People burning American cities down. A spark leads to a flame, then an inferno, and now spreads like a disease. Is it because a man was mistreated and then (allegedly) murdered by the police? Or is the issue more profound? Let’s apply Common Sense Civics and Citizenship to this all-important issue that unfortunately keeps repeating itself in American culture.
The only thing standing between a peaceful civilization and total unrest is the law.
The Fifth Amendment says that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
What part of the Fifth Amendment did the police officers (who are enforcers of the law) not understand? Were they not taught the Fifth Amendment?
An American citizen was deprived of his life, liberty, and property without due process of law. This should deeply distress every American. The Constitution is not to be suspended at will by law enforcement. Our rights are just that. Rights. They belong to us. The Bill of Rights limits government authority. Rights endowed to us by our Creator are not expendable, and law enforcement can’t revise them “on the fly.”
Did you learn this in school? Have you made sure your children learn their rights and responsibilities as American citizens? The U.S.Constitution is not a self-enforcing document. I learned that in class. We must learn it, own it, protect it, and pass it on to our posterity.
I carefully observed the young people at the riots across the country. They were dressed well, and all had cell phones. Apparently, few to none learned that they are entitled by law to peaceful assembly and may petition the government with redress of their grievances. Instead, they came to observe or participate in violence, but not to stop it.
Where are we allowed in life to throw a tantrum and expect a good result? If you throw something at a wall in anger, you have to pick it up, clean it up, replace it, or do without it. In a civilized society, if you harm someone in anger, you must pay restitution. Who will clean up the mess in these cities? Better yet, where did any American learn that unrighteous anger gives them a “pass” in life? Isn’t harming another’s property wrong? Have two wrongs ever made anything right?
Listen, I have witnessed riots throughout my life. They never changed anything. The mess is still there. Why? If you make law-abiding citizens pay for the cleanup, how does that promote a more just, peaceful society? Riots promote anger, not extinguish it. They are destructive. Nothing good comes from them ever.
It boils down to this: Hatred is a matter of the heart. You will never kill or throw a fit big enough to root anger out of any person. You can kill the body, but you can’t kill the soul. The soul is where God-given rights take root, are nurtured, and mature. People must be taught the laws of nature’s God. They must be taught to love others as they love themselves. Then people can grow up to maturity where the code can be understood and applied.
Revenge, bitterness, hatred are not the marks of maturity or any lofty goal. Destruction is their only end. Best to let the natural consequences of the laws of nature and nature’s God settle the score.
“But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.??
