Thea Hood: A new day is dawning – The Union

The Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal verdict Nov. 20, 2021, came as no surprise to legal experts, but out on the street the protest signs (highlighted by news media) called for a revolution.

Colin Kaepernick responded to the verdict with a tweet: This only further validates the need to abolish our current system. White supremacy cannot be reformed.

And three days later, numerous headlines proclaimed Milwaukee BLM militant (activist Vaun Mayes) says Waukesha Christmas parade attack may be start of revolution.

Our country has been rocked with protests, riots, lootings, murders, lying, vandalism, violence and every kind of chaos imaginable over the past two years.

It all started on May 25, 2020, with the death of George Floyd, and wound its way from the streets of Minneapolis through the streets of Portland, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Los Angeles, Chicago, and even Nevada City, into the streets of Waukesha.

var vf_ad_container = document.getElementById(vf_div_id);vf_ad_container.innerHTML = '

';AdBridg.cmd.push(function() {var vf_gpt_slot = AdBridg.defineSlot('/5195/NCPC_TheUnion/ROS/opinion', [300,250], vf_div_id).setTargeting('slot', vf_div_id);var vf_size_mapping = AdBridg.sizeMapping().addSize([320,50]).build();AdBridg.useSizeMapping(vf_gpt_slot, vf_size_mapping);AdBridg.display('ad-big-box4');AdBridg.serve();})

var r1 = vf_ad_container.closest('.vf-promo');if (typeof r1 !== undefined) r1.style.display = "block";

});

});

I think most people agree that what happened in Minneapolis was not acceptable. But a revolution?

According to Wikipedia, a revolution is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due to perceived oppression or political incompetence.

On the other hand, also according to Wikipedia, Areform movementis a type ofsocial movementthat aims to bring asocialor also apolitical systemcloser to the communitys ideal.

I reflect on my years living in Zimbabwe a classic example of a fairly prosperous country totally ruined by a revolution.

Rhodesia, its name before the revolution, was known as the breadbasket of Africa. It was under Ian Smiths British white-minority rule when Robert Mugabe, the nationalist leader, took charge of the country in 1980a t a cost of 30,000 lives. It took only a few years for Mugabe to totally ruin that beautiful country, leaving Zimbabwe politically and economically destitute. It never recovered.

On the other hand, our civil rights movement from the 50s and 60s shows how we achievedreform. Our government remained intact, but we progressed forward.

Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent reform movement that eventually resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which outlawed discrimination.

King convinced more people through his peaceful, active protests and eloquent and persuasive wordst han through violence.

Violence alienates people a lesson ignored by many angry, violent protesters today.

As a baby boomer, I lived through the hippie movement, the civil rights movement, and a myriad of other movements revolving around the Vietnam War, environmental protections, womens rights, homosexual rights and anti-nuclear protests.

The movements still continue today. The communes of the hippie era have been replaced by todays intentional communities. The environmental protection movement of the 70s, predicting a coming ice age, morphed into global warming. And the civil rights protests of the 50s and 60s turned into todays racial injustice protests.

You can also add to todays list transgender rights, defund the police, back the blue, gun control, womens rights, abortion, immigration, taxes and government mandates.

In spite of all these protest issues, I do not believe that the majority of people want a revolution.

Common sense should answer the question: Why are millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, trying to get into the USA? Why arent people scrambling to exit the USA?

Because America is a great country, offering freedom and opportunity for all! So why would anyone want to leave or overthrow what so many desire and risk their lives for?

Also remember what the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Katie Couric in a 2016 interview: That those who kneel during the anthem were showing contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents and grandparents to live a decent life.

I also do not believe there will be reformation anytime soon.

Reform requires a leader who can garner the cooperation of the masses. We are currently too divided as a nation to work toward a common goal. Our current president promised to heal this nation, yet he calls reporters stupid sons of bitches. No, there is no room for reform on todays agenda.

All we have left at the end of the day are ordinary citizens, willing to march most of them peacefully, tired of the violence by the fringes. The people just want to be heard, hoping to influence those in power, many of whom just want more power.

But, wait! Theres a new day dawning. We the people get to vote for people who will listen. We the people hold that ultimate power.

Thea Hood lives in Nevada County.

View original post here:

Thea Hood: A new day is dawning - The Union