Reliving the Past

I’ve been around long enough to recall race riots and police brutality protests several times. Each time the passions run high, the protests attract large crowds and the violence, vandalism  and arson loom large. And, ultimately, each time a few changes are made and tensions ease. People resume their normal activities.

But nothing ever really gets ‘fixed.’

Can this time be different?  Will there be enough nation wide policy changes to correct problems that have existed for hundreds of years? After I lived through this a few times, I decided all I could do would be to make sure I was living my own life the best I could and try to help others achieve their goals. I’ve done a pretty good job so far. Not perfect. Just pretty good.

I’m really at a loss now to know what else can be done to help impact change. If each person would look to their own life and make sure they are treating others with respect and kindness, that would make a good start. And if everyone would make sure to vote for people they think would represent them well, and would work with other policy makers for the benefit of all of our citizens, we would be well under way to ending this unrest permanently.

That’s a lot of ifs. Still, I remain hopeful.