The Wrong Lilies

The Wrong Lilies

Monday, July 22, 2013

BETTER THAN WE ARE



For those who did not have the opportunity to see the video of Mr. Obama talking about race in America and about his personal experiences, here is the link:


Here’s the thing to keep in mind.  Mr. Obama cannot, even with the power of the Presidency, make the American people better.  He cannot require intelligent gun laws, require intelligent attitudes about race and about the civil rights of gay people and immigrants, and reasonable approaches to differences of opinion of government.  Mr. Obama cannot make the houses of Congress do their jobs. 

Mr. Obama can bring these issues forward, but he cannot make us better than we are.  Only we can do that.


PS:  npr.org is a wonderful link to use as a tool for information.  Sometimes we don't agree with them, but we don't have to.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

WE CALL IT BLIND JUSTICE



Our system of criminal law is based on the theory that Justice with a capital ‘J’ is blind to everything but the truth.  That the accused is innocent until proven guilty.  That guilt must be established beyond a shadow of a doubt.


The problem with being a nation of laws is that to keep that nation lawful, we must support the laws even when we occasionally do not agree with the results of those laws.   The problem is also that sometimes justice is blind because those who have the responsibility for processing justice are incapable of performing their responsibilities.  That courts can be totally inept in their work and allow the guilty to go free.  And sometimes allow the innocent to be punished.

But it is important to remember that no one ever escapes the consequences of their actions, and those who commit crimes or behavior which harm others are marked not with just the law’s judgment but also with society’s judgment and with consequences not always immediately visible, but which are there within them, irrevocably.  There is another old saying which is paraphrased here:  “We are not punished as much for our crimes as by them.”  Or in other words,  "what goes around comes around."