America Wants Three Things: Police are Part of the Solution

"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable." Seneca, Stoic Roman Philosopher

We have been bombarded with news media and hyper politicians hell bent on driving a wedge between people for self-gain and political power. The voices of reason and logic are often silenced by the chronic finger pointing and shouting that risks splitting our foundations of our society at the seams. The good news is despite political manipulation most Americans want freedom, equality and self-governance as universal American principles (There are a few more but these seem important.) At the same time most Americans believe in their police and see the necessity of policing that moves past all that rhetoric.

Knowing we believe in certain values and knowing that our police are valued gives us some guidance on how we can improve policing while at the same time reinforcing our essential values as the preferred path forward (Think about it...its possible to support police and the concerns of protestors at the same time. If there is a win-win path we should take it....unless politics is more important than the will of the people? If you question the ultimate stakeholders and purpose of politics please refer to the articles on three essential principles below. They should act as a good guide to reorienting our value system.🤷.) 

Americans Support Three Basic Values: 

I want to bring to your attention the article '84 Percent: America's Founding Ideals Worth Fighting For' in Rasmussen Reports (The company is an online data collection and non-partisan political survey service. They got some interesting stuff so you may want to bookmark and go back to from time to time. ) As an essential values these three concepts set the stage for essential American principles that nearly everyone (saving the dangerous rise in extremism) believe in and are willing to fight for (There are probably around 3 more essential principles.)

-(84%) of voters say America's founding ideals are worth fighting for.

-The essential values of freedom, equality, and self-governance

Most Support the Police:

There has been a lot of debate and controversy about police and the nature of policing in this country. Prior to the current upheaval, during and after,  I maintained the value system that police are necessary and live within a larger environment that has influence on beliefs and activities (Morality and Law). Where racism and bigotry exists it is within this wider societal-historical context embedded in the way in which we interact as a diverse people. (To fix one fixes the other. Why I believe we should have a very mature and honest conversation about bigotry/racism and what a society that maximizes its human capital looks like...and what that can do for our competitive future.). 

Police have a difficult and important job to do and there are times when mistakes happen. Mistakes can be trained just like departmental cultures can be improved. However, when mistakes are intentionally, repeated, racists/bigoted and dangerous to the public there must be mechanisms for review and removal (Sometimes prosecution). In the article, Most Don’t Blame Police for Shootings you will find an important statistic to keep in mind:

-67% of American Adults rate the performance of the police in the area where they live as good or excellent.

I would learn from this situation that police can be used to spearhead the protection of these three essential beliefs They can be trained on supporting our ideas as well as stronger tactical methods that helps protect the public from criminals while ensuring justice is universally applied during the arrest and within the court system (They could be central to supporting these values as the ambassadors to people and gate keepers to the criminal justice system. i.e. social work, referrals, truthful testimony/data/feedback, community building, etc... I wonder if that would be a paradigm shift if we put people on the same side around shared values? Its just an unvetted idea and lots of people are likely to see it different. Nothing wrong with that as long as there is civil discussion based in a level of truthfulness and positive perspective.)

(Side note. When you focus on essential truths and good moral conscious shared by most people you don't need to backtrack on your political stance. Prior to current social upheaval I stated my political beliefs and because they have construct validity and ethical considerations associated {i.e. moral conscious}they have not yet needed to adjust to political winds or skewed arguments. They are also likely to be true for a long time until the environment radically shifts and new values/problems come forward. I don't really believe politics is the place for me but I do believe trying to understand one's own beliefs in light of the far Right and Left leaning ideologies is important; whether I'm thrust into politics or not. Seems like such a toxic field....but some places seem to be doing better in bi-partisanship GOP Legislature and Whitmer Executive Branch and the product of that might very well be the improved economic prospects of the state {i.e. See Michigan #1 Economy and Biggest Threats, Deradicalize Politics, Outperform China}. 🤷 You can see my beliefs in 9 Important National Issues If I Someday Run for Politics and Politics and Philosophy. I kind of have an economic theory I been working on so I sort of watch what is going on in the market and politics to see if it stays true. See Transactional Economic Clusters. Its not finished and its ugly but I been looking at practical application. What I learn from that will help me connect and round it out. Life is getting in the way. LOL)