So my birthday is tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to enjoy the next three days off work, relaxing with family and friends. I wanted to jot down some thoughts about today, this year, this birthday, and what it means for me, and consequently for all.
Today a cop was ONLY charged for misfire shots, NOT for the death of Breonna Taylor. Although the family has been paid off some $12 million, the fact that the cop or cops in question weren't charged for manslaughter is an unforced error. Consequently, the streets of Kentucky are running hot, because as the hardcore BLM people say, "No Justice, No Peace." It's a dishonor to her memory. She was a front line health worker. The law in Kentucky has been written in a way that does not help black people, and it could be argued that it is written in a way to hurt them, as what happened in this situation. The disregard of black life animates much of life in America these days.
This goes into the question; what kind of country do we want to be? For the police and county and Kentucky not to have charged at least one cop for the death of Taylor is an unforced error. They couldn't at least have charged one cop for manslaughter? That's ridiculous. Instead they charged one cop for misfiring. That's just stupid. They might as well have not charged any cops with anything, that's what that charge was good for.
Now, I'm not a conspiratorial man. I leave that to the Socialist Leftists and the Far Right Trump Supporters. BUT...I also believe that this plays right into the hands of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Bare with me. Kentucky is Mitch's state and if protests break into violence and deaths then this is the perfect scenario for McConnell and Trump to say, "Look! All these blacks are acting out. They're dangerous. They're going to come to your cities and burn everything to the ground. Keep Mitch in power, he will protect you in Kentucky. Keep me as President, I will quell the chaos." That's pretty much exactly how I see the scenario playing out. Consequently, Trump's numbers will go up and he could even be reelected.
Now we get to the crux of the matter, the Tolstoyian question; who are we? What kind of country have we become, and what kind of country will we choose to be? I believe this is the most important year in my life, given everything that's happened [dismantling of American democracy, COVID, stagnant wages, unemployment, 200,000 American deaths, and this is just the beginning], and with that being said, this is the most important election of my lifetime thus far, probably the most important election of this country [ever].
Because you see that whatever direction we go in this election year will determine the fate of America. If we choose Trump then we will have chosen evil. We will go down the continued path of dismantling American democracy and fanning the flames of racism, bigotry, and hatred for anybody who isn't white. If we choose Biden/Harris then we will have seen the ultimate errors of our ways and try to find a way to go back to the way things were before [which will take years because Trump has already done so much damage]; human decency and respect for your fellow man [and woman].
There's no easy way to say this but I'm afraid that America will choose the wrong path, the Trumpian way, and delve deep into a ever evolving fascist system. More Americans will die, probably much faster because Trump will continue to botch COVID if reelected. More black Americans will be shot by policemen, provoking the black community to protest [and maybe some will riot], enabling Trump to fan the flames of racism, and allow him to say, "I will keep your cities safe from them." Unemployment will continue to be at its high peaks and the only jobs available will be low end minimum wage. College degrees will hardly be worth the tuition because families will not only not be able to afford it but they won't want to send their kids to school during COVID.
Imagine if I were 20 instead of 31. This all would not only be very overwhelming to me, it would penetrate the fiber of my being. However, because I'm already an adult, and have lived a fairly privileged life, I feel the weight of this moment more powerfully than ever. I know that nothing is more important than the history that is happening now. I quit playing video games and find the internet to be not very worthy of my time. I live my life to the fullest everyday and love all the people in my life. This younger generation is going to have a much harder time than I did. College won't save them from COVID and Donald Trump. Let's pray the voters make the right choice.
Biden/Harris 2020
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