There are certain behaviors that when members of our society engage in them they should be taken seriously as they strike at the core of who we are as a nation and our ability to influence the world around us (Meaning different types of people and backgrounds.). Some of my readers are aware my family was targeted by a group of individuals seeking both personal and financial gain by exploiting racial and religious differences that ended in people getting hurt (People from their own community. I would consider myself part of that community but a number of people within this ex-amateur sports mob have a different perspective and thus "community" can be different for different types of people. As of now I'm still here seeking to draw the non-hate supporting community members into a more appropriate shared identity. That will be increasingly difficult where hate and dysfunctional networks have become embedded and "legitimized" in illegitimate ways. Worse, such behaviors become emboldened because we haven't addressed them locally or nationally. You can see how one is not so different than the other. 🤔).
As a nation, destructive ethnic and racial oriented behaviors should be discouraged socially and legally if we hope to successfully compete on a global stage in the next era (There are two different legal systems at play here but I don't want to get into the philosophical and political outcomes at this moment.). We have made a strong effort on a federal level but we need a lot more work on the local level to ensure essential American values and basic concepts of justice are at the front of decision making. Its not just about local elections but about time honored traditions we all agree with....a sense of fair play is part of that.
What do I mean by a next era? Technology is rapidly changing and people are communicating across the globe with increasing ease. That also means ideas will spread rapidly and those nations that are at the pulse of those beliefs and values that resonate with world followers will have influence while those who do not will lose position. China is on the rise and will be major competitor with the US in terms of contracts, business, influence, infrastructure, philosophy, finance, etc..... We really can't afford to not be the better version of ourselves....the recent supersonic nuclear launches and unknown technology discoveries should be a warning bell to our government-political-business stakeholders that thoughtful change is needed.
As technology adjusts drawing together our economic and social networks we will want to transition smoothly a nation to attract global investment interest from far reaching international sources. (Wealth accumulation and access to power will likely shift. To be the center of intellectual capital that leads to innovation and advance manufacturing emergence means we must think like a global people rooted in our most basic American values..). We should learn to watch the happenings of the world and the historical patterns other nations experienced trying to modernize. We should take heart that we are at this time in history able to choose a path with the most options and likely the least social upheaval (Assuming we actually want to be in a leadership position in the next era.....or be bested by emerging economies. Perhaps fighting over fewer resources is our preferred path. I hope not but....we have been sliding in competitiveness in recent decades but haven't found an agreed upon strategic path forward. 🤷)
To enhance our shared visions we should consider leaning toward universal application of our laws if we hope to have higher levels of institutional trust and global followership. Institutional trust improves upon the willingness of people to follow the law and act with prosocial intent toward loftier goals that include other societal stakeholders (Shadow markets destroy economies. Institutional trust crowds out shadow market activities. Laws ought to be applied with wisdom and moral conscious to ensure they stay close to the path of "truth".) Local and national governments will furthermore need additional coordination on important projects so our leaders will need to think beyond themselves when making national decisions of strategic importance. (We often elect officials on showmanship and not on skill or ability. Not always...there are some really great politicians out there but the environment turned sour in recent history and that is lowering the decision making caliber of the entire group.).
All of our economy is based on human activities and choices that leads to a concept of capital (See definition of Economy..) Knowledge creation, worker engagement, and workforce optimization are key components to effective Human Capital Management (Movahedi, et. al. 2015). Without the ability to draw in full support of our citizenry from as diverse background as possible we will have cut the shaft that produces the wheat. In turn we would have sliced our human capital significantly in a way where it can become a troublesome limp that will plague us into the next era (In other words, its time to settle the racism and bigotry issues fully so we can fulfill our national purpose of freedom and opportunity that leads to human capital development/performance. Prompting of performance mixed with the right social/economic catalyst could spark a growth spurt as we embrace rapid modernization. i.e. an American Renaissance. It is possible to show historically and with scientific support how major shifts in technologies, information, environmental factors, etc... at the same time can launch growth eras...that when change our fundamental assumptions that allow for advancement across multiple sectors of society. When that happens we have a beginning of renaissance type growth. )
I suspect in the near future we are going to be forced to make a commitment to start mastering our new environment or we will start seeing the effects of being swamped by an inability to make choices to navigate changes (i.e. always in crisis mode and running out of resources. Difficulties mustering political capital around key issues because we have splintered in our central beliefs.). Hate and bigotry takes a toll on our human capital and when certain behaviors are given a free pass as they signal to lots of other people that the system has difficulty seeing the bigger purpose of its existence and thus is on decline as an institution. The institution doesn't exist to employ people and for its own benefit (some of that is likely true ... or at least subjectively seen that way) but to foster safe, fair, and productive environments where economies flourish through creating the legal/ethic/moral environment that optimizing human performance opportunities/development.
