I will tell you one thing I have learned over the years. Justice is only partially functioning and there are people within the system that ensure that it never reaches its full potential. This is an older video and I'm somewhat of a true conservative so I don't think on a unipolar level but on an interwoven level. In other words, I don't pick a race or religion to be a benefactor of our collective efforts. I also believe that the universal right to exercise faith in a meaningful way or speech that contributes to society's development are positive pathways. I may not agree with what everyone says but I respect their right to say it as long as it is thought out and helpful in nature. That is not something shared by everyone, not every politician, nor every official.
Bernie Sanders seems like a guy who speaks his mind. I like that when people are honest and they have passion for their beliefs. He raises my eyebrow sometimes and of course I don't always agree but in this case he is right we need justice reform. Only the selfish and mean spirited believe things are perfect. There are places where there was intentional violations of free speech and intent on forcing one's religious beliefs on others using the power of their position. Perhaps people come forward and complain and have direct retaliation for doing so. Systems that intentionally rewarded their homogeneous friends and social networks at the expense of their community. Criminal behaviors encouraged through socialization of bigotries as a "cool" thing.
One might feel bad for the victims because a huge percentage of politicians do not care enough about the American people to make even small tweaks or adjustments that improve the entire system. People will support where it consistently tries to do the right thing; even after mistakes. Obstructionist put in place few functioning backstops and somehow tie mean spiritedness with patriotism. It makes no difference the millions of people who complain, the changing demographics or how destructive and dishonest some of these systems can become when left to their own devices. It doesn't even make a difference that our nation must compete and needs all the human capital it can muster or it will face decline. They just don't change, they struggle to correct, and obstructionists make little effort to stand for something greater.
Before you get excited and start rallying the wagons to violate more human, civil rights, freedom of speech and you know the other things many of us look upon with disdain let me also say that I also am a supporter of what works well. The vast majority of people who work in these systems are fine outstanding people trying to make the world a better place. There are systems out there that are imperfect but still seek to strive for perfection (never attainable but a good goal). However, when there are bad apples protecting other bad apples and that warps the system then we have much bigger problems. Those problems get even bigger when a few bad apples dictate their distorted version of law.
As a rationalist one might know that good is good and we should encourage it and bad is bad and we should discourage it. That makes me a supporter of the justice system. Not a fake supporter but a real supporter. I'm practical by nature so if something is working well we should keep it and develop it. Where its not working we should change it. If the system has a moral conscious and tries to do the right thing then it has value to our society. Institutional trust is declining as aspects of the system continue to get derailed. Its not me making it up...go check the stats and listen to people. Public Trust It is insane we don't take a few minutes to think about why that is happening and whether or not there are improvements. Politics is supposed to be overall helpful through solution creation and not destructive.
As long as there are no checks and balances for protecting criminal behavior, sharing legitimate complaints for retaliation, civil-human rights violations, extreme religious bigotries, partisan applications, taking advantage of the elderly, or all the other stuff then we need people who to encourage change. We can do that politely and we can do that meaningfully. Never take your cues from those who violate our rights because that will replace a problem with another problem. Always seek to improve and adapt the system generation after generation to something stronger and more functional. We encourage democracy by developing it and its institutions to serve the greatest good.
They won't change not because they don't recognize the behavior but because they feel the goals and missions of the systems are less important than their racial, religious, and in some case extremist ideologies. To some the law is a tool and a game for them and the wisdom that our philosophers and religious figures have taught us is secondary to their own agenda promotion. In other words, you can target people but ideas are free to roam where they want. Yes you can follow people home and silence them but that only happens for a time. Someday you just can't shut everyone up. Support our justice system by supporting what works, correcting what is wrong, and pushing it to get better at serving our people's needs. I guess the other option is....or don't....and trust continues to decline...and no one knows what the long term impact of that is yet. My suggestion is to avoid institutional declines....as dumb as it sounds.
*This is part of a thought experiment on freedom of speech and religion for learning purposes only. Take with a grain of salt. It is not definitive by nature.
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