Truth and Seriousness Matter

We are living in a period which has unique features of mass hysteria and denial of basic facts and truths in favor of unfounded beliefs.  The human mob is a fearful thing, ruled by emotion and engaging in irrational, ultimately self-destructive acts.  And instead of leaders who epitome calmness and thoughtfulness in regard to a problem, ours are all too happy to join the mob.

We have experienced this in regard to the epidemic and the reaction to George Floyd’s death.  The economic shutdowns were unnecessary and were an unprecedented method for dealing with an epidemic.  They were prompted by fear and a failure to rationally assess and absorb information.  Now we begin to see the same useless models and hypothetical scenarios used to justify the lockdowns after the fact.  Don’t be fooled again.  There were never going to be hundreds of millions of cases or millions of deaths in the United States.  If we don’t accept the facts and the truth resulting from those facts, that we reacted in a manner completely disproportionate to the risk, damaging everyone, while failing to protect the obviously vulnerable populations, we will make the same mistakes over and over again.  And there will be other pathogens that arise to challenge us.

Nine unarmed African-Americans were killed by the police last year, as were 19 Caucasians.  If you read details of the cases, you understand why those deaths occurred.  Excessive use of force by police happens, as it did in the George Floyd case, perpetrated by officers of all races on victims of all races.  On Memorial Day weekend 25 African-Americans were killed in Chicago by other African-Americans.  The highest number of murders on record in Chicago, but not atypical.   There has been absolutely no evidence of any kind presented that the officers involved in Mr. Floyd’s death were racist. If there was such evidence we would have seen it by now.  The research suggests no discriminatory use of deadly force by the police against African-Americans.  Yet the entire country is now fixated on “systemic racism”.   What is the bigger problem, potential police mis-use of deadly force, or the incessant slaughter of African-Americans, usually young, by other African-Americans, also usually young?  Which problem should be the priority to address, if we wish to save and protect lives?

You can make up “facts”, you can make up “truths”, but there is a reality, and you can’t avoid its inexorable judgment.  We ignore it at our continuing peril.