Police Reform

I like police most of the time. I support their mission, to maintain safety, peace and order among a large and complex society. I get it that the work is hard. Often police see only the seamy side of life. That has to have an effect on them over time.


The police I have known are good and decent people. Frustrated in their jobs at times to be certain. Aren’t we all? But their jobs are in full view of all of us. When they make an error, it is very visible and has consequences for many.


Watching TV cop shows has sensitized me to the difficulties of modern day policing. And yes, politics runs rampant. It is one of the frustrations felt by police. Yet, the police are not an army of a gun toting private militia. They are a public militia and serve the purposes of society. They protect all of our freedoms – to assemble, to speak, to marry, to smile and pursue happiness, to be safe, to deter crime, and a host of other freedoms. Their job is huge.


But control and standards are necessary to protect the public from their militia. A few rotten applies within a police department can destroy public trust in a flash.


And it has. Trust is a valuable commodity that threatens the very existence of every police department. Trust must be at hand 24/7/365. It must.


To get it requires discipline and lines of authority in order to maintain accountability. This is the spinal column of the American justice system. Without it, courts, judges, jail and prison regimes and countless criminal justice professionals are without purpose. Their jobs are dead on arrival.


So, civilian control of police is a must. The city councils and mayors must have the authority and knowledge in maintaining professional policing in their communities. Police supervision and management levels must be dedicated to implementing the standards and accountability set forth by civilian authority.


Police unions play another role. They look out for fairness in employment practices related to their members. However, at no time does the power of a union trump civilian authority over the police function. Never. Political statements and lobbying in public by police union leaders must stop. They have become part of the problem in policing.


Standards, professionalism, and accountability create and maintain public trust in police departments. Everyone involved in accomplishing this is on the same team. It requires collaboration and dedication to the mission of policing.


‘Defunding Police’ is a misnomer. ‘Re-envisioning Policing’ is a better label.


We need the police. But we need to trust them, and they need to trust the public. Without that mutuality we are all lost in a militia-driven state.


Now, who will help this process along? If we are not part of the team going forward, we are forming sides that will spell disaster for us all. Politics is not a welcome component here. We all have a stake in the outcome.

Best we handle this very carefully.


July 2, 2020

July Already?

The other day it was March 21, a Saturday, and the beginning of the stay-at-home reoutine. Today is Wednesday, July 1, 2020. The pandemic raged during the ‘shutdown’ and we made ourselves busy at home. We are retired but busy. We volunteer a lot but able to do that from home via computer, Zoom, email and phone. Oh, and phone texting.


As paperwork caught up, daily routines settled in. Soon bedtimes were adjusted; 9:30 or 10 pm in place of 8:30 or 9 pm. Rising time moved from 4:30 or 5 am to 5:30 am.


Computer time spanned 5:30 am to 10 am. Shower, shave, dress and breakfast shortly thereafter. Then a nap in front of the TV. Nap usually swallowed up an hour or so. Finally, afternoon arrived and a snack lunch ensued.


Then TV binge watching with time outs for household chores and writing more blog posts. Still the afternoons dragged on until dinner. We have been sharing our dinner time with neighbor Pam for many months. We are mutually immune to each other, so we have a family dinner nearly every night. Well, that sounds fancier than it is. We cook frozen thingies or order out with delivery or curbside pickup. Pam brings a dietary pre-prepared meal. Sometimes Rocky cooks up an Italian storm and we share that with Pam.


Following dinner is the news followed by Wheel of Fortune.


That’s it. As the nation begins re-opening from pandemic precautions, we will watch results of virus infections. If stable, we will begin venturing out. But not for a while.


Still, it doesn’t seem possible that June is gone and July is here. Time went by quickly. Retirement provides a steady but modest income to keep rent, car payment and daily expenses current. We have what we need, no frills. We are happy with that. Miss family, friends and colleagues, but we connect in other ways. Eating and writing have taken up much of our time. And naps have filled in the rest!


Not a bad life. We feel the pain for friends and family that are hurting with unemployment and cabin fever. We understand the angst, but we are blessedly free of it. Words of encouragement seem cheap at times like these, but we offer them anyway.


