This trial is about the soul of this nation and whether it can be saved. There are no technicalities, no obscure legal arguments that can be used to make such blatant and deadly abuse of power acceptable in any way, shape, or form. I understand the need to provide a defense for Derek Chauvin as a matter of form, but no one will accept any verdict but "guilty", unless they are willing to close their eyes to the blatant disregard of life we all witnessed, and instead hang our future on continued racism and lack of racial justice to the citizens of this nation.
What will the world think of us and our empty rhetoric about democracy if we, once again, justify this atrocious act and turn our backs on so many of our citizens?
This nation and the world is already up in arms about how we traditionally deal with racial groups in this country. We have seen the frustration of racial injustice reach a breaking point in the Black communities after Rodney King in L.A. We saw the same frustrated response with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. We have seen the effect of the white citizens joining in the protests going back to the Civil Rights Movement and, more recently, in the last few decades of racial injustice. We are seeing athletes confronting their employers and the controlling interests to join the modern movement toward finally providing racial justice.
The soul of America is on trial. If, in any way, this trial seems to justify these actions by a public official operating in a police uniform, the nation will erupt. If we hope to salvage the soul of democratic America, we all need an unprecedented decision supporting racial justice. The tipping point is very near; the point at which much of the populace confronts the power of an entrenched system of racial injustice.
This is a tinderbox which could easily flash into a consuming flame if justice does not clearly prevail. Change must come. What will people be willing to do to save the democratic soul of this nation, or is American justice "just ice", responding coldly and calculatingly to racial injustice?
Will the true goodness of the soul of American democracy finally rise to the occasion? We can only hope.
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