American democracy was born based on the necessity of having a place on earth that one could live freely without the suppression of old Europe and the old way of thinking. The people who stepped off of the first boats built a nation that allowed them to have free lives where they could worship and raise their families in peace. Bouncing forward a few hundred years we find ourselves in the very same struggles for the soul of what we represent as a nation (Our need to be self reflective doesn't change).
The U.S. has two fundamental rights within the Constitution and those include the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech. One is to allow men (as a general mankind term) to live free and the other to allow such men to talk about how to keep their nation free (freedom of speech is a mechanism to overcome wrong just like it is in this case.).
Moving 400 years into the future and we find that hometown hate, with its preexisting judgements on which religions and people are free, has grown thereby risking the very security and foundation of our democracy through extremism (Just fyi some of us might discriminate even against the Quakers who helped launch this new free land. Notice how they find God in each person and thereby create values for each human being. That is why understanding different people's and religions lead to insight into the nature of our species and the institutions we built to protect our basic needs. This is also insight into why we need leaders with certain principles and values. We don't need the most connected as much as we need the best and brightest no matter what their background. That requires a shift to universal democratic values.). How law is applied to whom, and whom is above the law, and how they function are all part of that very same question that leads to our long term viability.
What happened during an attempted community cleansing is a moral failure that exposes a crack in our understanding of democracy and to which "Americans" it applies. In essence we have normalized the unacceptable (unAmerican) beliefs of hate in a way in which they could derail the mission of institutions (We normalized them even when they are horrendous and obvious.). If these values spread due to an inability to deal with them we may find our nation someday on a respirator.
I'm not going to delve into all the details in this post because I have done so previously. I'm only going to say mental health launched a hate network among a group mediocre ex sports players from 25+ years ago and that include some (not the majority) of officers and officials. Once the rampage was completed (an attempt was an attempt) there are/were few mechanism to improve the system in a thoughtful way and/or hold those who cause the problem to account.
This moral failure is on one end and the inability to correct the injustice afterward on the other (afterward is happening now) could indicate that the rot that weakens our values are also weakening our democracy by exploiting local level prejudice (I believe in this case our deeper values will overcome because a wider lens exposes the internal decision making and functioning of a good old boy system that have racial and religious influences within their definitions of "local". Not based in genetics in the area but whether or not a person/people is/are "accepted" as a "valuable" person by this group. Mob mentality doesn't give someone the right for anything. ). If these types of distortions to democracy are occurring in other places it could be pretty risky to turn a blind eye and not make corrections. (Pick a number 10%, 30%, 80%? There are lots of people complaining about some very fundamental things as they relate to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.)
I'm not a perfect person but I do believe I try and find as many win-win situations as I can because they are ones that people can accept and create practical steps forward. It can put current problems in the past. I suggest the initiators of hate receive mandatory mental health, adjustments and learning for local officers (how preexisting bias and mental health distortions can be used to manipulate them), adjust discriminatory hiring practices of a local college, taking sports bullying at a young age seriously so as we don't develop future groups of adult bullies and bigots, an audit of financial incentives, and a general American spirit of improvement take hold (That requires remorse and recognition. A free pass doesn't get us there.)
My approach is as it was in the past (I believe I had a pretty good understanding of what was happening while it was happening and new information hasn't disconfirmed that logic. It created more depth but hasn't indicated any major need to shift. I had about 4 different theories but quickly discarded most based on perpetrator/group activity.). To be polite but not passive. While for those who engaged in the hate they have no problem devaluing other people and putting them in harms way. However, I cannot take that luxury. I have children and someday grandchildren that I want to be free. If they choose to live in the area, which is solely their choice, or become part of the community then who are these people to choose otherwise? (Whether sheltering in place at our nations capital or having yourself and kids put in intentional harm's way based on someone else's extreme beliefs is a threat to the peace and security of our future democracy. Its is fundamental to the rights to exist in which all laws are based.)
Universalizing the applications of our laws (most laws are already written universal) and the functioning of our institutions will help our American brand resonate globally as an enlightened society where our principles can be trusted to guide our decision making and many paths to ensuring our democracy makes its way into its next stage of development. As with everything in life our choices often lead to our outcomes. We have politicized our futures and our fundamentals. At a time in which we will need to function at our best as a nation with a mission it would be unwise to wait until hindsight awareness sheds light on the necessity of being our best every day (as a collection of choice within our conscious awareness).
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