A State of Emergency

I find it quite interesting these days that a lot of people want us to only focus on what the future will bring, to move forward and let’s not dwell on what happened in the past.  I find it even more amusing when they response to the questions about the future or moving forward.   Soon it becomes evident that the answers are empty or at best leaves you scratching your head all the while getting the runaround.     
   
What some people fail to realize is that what our future holds and our moving forward is more of what the past was full of.  If we learn nothing from the past, we are bound to repeat it.  And without a perspective of the road we have traveled, paths walked, steps taken, doors opened, setbacks, push-backs and headaches; then looking forward only gets us back to the place we started from.  It may be a different day, a new century, and even a younger generation... but it looks, sounds, fills, reads and smells the same.  And as my grandfather would say... if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and then it probably is a duck. 

For some people what is being said is good enough and they just buy in.  Others get tire of hearing the same old stuff over and over again and stop participating in the circles, town halls, community meetings and conversations.  And still others seem to understand the game and really know that regardless of who’s in control, it’s going to be the same-o...the same-o!  Sure, it may have a tweet here, a tuck there, a turn underneath or some new paint, but the results remain the same.   
           

And I don’t know if you realized of it or not, Milwaukee has made a number of top ten lists in recent years that are adversely affecting the city’s ability to become a place of economic growth and prosperity.  It is listed as the worst place to live for African Americans, most segregated city in America, highest in human sex trafficking and listed as the 7th  most dangerous city in America in 2015, to just name a few.  There is an urgent need to change these human-made disasters which cannot be blamed on a natural disaster or global warning.  From my view point, we qualify for a “State of Emergency” declaration.  That is what I see, how about you?           

The Inconvenient Truths

We have entered an age of fact checking, truth-o-meters, investigating reporting, and DNA matching and cell phone videos.   This new era has allowed us to see what is going on in real time, to uncover the past and to verify what has been said and done.  This has also allowed us to pull back the covers on things done under a cloud of suspicion and to find the truth. And certainly this has been a good thing for all of us.

In recent years it has become quite clear that a number of things are broken in our social systems, politics, law enforcement practices, immigration review and economy.  In so many words these have all become sources of tension, marching protests and push-backs.  Additionally, many of us see these things as problematic and reflections of the past.  As one politician puts it “the system is rigged and people feel it, and they’re right.” 

Many of the challenges we face today are more contrasting then they appear.  As the nation with the largest economy in the world, we depend on trade and an abundance of energy to keep the wheels turning and the midnight lamps burning.  We are also a nation which has the most powerful, innovative and effective military force that can project itself through sea power, air power, special ops and boots on the ground.  Make no bones about it; we spend over half of our national discretionary budget on our military, nearly 600 billion in 2015.  This is all in an effort to provide safety and security for what we do and to protect our national interests around the world.  


And we all get it to a degree, but we cannot continue to police the world, all the while not addressing the challenges on the home front.  Those challenges include rebuilding cities that are in ruin, addressing income inequality, providing affordable health care, taking care of veterans, reducing the high rates of poverty and the incarceration of people of color.  Yes, we have a lot on the table to deal with and certainly things cannot be changed overnight, but the future of the nation demands some steps to be taken now and to not just continue to kick the “can” down the road.  And did I mention about the effectives of global warming, juvenile justice reform, improving water quality and urban agriculture?  That is what I see, how about you?