Repeatedly we as a society are awakened to the injustices inherent in our societal institutions and systems: education, employment, financing, housing, criminal justice (law enforcement, the courts, jails and prisons), economic opportunity and others. Sadly, too many of our elected officials are either “slow learners” or just self-servingly disinterested in addressing the core of the problem.
Racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, and antisemitism are eating away at us. What we need is leadership and political will to bring about change. Perhaps the best “litmus test” in evaluating a candidate is her/his resolve to calibrate an agenda that synthesizes the many elements that require real reform.
You see, nearly all of our social and economic problems are linked to this crisis. We must value our citizenry and foreign nationals in residence here. It is not only morally mandated. It is to the benefit of our nation’s overall welfare, and even solvency, to provide quality education, full-scope health care, economic opportunity and a sense of compassionate brotherhood to all our people. We, the people, are our greatest asset. Without investing in us our “experiment in democracy” could rapidly dissolve into a system that we once believed “could never happen here.”