Our nation is based on the fundamentals of human freedom that apply to every human being in the country and every person on the planet. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, civil rights, and opportunity are universal values. We codified much of that in our Constitution as a democratic experiment. Extremism and misinterpretation of our values present a risk to the future health of our nation and the resonance of that message.
We have two problems in keeping the message of freedom and opportunity at the forefront of national conscious. One is growing income disparity, which we can discuss at a later time, while the other is growing extremism mixed with racism/bigotries that limit the higher performance of our institutions. The latter becomes an important human capital topic on how mistreatment by some holds back the whole nation (btw. It's not their place to hold the rest of us back.)
Because we humans can be biased in our thinking, based on the many anchored socio-cultural perceptions, we naturally judge different types of people differently (At least until we are familiar and integrated.). When extreme bigotries make their way into the local justice system it can create all types of havoc. Lost moral authority and lower institutional trust are just some of the consequences of poor management.
A hypothetical example of local corruption and extremism: Someone wants something and spreads a hate narrative widely to anyone willing to listen. They spread distorted values and hate speech throughout their local bully network and through several extremist-leaning corrupted officers. Threats of violence, corruption, targeting/damaging kids, theft, manipulation of the elderly, and so on were the virtues they promoted. A coordinated racial and religious cleansing in full view of witnesses and authorities.
Their justification? Someone seen as a second-class citizen dared to tell them that corruption is destructive to our liberties and the health of our nation. As a veteran and someone who takes their oaths seriously retorted "No, corruption isn't a good thing and you can't do that to your fellow citizens." Their realized answer was in alignment with their discounting language of their fellow Americans, and that was to double down on further violence and corruption.
(Their language tells us how they view other Americans and how they will react when someone challenges poor behavior. Devalue and cleanse.)
Such behaviors present a long-term risk to our highly diverse nation where most people are minorities of some type (Muslim, Jew, Christian, Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, etc.). Failure to correct when crimes become apparent is also an indication that the positive opportunities and lessons learned from unchecked corruption have not sunk in. The consequence is a growing long-term trend of dissatisfaction and lost trust in some institutions by the young.
Their answer to these growing dangerous trends? Double down on ignorance and dig in on distorted ideologies.
Is corruption and extremism a good idea? Well, it is a short-term gain but the long term typically doesn't turn out as well. I advocate for a universal justice system that tries to protect and serve all members of society fairly and equally as valued members. That requires fixing wrongdoing and correcting the mechanism that allowed those free passes to happen.
What can you do as a citizen? Voting out those with extremist values and corruption is a first step. The second step is to teach your children the importance of our Constitution and ensure our values apply to every citizen. You can fight extremism and corruption with higher values and more truth. That of course doesn't mean you are free from the consequences of having higher national loyalties and moral consciousness. Expect extreme retaliation (It's common during sociological and technological shifts.).
Researchers should look at these problems to solve problems as hate breeds off misinformation. I created the Michigan Track and Solve method of dealing with extremism about 4 years ago. However, this didn't appear to be of particular interest. The study below indicates they believe in something similar. There is a need to find new solutions to domestic extremism and corruption. Protecting such behaviors is rarely a good idea.
(As a side note, you may notice that where people are aggressive with their extreme bias we might also find that by going after corruption you will also expose those who supported extremism. They are often tied together. There are about 3-4 other logic lines that can create objective data supported evidence from triangulation of truth. We can talk about that later. Feel free to discard such theoretical dribble, dribble.....)
Without handling extremism and corruption our future may be delayed. Not only by the decisions of those who should have duties to all Americans but also by the protections and normalization of such poor behaviors.
Let us not let those with poor values to derail Americas destiny as a universal democracy (Many sociological and economic benefits to reaching the next rung.) Just in case you forgot, "....Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." There are those who will never believe, there are many who will help raise the light of liberty as a beacon of hope.
Terrorism, Political Extremism, and Crime and Criminal Justice
*This article is for illustrative purposes. It is just for understanding and learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment