A SMALL STEP — The Weekly Opine

The world witnessed a rarity in America this week. A cop convicted of murder for…murdering a Black man. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Fine verdict. Now follow-up.

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong hopped off the lower step of the ladder attached to the Lunar Module and landed upright on the powdery surface of the moon, he uttered one of history’s most memorable quotes. Armstrong put it succinctly, saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

In the summer of 1969, America needed a distraction and the Apollo 11 mission delivered, albeit 239,000 miles from Earth.

In addition to the omnipresent war in Vietnam, and the attendant and sometimes violent protests in the United States, you may recall the summer of 1969 filled this country with shock and angst. Besides the Vietnam War, three other major newsworthy events took place – all within about one month of the July 16 Apollo 11 launch and successful moon landing on July 20.

On July 18-19, a young, married senator named Teddy Kennedy attended a party in Massachusetts with friends and campaign staffers. Kennedy ended up drunk, driving his car off a bridge. He left his companion, Mary Jo Kopechne, trapped underwater in his car where she either suffocated or drowned (an autopsy was never performed).

A few weeks later, out on the West Coast, on the nights of Aug. 8-9, followers of Charles Manson committed heinous crimes, murdering actress Sharon Tate along with six others.

The improbable 34-day stretch concluded with the Woodstock Music Festival on Aug. 15-18. Attendees surely had the time of their lives but across America parents, and the vaunted Establishment, cringed and wrung their hands over what was happening on a farm in upstate New York.

Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts returned safely to Earth on July 24 and were feted in ticker tape parades on August 13 in New York and Chicago. A nice distraction from an otherwise turbulent summer. Surely, scientists around the globe dreamt of conquering other planets in the not-too-distant future. But here we sit, 52 years later, and man walking on Mars is still out of reach. (A 4-pound helicopter roaming Mars is progress but…)

Armstrong was inadvertently correct. Walking on the lunar surface, technically a significant achievement, has proven to be a small step for man relative to galactic exploration. We still wait for the follow-up leap beyond the moon.

Jury takes significant small step. Will the country leap?

What happened Tuesday afternoon in the courtroom in Minneapolis was a big deal. But big picture-wise, it was a small step. A welcome distraction. However, in the aftermath there is a feeling of exhaustion. Weariness. After all, there is an ongoing assault being waged in this country against basic human rights. For too many Americans, the pursuit of happiness has turned from dream to nightmare.

Obviously, police reform is way overdue. The lame refrain that 99% of cops are good cops has passed its expiration date. In the George Floyd situation, 100% of the cops on the scene were bad cops. Smarter people than me will come up with solutions to America’s policing problem. The issue will be getting politicians and police leadership and rank-and-file officers to embrace change.

And “the system” needs an overhaul, to return fundamental rights to the people. Rights such as the right to vote, access to affordable healthcare, and access to quality education. The right to have access to affordable housing and the ability to not live near factories that emit hazardous chemicals. The right to be who you are. And the right to live, as do citizens in almost every other developed nation, without fear of getting caught in a mass shooting or a drive-by shooting.

Every American - starting with Congress - should re-read (or read) the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. (Photo credit Library of Congress and Granger Art on Demand)

Tactics employed to keep women, people of color, and lower income folks “in their place” still proliferate in American society. The largely Republican strategy of pitting people of different cultural backgrounds against one another has intensified the past few years with no signs of calming down.

Consequently, America’s day of reckoning is upon us: a moment when the government and its citizens must genuinely live up to the ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the laws written in the U.S. Constitution. Otherwise, American democracy, part fantasy today, will not survive. Maybe as a shell of itself, but unable to reach its full potential as the proverbial shining city on a hill.

Tempered celebration

On Tuesday, the jury gave Derek Chauvin what he deserved. The other three cops, all of whom participated in the murder of George Floyd, should be held accountable as well. But we must go much further than celebrating the rare occasion of a cop being held liable for murdering a citizen he swore to protect.

On any given weekend, 20 or more Chicagoans are shot by other Chicagoans. Typically, at least four or five die. These are citizens being killed by other citizens. More and more, some of the dead are children. So, while we are right to expect cops not to kill citizens, we are also right to expect citizens not to kill other citizens. We are also right to expect that parents keep track of their 13-year-old child, so he is not out on the streets after midnight, running with suspicious characters, and then ends up wrongfully killed by a cop.

We are also right to expect that people in positions of power e.g., Catholic priests, famous Hollywood filmmakers, politicians, entertainers, and star athletes, will not abuse those who place trust and faith in them.

What was her future?

I am about to say what needs to be said, so buckle up.

Ma’Khia Bryant, the 16-year-old girl shot to death by a Columbus, Ohio, policeman was facing a bleak future. What would have happened if the cop did not intervene? In the video, Ma’Khia appears to be in a totally out of control rage. She attacked another female with a knife. Would she have murdered the other female? If so, what kind of future life awaited Ma’Khia?

The point is not that Ma’Khia Bryant deserved to die. The point is the other female deserved to live. Had Ma’Khia murdered the other female, Ma’Khia would have spent a significant amount of her life in prison. I am not saying dying was better than going to prison, but if Ma’Khia murdered – or attempted to murder – the other female, Ma’Khia Bryant was not going to spend the next decade planting tulips and baking pies.

In Columbus, Ohio, based on the video I watched, the cop did what he took an oath to do. A citizen was being violently attacked by Ma’Khia Bryant. The cop took action that likely saved the life of the female being attacked by an enraged, knife-wielding assailant.

Ma’Khia Bryant is not George Floyd. There is no reason to confuse the two situations.

Yes, America needs a deep cleansing, a power wash. The sooner the better, before what stains us becomes indelibly permanent.