Ferguson : Race Is Potentially More Damaging to America than Terrorists

On August 9, in Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. That is a fact. A grand jury that had been constituted in May was asked by the county prosecutor to consider both testimony from witnesses and physical evidence accompamied by expert witness explanations. That is a fact. The grand jury was charged to decide if Officer Wilson had committed a crime in killing Brown. They had the law explained to them and their answer, based on two months of review of the testimony, physical evidence and law, was given yesterday. The grand jury decided that there was no probable cause to find that Wilson had committed a crime. That is a fact. The predominantly black community that is Ferguson exploded in rioting after Brown's death. It exploded again last night after the grand jury decision was made public. That is a fact. ~~~~~ The rest is a volatile mix of race relations and politics and media coverage. The components, as I see them, include : *Poor community relations and a lack of blacks willing to be leaders in a black community with a white police force, one of many in America. *A reluctance or inability of some communities with black majorities to enter into the political process and take control of their own towns and neighborhoods. Why should Ferguson, a dissatisfied community that is 70/% black, routinely elect white mayors? *An integration of black and white Americans that has forced schools and political districts and employers to be "fair" - but that has resulted in no real coming together of the two races in America. *Black and white commentators - lawyers, prosecutors, politicians and crime experts - arguing with each other in an effort to be seen to be right by their natural bases, instead of trying to calmly consider the serious race-based issues. *"Professional" agitators and anarchists who used Ferguson's anguish to trash and burn a community that did not want them to become involved or burn their struggling community, leaving Ferguson to try today to brace for tonight and figure out what to do to rebuild. *A national black "voice" composed of people of color willing to be showcased by national liberal TV media to provide support for its progressive point of view that automatically blames whites for every black problem or failure. *White "common wisdom" that believes that all blacks prefer welfare to personal independence. *Reactionary white media stars using race as a tool to further their own careers. *An educational system that is failing to engage black youngsters, especially boys, and teach them to read and learn the other skills that will enable them to become part of adult America, instead of being supported by it in a welfare system that only feeds the problem and creates new generations of non-integrated young black men. *A black President whose failure to address in a meaningful way race-based issues has widened the gulf between non-integrated black citizens and their government, instead of closing the black-white gap as many had hoped when he was elected. *Both black and white American leaders at all levels who seem to be paralyzed in the face of the growing chasm developing between the non-elite white and non-elite black Americas - leaders who are afraid, angry, impotent, taking care of themselves without feeling a need to step up and reach out - with no national black or white political leaders addressing the issues frontally. ~~~~~ In declining to indict Wilson, the grand jury reached a conclusion that is far more the norm than the exception. Indictments of police officers in these kinds of situations is very unusual, as we all know. The Supreme Court formed the national standard in its 1989 decision that said the use of force must be evaluated through the "perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene" rather than being judged after the fact. That means officers are often given the benefit of the doubt by prosecutors and grand jurys reluctant to second-guess police decisions. So, the grand jury decision in the Ferguson case is not unique and it is not really the problem. The problem is racial. The Ferguson implosion represents the fears, animosities, separation and helplessness of both black and white America. ~~~~~ What strikes me again and again is that we are back in the 1960s. I was part of the battle to bring black Americans into full participation in American society. It seems we succeeded at some levels. That effort has indeed blended the black and white races at many levels in ways that continue to function today - where education makes good jobs and homes in middle class communities possible, leading to community and political leadership positions. But the isolated lower tier exists, where integration has become a bad joke because the tools to integrate are lacking. What is the answer? Do we go back to the basics -- find local black leaders willing to risk working with mixed-race teams sent into these communities to put infrastructure in place? Do we ask corporations to once again create and support neighborhood programs to educate and train young blacks and then hire them for skilled manufacturing jobs? Do enough such skilled jobs exist or have we moved past factories to technology-based workforces that demand longer training periods, thus stretching out the period before the reward for hard effort is felt by young blacks? Do we demand that the President prefer American blacks to illegal immigrants when it comes to lower tier jobs? ~~~~~ Dear readers, I do not believe that America cannot find answers if it wants to. And want to, America must. Because it is far more likely that America could be brought down by internal racial conflict than by any jihadist terrorist group in the world. It is time to wake up and address America's race problem. Blacks and whites share the blame. They also share the enormous dangers for America's future inherent in doing nothing. And, above all, they share the great potential benefits of putting their hearts and minds and money into working together to solve the problem instead of feeding it. The time is now. It is the responsibility of President Obama to stop speaking in platitudes and follow Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Nixon. Provide the leadership and harness the needed leaders and resources. That would be a lasting and positive legacy. There is no alternative except gradual self-destruction. That is a fact.