Post # 167, Bob McKnight's Florida Commentary
What if all American Presidents, current and former, stood together and called for unity?
Like most Americans, I am tired of the split in our Country. For many years, the split has been between roughly half of our country conservative and half moderate to liberal. The split is reflected almost exactly in our Congress--both the Senate and House. For the last 30 years the Presidency has rotated back and forth between the Republicans and Democrats, often with neither President winning a majority of the popular vote. Even a world wide pandemic could not bring us together. So clearly we are a divided country and short of another 9/11 type attack, we will probably remain divided.
So it is probably not surprising that when another potential political hemorrhage among Americans over the George Floyd trial, we find both sides trying to bait the other with incendiary rhetoric. Liberal African American Congresswoman Maxine Walters (D., Cal.) urged people of color to "stay on the street" if Policeman Derek Chauvin were not convicted.
Conversely, White Conservative Congressman Louie Gohmert (R., Texas) countered with, "go to the streets and be violent," depending on the verdict. The leaders of the House in neither party showed any leadership in reprimanding the vitriol before the verdict of the two members.
Perhaps most disturbing is the remark from President Biden before the sentence was announced. Yes, it is well known that he had great support among African Americans and there is nothing wrong with seeking to maintain that support. But this was a judicial decision and in our country, a person is innocent until proven guilty. Biden is an attorney and assuming he passed the bar exam, must know that. To his credit, African American former President Barack Obama waited until the verdict announced until expressing his opinion of support for the verdict.
Wouldn't it be uplifting if leaders of both parties came together in support of our justice system, our constitution, and all Americans? What if all our Presidents, former and current did it?
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