We Need a Reformation, Not a Revolution

Ever since the killing of George Floyd we have seen the most violent reaction in cities around the country. While the wanton destruction of private property can never be excused, it most certainly can be understood! While “thinkers” on both the right and left use this tragic death for their immediate political goals, expediency in search of power is meaningless.

These brutal deaths at the hands of policemen have occurred under Democrats and Republicans, for this latest tragedy comes from the Progressive state that gave us Humphrey, Mondale, Wellstone, Franken, Keith Ellison, Ilhan Omar, and Amy Klobuchar. There hasn’t been a Republican Mayor of Minneapolist since 1973. The last six mayors have been members of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL)! So, let us quickly dispense with the simple notion this is a Left/Right issue.

Then it must be a race issue. Well, in my mind that certainly plays a part, no reasoning human could think otherwise. But to stop one’s analysis here is to see but a most common symptom and remain blinded to the underlying disease. Those who stop their analysis at race fall victim to being used by those who seek political gain from tragedy. Here is where many want you to stop thinking. It’s a race issue and thus, Republicans must be at fault. See how stupid that sounds when you stop to actually read the words?

Then it must be the white cop, right? But what about the Black, Asian and Latino officers that stood by and did nothing? Even the DFL Mayor stated:

“Mr. Floyd died in our hands and so I see that as being complicit,” Chief Medaria Arradondo told CNN’s Sara Sidner. “Silence and inaction, you’re complicit. If there was one solitary voice that would have intervened … that’s what I would have hoped for.”

So what is this disease that has such symptoms as police brutality? Let’s look at its other symptoms and see if we can diagnose the sickness. It’s the same disease that allows Hillary Clinton to walk freely after disseminating countless classified emails, while Kristian Saucier was sentenced to a year in prison, three years of supervised release and an “other than honorable discharge” for the crime of taking pictures inside a nuclear submarine; pictures meant only to show his wife and kids what Dad did in the Navy serving his country.

It’s the same disease that allows Republican Senators who clearly profited on early inside information regarding Covid19 to skate after a brief investigation, while Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement, and two years’ probation for supposedly lying about a stock deal.

It’s the same disease that jails and tortures Bradley/Chelsea Manning and forces Edward Snowden to flee his country; while Breenan, Clapper, and Comey spy on Americans, spy on Congress, and lie with impunity.

Have you diagnosed the most malignant of public diseases, the pandemic that can truly bring down nations? To confirm our diagnosis, here is a quote by the great physician in this field:

“An injustice committed against anyone is a threat to everyone.”
Baron de Montesquieu

The pandemic I speak of is our nation’s utter rejection of the principles of law. We have allowed our leaders to demean the rule of law. We demean due process, both substantive and procedural, in order to get things done. We defile the concept of equal justice under the law as an everyday event in the halls of Congress. We use concepts such a “sovereign immunity” and “qualified immunity” to shield bureaucrats and police from justice.

You want to honor George Floyd? Read Montesquieu. Read The Declaration of Independence. Read the Constitution. Read the Federalist Papers.

This morning I woke to a local headline noting the protesters near me wanted to start a “revolution of love.” I use the phrase “reformation not revolution” in the spirit of Martin Luther. Upon reading the Bible, Luther stood back and saw that the leaders of his Church were not governing in conformity with the New Testament. He did not thereafter seek to destroy the Church, he sought to reform it; the Church, according to Luther, needed to return to its founding as laid out in the New Testament.

Likewise, we need a political Reformation! The answers were laid out over 200 years ago, it is up to us to reclaim it as our own. Justice is blind, the scales do not tip based on your skin color, your political beliefs, the office you hold, your religious beliefs, your gender, sexuality, identity, etc…Lady Justice wears the blindfold for a reason! We have ignored the rule of law for so long, it’s not even a thought to the blabbering idiots on cable television that thrive on division and controversy.

Let’s end with Montesquieu’s prognosis if we do not treat this disease:

“Liberty… is there only when there is no abuse of power.”

This disease is a malignancy to our liberty, only we can cure it.