffoon, to elder statesmen.
There's always someone worse who will make you look better.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
Especially since the current imbecile-in-chief has set the bar so low.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
Moe Howard would be an improvement compared to Trump.
- Bicycle Bill
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Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
Larry's brother Darryl, or his other brother Darryl (from 'Newhart') would be an improvement on Trump.
At least they knew enough to keep their mouths shut.
-"BB"-
Yes, I suppose I could agree with you ... but then we'd both be wrong, wouldn't we?
- MajGenl.Meade
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Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
Part of the problem is that he's set the bar so low. The other part is that he's set the Barr so high
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
I wonder who wrote that for him.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: I never thought I would respect this guy
Badum-tisssssMajGenl.Meade wrote: ↑Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:15 amPart of the problem is that he's set the bar so low. The other part is that he's set the Barr so high