Violence and Unrest in Milwaukee

Rally for justice.  Rally for truth. Rally to grieve with those who mourn.

Now is not the time for anger and judgement about what happened in Milwaukee that left a young man dead at the hands of a police officer.  The time for anger and judgement will come, but it is only with full information that anger and judgement, when warranted, can be directed to the right place.  The truth is that there are probably no clean hands when it comes to the problems of violence in our country and that includes you and me.

I would argue that if Smith, the young man who was killed, raised a gun to an officer, it is tough to blame that officer for responding with deadly force.  Even if it is true that the police officer that shot and killed Smith did so with actual legal and moral justification, that does nothing to detract from the conversation that needs to happen what our community expectations of police are and how we deal with race relations in this country.  In fact, I would go so far as to argue that recognition by those would be and have been critical of police that this latest incident was justified (if true) would go a long way toward establishing the actual, constructive dialogue needed to actually accomplish any meaningful reform.

Conversely, if it turns out that the officer did not act with full legal or moral justification, a prompt and proper response from the police department and any other applicable authorities would help establish that necessary conversation.  Everybody needs to stop trying so hard to make facts fit the narrative that they're pushing that they forget that nothing worthwhile gets accomplished without keeping a solid focus on the truth, whatever it may be.

This cannot continue to be a shouting match between two groups of people.  Neither has a monopoly on righteousness.  Neither has completely clean hands.  Neither can solve the problems of our society and keep the peace on its own.

Now is the time to cry, pray, mourn and gather.  It is also the time to listen, learn, consider, converse and remember that lives of all colors matter.  We all have a responsibility to leave a world, country and community to our children in which they can live theirs to the fullest.

Eric Hovde Thought...

Eric Hovde thought that he could flood the airwaves almost a year and dominate the mind share of the Wisconsin electorate.  He thought that dominating the airwaves with his platitudes about our nation being at a cross-roads or it being time to take America back would resonate.

Eric Hovde thought that Wisconsinites were just looking for a fresh face.  He thought that Wisconsin wanted someone who wasn't a politician, but a business man.  He thought that people wanted someone who wasn't a political insider.  He thought people wanted another Ron Johnson.

He was wrong.

Republican voters of Wisconsin rejected Eric Hovde and his late-night-infomercial-inspired strategy of being the only guy on TV, and they did not buy his "as seen on TV" product simply because he was the only thing on.

Eric Hovde, like many before him, ran a campaign based on money.  He did not run a campaign based on ideas, goals or policy.  His strategy was to spend more, and spend first.  Wisconsin's Republican senatorial primary showed that money alone cannot buy an election in this state.  Money is still trumped by back room political influence peddling.

Wait... Suddenly, I'm not as excited about the results of the election as I was.