The Need To Find Common Ground

We woke up this morning to disturbing images following another night of unrest and rioting which is upstaging the many peaceful protests and demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis last week.

The line has clearly been crossed in recent days for many from this being about racism and change to an easy opportunity for others to clash with police, loot and cause damage from New York to Seattle.

Curfews have done little to stem the violent outbreaks and there seems to be no end in sight even as President Trump threatens to use military force if necessary to seize control of cities.

The president finally spoke out on the protests late yesterday and as is often the case with him did not attempt to unite the country but rather delivered a stern warning that he will not tolerate a lack of action in curbing the violence.

He took plenty of shots at the nation’s governors for not seizing control of their states and basically said if they can’t do it he will. He followed that up by having police break up a peaceful protest in Washington D.C. before the curfew so he could walk across the street and pose for a picture holding a bible in front of a damaged church.

I certainly agree that we cannot allow violent protests, looting and destruction to continue but this is a time in our nation where we need more than tough talk and tear gas. Police officers are being put in almost impossible situations, wanting for the most part to protect and serve but really not sure exactly how to do so.

The problem is a lack of leadership and it starts with President Trump who has to embrace the peaceful protests and work in conjunction with governors, mayors, police and other civic leaders to find some common ground here. They need a unified approach to tackling this problem and that has clearly not been the case.

America is a ticking time bomb right now and frankly it’s damn scary.