A Brighter Future
On Sunday I read a news story concerning the fifth anniversary of the death of George Floyd (Henry, Skyler, “5 years after the murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis’ police chief is continuing to work toward change.” Cbcnews.com. May 25, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minneapolis-police-reform-george-floyd-five-years-later/).
The article indicates that some changes have been made while there remains work to be done.
This led me to reflect on reasons why more changes have not been made. All of the reasons I thought of point to people’s attitudes.
The same action can have different motivations behind it. I think of the protests and riots that happened following George Floyd’s death (see my article from back then, “A Stressful Time”). I see a protest as something appropriate and perhaps even needed when injustice is done. A proper protest speaks to the issues while maintaining peace. Unfortunately, sometimes emotions run high and a peaceful protest can evolve into a riot. Riots can hurt the cause. Riots can also be protests that are hijacked by people looking to cause trouble or an excuse to steal and defame property. The right to protest is a cornerstone in the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution. Yet, it is important to realize the right is not expressed in the Constitution as a right to protest. What is explicitly written is “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” A protest can do this, a riot cannot.
People engaged in a proper protest have seen injustice and are often looking for hope, hope that things will become better. In the case of George Floyd people look for hope that will come when racism is ended and there are not “bad” police officers who act outside proper police conduct. Let us be thankful for all the police officers who do uphold and follow the law themselves.
We look for common dialogue where people who feel threatened, unsafe, and uncared for can speak and be heard by those who have the power to change things. People have a right to have their concerns truly addressed.
In dialogue, all sides need to seek understanding of others’ positions. Understanding does not have to mean agreement. I do not know if I will ever understand why Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. I do not understand how on the same day in just the last week Russia both participated in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine and launched over 300 missiles and drones against targets in Ukraine.
Turning to the Middle East, I do understand some of the reasons of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. My understanding does not mean I agree. We need to distinguish between Hamas as a terrorist organization and the right of the Palestinian people to have a safe place to live and the basic necessities of life just as we need to distinguish between the good Jewish people of Israel who want the fighting to end and those in Israel who are determined to completely destroy Hamas.
It is not just armed conflict we can reflect on here. I also think of the political polarization in our own nation. The politicians are not engaged in armed conflict with each other but they almost seem to embrace the polarization in failing to engage in real and productive dialogue to discern what is best.
What stands in the way of addressing these issues?
Racism is a factor. Blacks are human beings just as white people are. The people of Ukraine are human beings just like the Russian people. The Palestinians are human beings just like the Jewish people. They all have the same rights. Here my mind thinks of the verse we heard recently at Sunday Mass, “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” (Revelation 7:9). They are all children of God. Racism must end and the dignity of all people must be ensured and their rights preserved (for more on the dignity each person has see Part I of my 2021 video series, Treating Life with Dignity and Love).
Even criminals have basic human rights. Everyone who is arrested deserves due process and to be treated with some dignity. We must also realize there is a huge difference between those who commit acts of violence and a person whose only crime is coming to our country without following proper immigration policies. The latter are looking for jobs to provide for the needs of their families. They are not looking for handouts. They are willing to work hard. We must not treat them like terrible criminals (see my article, “Treating Them With Dignity.” February 11, 2025.).
Another challenge in addressing issues is the perception of some people who will admit there is a problem but think it has nothing to do with them. So, they think it is not their problem. For example, I think there is agreement that even one school shooting is a problem but many see it as someone else’s problem. The exact details of a school shooting (or any other violent act) may not be the responsibility of all people but there are aspects that society has a responsible for. For example, we all have a responsibility to make sure all people are treated equally. No one should ever be bullied because of their skin, their national origin, or their gender (see my article, “How Do We Look at the World”). Even when their actions include sin, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We must remember Paul’s words in Romans 5:8, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
In some school shootings as well as other acts of violence, mental health is a contributing factor. In fulfilling the fifth Corporal Work of Mercy, we are called to care for the sick (Matthew 25:36). This includes a duty as a society to ensure that proper mental health care is available to those who need it.
If we expect an end to violence, we need to let go of the radical individualism that is consuming our society. The most important question we ask is not what’s in it for me. It isn’t all about me and it isn’t all about you. If we want things to change for the better, then we need to act in solidarity with one another. We need to love our neighbor. This includes all our neighbors, not just the ones we like and are friends with. (For more on the problem of radical individualism and the need for solidarity, I recommend, Kenneth Craycraft, Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor. 2024).
We also need to understand how relativism can be part of the problem. Relativism says there is no universal truth. In turn, it claims that everyone must have the freedom to determine their own truth. We do have freedom to make choices for ourselves but the truth is the truth. We need to look beyond ourselves for something that transcends us. The answer lies in God and our faith in him.
Faith should not be one little part of our lives. If we truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, sent by the Father, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us look beyond ourselves to how God sees the world. Our faith must be part of our entire worldview.
Even for people who deny there is a God, I ask that they look beyond themselves. If all one looks at is one’s self, does anything really matter? What meaning does life have? If one thinks only about themselves, then does anything matter when they are gone?
Yes, it does.
If we look out only for ourselves, we close ourselves off from love. If we open ourselves to be concerned about others, we begin to know what love is. We begin to express something greater. We begin to know who God is and that He loves us. Only with God is there hope.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff