This article begins with reality and is somewhat depressing, but please read it to the end. I promise you will be cheering and feel hope for America’s future. If you read my stories frequently, you know that I no longer trust anyone in a position of power. Over my 75 years, many things have changed in America, many not for the better. It begins at the top and trickles down to every aspect of daily life.
Our federal government is a disaster. It is broken beyond repair in its current condition. Beginning in 1981, the once Grand Old Party began focusing on the demands of special interests: billionaires and millionaires. By 2000, they had completely abandoned the middle-class, low-income Americans, and those living below the poverty line. Between 2017 and 2021, they completed their purpose, and today America is a plutocracy. For today’s Republicans in name only, the working class has been forgotten, and their needs and wishes ignored.
The same is true for local and state governments. Polls taken about every issue important to the great majority of Americans are of no interest to politicians.
Our military, for which we owe a great debt, has become political and supports the fascist agenda of the right-wing. Several of the insurrectionists who attempted to overthrow our government on January 6, 2021, were former or current members of the Army, Navy, and Marines.
Our court system is biased. Identical crimes committed by the super-rich and low-income Americans receive vastly different punishments or none at all. The wealthy hire high-priced attorneys whose firms are donors to the campaign of judges who face reelection. The average income of those incarcerated prior to their convictions is less than $20,000 per year. Republicans claim that “poverty does not create crime.” That’s because they are all millionaires after two terms in office.
The most egregious violations of human rights happen daily and affect the majority of our nation’s people.
When I was a young man, growing up in Los Angeles in a predominantly white area, I was taught to trust and respect law enforcement. By their own actions, this is no longer the situation in the 21st century.
They are no longer the “boys in blue” depicted by artist Norman Rockwell on the cover of one of the greatest magazines of the 20th century, “The Saturday Evening Post.” They arrive at peaceful protests in military vehicles, wearing military gear, and carrying weapons designed for the sole purpose of killing humans in large numbers in a short period of time. Minorities suffer the most bigoted and racist treatment, punished because of the color of their skin or because they speak another language.
Black Lives Matter became a necessity as the number of Black Americans murdered by cops grew each year and became obvious to all Americans and totally unacceptable.
I learned in high school that there are two Americas, one for pure whites, and the other for those who are not. The lives of black men and women became “collateral damage” at the hands of law enforcement.
This brings me to the story which inspired me to write this article.
Naiara Tamminga is a 13-year-old young woman living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Patrick Loya, a Black man, was murdered by a cop in April after a routine traffic stop. A county commission meeting was held on May 17th, and Naiara had a lot to say. She began by calling the county commissioners “accomplices” and continued from there.
My name is Naiara Taminga. I am 13 years old. I’ve lived in Grand Rapids almost my whole life. I’m gonna say it again. I’m 13 years old. All of you are adults. Adults, right. You can drive, you can drink, you can vote. I don’t have that. When I asked my mom if I could be dropped off here, her response was, ‘Is it safe?’
“You know, we had someone come up here and talk: ‘And don’t teach our children to disobey those who are protecting us.’ I don’t see them protecting me,” Naiara said of police officers. A group of peers stood behind her. “If you want to talk about those protecting me, I look to those who are standing right now because my trust is in them,” the activist said. “I don’t trust any of you. I don’t trust any of the police officers because you have shown time and time again that we cannot trust you.”
This young woman is the future of America, and those in positions of authority and power must listen and take action, or a second bloody revolution is inevitable. Our younger people may appear to be uncaring and uninterested, but this is far from reality. They pay attention and understand that no one is fighting for their future, and they must rely on and trust each other.
“The truth lives here” and I love our young people because they are serious about our future. Unlike my generation, and those who succeeded me, they will not accept the crimes committed by those who are charged with caring for our country’s future.
Wendell Berry once wrote: “And a little child shall lead them.” It means that the child would lead him to do better things with his life.
Op-ed by James Turnage
My nine novels are available on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
Daily Kos: ‘We cannot trust you’: 13-year-old activist delivers kind of message police should be listening to
Insider: These 10 young activists are trying to move the needle on climate change, gun control, and other global issues
Top and Featured Image by D. O’Keefe, Michigan Sea Grant Courtesy of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of *Hajee’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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