Shootings in the City of Miami: Personal Accountability
There have been growing concerns about police shootings that have taken place in recent history in the City of Miami. Many have looked at the police as the source of the trouble. There have been cries against the police. I ask the question to the village, at what point does the village (community) require more of the villagers (people)?
There has to be a community outcry that declares dissatisfaction with the current condition, not just of the community, but with the people within the community. This is the place where we must begin. It is the people that construct the community and the people within the community must grow weary with the low level of safety in our community. I suggest that the standards of the people, our people, have to be raised. We must want more of ourselves as individuals as well as of each other.
It is at some point that our love for our family causes us to not tolerate having relatives who proliferate acts of crime. I do not suggest that all of the laws of the land are favorable however they do exist to give all within US jurisprudence an equal outlook or equal footing as to what is justifiable. Families should not benefit or reap the harvest from another family member’s ill gotten gains. We have all witnessed the eventual outcome of traveling this road. There are many motivating factors that lead people to lives of crime. Some of them are because of a lack of opportunities to be gainfully employed, the cost of living continuously increasing, the mainstream glamorizing of a ‘thug life’, as well as materialism that suggests being somebody of importance is measured by your material possessions, even the lack of life-skills that would enable a person to maneuver through difficult situations without responding in violence. Each of these as well as there are other dynamics that contributes to the cause nevertheless the community must be outraged not about the police but we must be outraged about the people in the community.
It is unfortunately apparent that our neighborhoods have regressed to a wild-wild west mentality. Humanity should respect others. Humanity should value the life of others. Where do we begin to change our culture? Where do we begin to right this wrong within our community? Where do we begin to change the image that we have of ourselves and correct the image that the public has of us? It starts with us. It is an effort that can’t be handled by one entity. It requires individual accountability. It requires the leaders in our community. It requires our churches and pastors. It requires law enforcement, politicians. It requires people being humane. It requires that we love life, each other and have a since of pride about who we are.
There is a greater evil in our day and time that challenges our people. We can cry about racism, which still exists, but we are destroying ourselves. Sometimes when you look at our community it appears that it has been neglected; neglected by government, neglected by law enforcement. It may very well have been neglected by government, law enforcement and others unfortunately it has been neglected by us as well. We have to take pride. We have to take back our neighborhood. We have to take back our children. We have to take back our identity. We have to grow tired and begin to change and expect more and require more. We have to become accountable. This is not how we are supposed to live. This is not what our forefathers fought for when they envisioned having equal rights and civil rights. This is not what was envisioned when there was the abolishment of segregation. This is not what was expected. This is not how it was supposed to be. To whom much is given much is required. With the freedom that Dr. King and others have fought for there comes great responsibility. We are the recipients of their blood and sacrifices as well as we are the ones that bear the responsibility for what they fought for and have gained. The question is can we handle the responsibility that comes along with being free. We must remove the shackles off of our mind and discontinue this path and obtain the greatness that we can become.
