Bends Toward Justice

Independence Day Maybe it is just me, but the recent unrest about the systemic racism still afflicting our country and the dearth of mass celebrations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, have inspired a more introspective view of Independence Day.   We don’t think enough about it, but we aren’t celebrating the day our country was founded, our flag adopted, our Constitution written, or even our independence won.  We are celebrating the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted .  Most of the Declaration is devoted to giving reasons why the colonies felt justified in dissolving our “political bands” with Great Britain.  However, the reasons are given in a philosophical context that is remarkable. At a time when most countries were ruled by people who claimed to do it by divine right, or simply did it by force, our Declaration set out a statement of purpose and justification:  that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator wit...

White Privilege? Recently, in social media discussions arising from police executions of black Americans, friends of mine have expressed ideas that seem to reflect a belief that racism doesn’t exist.  Briefly, what follows is an attempt to factually establish the existence of systemic racism in the United States. Since the events inspiring outrage lately were encounters with police, let’s start there. Encounters with Police Black drivers are more likely to be stopped by the police, and three times more likely to have their car searched.  They are arrested for drug-related offenses at twice the rate despite the fact that whites use drugs at comparable rates.   Once arrested, blacks are more likely to be jailed awaiting trial, probably due to poverty.  This disrupts their family and work life, may impede future employment, and makes it harder to prepare a defense.  Black defendants are more likely to be offered plea deals that include prison time.   http...