Better times lie ahead. Unless the virus returns exponentially, we should see the new normal very soon now. Well, not quite; an effective vaccine is needed for that.


Keep your fingers crossed. And your masks on!


July 1, 2020

I Miss Going to Church

I’ll clarify that – I don’t miss church; I miss going to church.


First, church is everywhere. It is inside me and you and wherever the spirit lives. Today our church streams its worship services over Facebook, live and recorded. The ritual of church is available to us. Not the same, of course, during the pandemic. We don’t sing. We don’t mingle. We are not physically present in each other’s lives. Virtually, yes. Spiritually, also yes. Just not physically.


I miss the round table in Fellowship Hall where early birds for Sunday’s service sit and talk while stuffing bulletins, readying the sanctuary for services, and all the rest. When all is ready, we get down to jawing and laughing and just being folks. Enjoying one another’s company is what that’s about. It is a pure pleasure. In pandemic? No gathering.


I miss the services. Sitting near friends and family while focusing on the elements of the service. The music to settle jangled nerves. The prayers to center one’s mind on important matters of all time, not my own. Prayers to salve the troubles of others. Intercessions to reach out far from our own experience. Scripture readings that return to the bedrock of our value tradition to learn how basic and similar to our own they are. The sermon to translate to today the word we need to guide us toward peace and better outcomes. Action? Yes, for those who can. Fresh thought? Yes, for those who are willing.


Yes. I miss the gathering, the fellowship, the honest quest for answers in challenging times. I miss the music, the singing, too. Always a large part of my life, the music. It has always been the entry of choice to church for me. Maybe the backdoor for many, but a portal to personal introspection, learning, and realization for me.


It took a global pandemic to show me how church is its people, not a place. I still miss it though, the place with the people I have come to know and love. And the music. I miss the music in which we participate and become one.


June 30, 2020

Special Treatment

Generals, attorneys, personal pundits, supporters and flakes. As long as they prove loyal to the uncrowned king in the white house, they are spared, pardoned and commuted. They are treated to a better law than the rest of us. They cheated. They broke the law. Many even pled guilty. But now they are slipping out of confinement and sentence because the courts, the political wizards and the people without values allow this.


You and I of course are held to different standards. We also manage our own lives, pay our own taxes, raise our own kids to self-sustainability, support our charities and churches, schools and universities. We do the heavy lifting of the nation. We are the history of America. But we have no mention. We are the little people. Our backs are bowed from burden. Our bank accounts are near empty.


If scapegoats are needed, it is the little people who are anointed. They fill the prisons. They sweep the streets, paint the light posts, serve as cashiers at grocery stores and gas stations. They are the folks we rely on to do the work of society and keep it open even in pandemics.


The rich and infamous get away scot free. Evidently, they feel all is for them and no one else.


If this description is at all correct, America has a problem. The system of checks and balances in our governance system provided by the US Constitution, is being illtreated and unused. Evidently the constitution is null and void. The courts have said so. And congress does nothing to offset the calumny.


A clear and present danger has come and remains in place. We do nothing about it. Our representatives elected to work in our stead do nothing. The system is torn down and serves only the privileged. White, black, brown or whatever, they don’t matter. Only if you have connections and money. Power. That’s the coin of the realm today.


We have come far from our starting point.


Please tell me what I’ve written here is not so. Tell me things are better than this. Tell me this nightmare will be over soon. Please.


June 29, 2020

Ban Ammo?

Just a thought. America is rapidly approaching one gun for every person. That would be 330 million guns.


We know guns are used in many robberies, assaults and killings. They are tools of violence. That’s not what they were meant for; no, they were meant to protect safety and peace among those who could not protect themselves from stronger attackers.


The story of guns in America, however, is one of violence. Handguns, especially, are the center of the story. Long guns – rifles – are meant for hunting game to eat. Hunting remains a large sport and supports rifle sales. That’s OK by me. Sport yes; violence against others, no.


So, what about the title questioning ammunition?


I had a friend who recently died at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. His position on guns bounced between two actions. First was buy back every gun and destroy them. The second was controlling the sale and manufacture of ammunition.


