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?