Hate, racism, and bigotry are the enemies of strong nations and suck the life out of hope and opportunity for huge sections of society (...that creates the root of instability.). Its a demotivator that leaves marks on people for generations. When we stifle human capital because someone(s) of a particular background, religion or race can manipulate our legal structures for personal gain we have serious serious problems as they relate to exportability of legitimacy (Meaning universalizing laws that apply fairly across society creates "buy in" to the values inherent in the judicial system and in turn create social stability. So...decisions made help to define the system thus it must always act with integrity that orients toward truth and ultimate principles of justice.).
The perpetrators in this case knew what they were doing (i.e. hinting about the money they will receive while trying to "set you up" Multiple specific incidents of manipulative and dishonest aggression for self enrichment and social gain.) with "intent" to cause harm under false pretenses. Likewise, it appears they knew they were getting a free pass for such behaviors prior to making a decision to engage in them (Likely based on coaching with a sympathetic officer (s). I can't rule out multiples at this point.). While no one (likely save one officer) should necessarily go to jail (depending on the rest of the story) there does need to be a level of accountability (i.e. mental health, training, audit, etc...) to ensure the root and repeatable causes of aggression are tackled appropriately and effectively (See Michigan Hate Crime Reform).
The behaviors may be highly immature from a "live in past" "never grew up" highschoolers mentality but also very coordinated, practiced and manipulative in orientation. Intentional destructiveness that exploits race/religious differences as a tool put lots of people in harms way and opens up a bigger can of worms on what inappropriate behaviors might look like in certain social-officer networks. You would think by sheer self preservation alone (assuming there are any potential consequences for such behavior) the people drawn into the web of acting on hidden bias would shift the blame on those who started the problem versus the targets (...also called 'Blaming the Victim'). This is just an example, as the real problem is how such behaviors are socially acceptable and how that might be being replayed throughout our nation at different times and places. This is why I advocate in part for the exercise to be a "learning lesson" beyond simple legal ramifications.
If we want to be a nation that overcomes our current and future challenges we must not give a free pass to behaviors that are designed to seriously harm certain ethnic, racial, and religious groups in an effort to dominate and exploit them for personal-social gain. Certain principles apply to everyone within the country and are tied to our very root existence (i.e. meaning the reason why we became a nation.). We don't want to cut off half our human capital because of lack of awareness on issues that impact a significant portion of "Americans". In layman's terms, you can't expect to win races when you have half the horsepower and tainted fuel. We must be smarter than that!
These are "make it" and/or "break it" times for our leaders and hopefully they are ready, willing, and able to make the adjustments necessary to innovate and compete (Yes...this is opinion but it is based in lots of literature in fields like organizational development, psychology, history, etc....). We sometimes think doing nothing is the best choice and while that works sometimes as issues resolve themselves organically it doesn't always allow nations to guild their path and avoid some of the larger pot holes we will find on the economic road to development.
There are some readers that are likely fuming and pulling their hair out at what I'm saying.😠 Its not intended that way.🙏Its intended as an opportunity to see this problem from multiple perspectives and in a more holistic manner. The essential messages one can get from this are 1.) All teams must have direction and goals 2.) should develop diverse talent sets needed by the market, 3.) act with ethical and moral consideration to raise institutional/organizational trust 4.) use local models to build an understanding of hate behaviors and radicalism from a macro data perspective and 5.) maximize our national strengths (diversity of thought) while hedging our weaknesses ( learning about and minimizing hate groups) 6.) develop organizational culture(s) that can be emulated and exported to other places. I respect that people may agree or disagree. I cant even say I'm speaking with absolute certainty. I can only say that this seems to make sense from my experience and background at this juncture in history. Ask me tomorrow if the factors change and I might give you a different answer. Others might see it differently....and thats ok! Which path will likely put us in the best spot going forward? 🤷