His point was logical. If the gun buyback program doesn’t work to cut gun deaths by half each year, then restrict ammo sales. Make it so costly that gun use becomes prohibitive. Keep it loaded for immediate protection, but not for frequent use.


I think we should consider both of these programs. We don’t need vigilante justice in our nation. We don’t need runaway handgun violence. We need to do something about that.


The whole world is watching America act stupid on guns. Isn’t it time to end this tragedy?


June 28, 2020

Future of Covid

Hmm. COVID and its pathway through the global population. Arc of infection through the USA. Local infection rates and death. Infection patterns and spread. How selective is the virus for specific age groups, ethnicities, regions?


We don’t know a lot about the virus. We are learning, but don’t know everything. We experiment with methods to slow the infection rate. We try different treatment methods, too, including different meds, positions in bed, equipment and therapies. Treatments vary in degrees depending on patient age and their collection of health issues.


Avoiding the virus altogether has been a work in progress. We know distancing works. We know open air spaces help. We know face masks work. Even types of face masks have been tested for effectiveness. Washing hands frequently, not touching our face, and other small tips have lessened infection rates.


We even learned these avoidance methods serve two beneficiaries: the self and those nearby.


This is a community disease because it spreads among us. Therefore, it requires community action to lessen the disease’s impact and spread.


Wearing face masks work. Washing hands works. Distancing works. You and I must do these things. Together we protect ourselves and others. We protect the community.


Straightforward and factually true. The science says so. Doctors say so. Logic supports this.


It is up to us to make it work. Together in Illinois we have seen this work. Don’t ease up yet. COVID has a future.


We don’t understand what that future is. It may produce resurgence infections. It may be a repeat virus for the same patients. It may weaken infected patients years later with other diseases and organ failures. No one knows.


We watch other states and regions. Their experiences indicate lax actions and public policy increased vulnerability to infection. Resurgent infection patterns have occurred. These are areas where masks, distancing and hand washing were not done routinely. They are paying the price now.


Because of that, travel to those regions is not advised. Interaction with people who have traveled to those regions is not advised. Our future with this disease relies on our sticking with what we know works.


Don’t give up now. Keep up your guard. The life or health you protect may be your own. Most probably it will be the life of another. Both you and the other are important. It is what comprises community.


Community rules!


June 27, 2020

Free Speech

As long as the speech is peaceful and not inciting violence, the message should be allowed unfettered. Burning a flag, any flag, is speech. The courts ruled on this matter long ago. Burning the American flag is not an illegal act; it is speech.


Burning the confederate flag is also free speech. And other banners that are emblematic of a political commitment, value judgment, whatever. The Gay Flag is such a banner. So are many others.

Incinerating a symbol may cause emotional reaction. Burning the symbol is emotional. The two emotions – acts and reactions – are natural. Not helpful except for the individual involved. Venting.

That’s it. We have the right to do so in America.


Prayer is the same thing. Speech done privately where and whenever desired. It should be done safely (closing one’s eyes for prayer while driving a car is an example to avoid). Otherwise, do your thing. No one else needs to bother with it. It is a personal choice. No one has banned it. They cannot do so. Just don’t require me to do it because you tell me to, or want me to.


Social media is a platform for free speech. Reacting to that speech is OK as well. It should be respectful and logical. If it isn’t, it will not be read, heeded, attended to. If it is nasty and uncivil, reactions may be expected, but best to simply ignore the ignorance of the ‘speaker.’


Just because someone says something on social media is not cause for you to react in kind. You may do so, but it is likely not a good thing. I’ve witnessed many damaged family relationships because of this. Some people must have the last word. Their opinion is the most important. You know what I mean. Those same folks have problems you and I cannot solve.


Understanding complex issues is a challenge. Just because you don’t understand all the ins and outs of the issue, however, does not give you credibility to oppose conclusions. That only demonstrates your ignorance. For example, wearing masks works during the COVID pandemic according to science. Not wearing masks during the pandemic spreads the disease. This is not a political issue. No one is telling you to give up your personal freedom. They are asking you to do the responsible thing and protect yourself and others. Not a comfortable thing. I don’t like wearing masks. But I do.


I just had to get these thoughts out of my head. Thanks for allowing my therapy!


June 26, 2020