FAILURE

BANG  BANG  BANG  BANG  BANG  BANG 

Six shots from a non automatic gun - Six pulls on the trigger.

Imagine

Six pumps on a spray cleaner
Six pumps on a hair spray bottle
Six pumps of breath freshener
Six sprays of hand sanitizer
Six presses on the elevator call button
Six pumps of flavored syrup in a fancy shmancy coffee

How many is enough?

BANG

My life is interwoven with people of different hues and shades. We are coworkers and study partners and neighbors and friends. I fear I am in a minority for that statement alone.  My life is also interwoven with people who have never spoken to a person born in another country, and some who assume stereotypes are the only option and some who are set in their ways and can't imagine why they should change and still others that don't grasp how much the world has changed or how much it hasn't.

And through it all I hoped for a better world.  I not only hoped; but I tried to create the world I want to be part of; to be the change I think we need.   

But somewhere along the way we didn’t succeed. We didn’t make a safer world; a gentler world; a smarter world for all of us.  Yes, here and there are pockets or glimmers but in general we as a society have failed.

BANG

In successful societies, we support unconditionally until circumstances are no longer supportable. We give the benefit of the doubt until there is no doubt. We presume innocence until our own innocence and that of our future generations is compromised.

We failed to follow through.

BANG

We’ve failed our children; black and white and any other shade. We’ve failed to give them a safe environment to thrive in. We’ve failed our minority groups; whether color, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. We have failed to give them the same laudable American experience previous generations had.

BANG

We’ve failed our police officers. Protect and serve is not mitigated by preferences of the person in uniform. One does not get to choose. They should be trained better; should be trained to respect as well as protect. We failed to train them in alternative methods, failed to teach them empathy or compassion and failed to teach them that every life is worthy. We failed to give them the tools needed to do the job.

BANG

We’ve failed by not expecting each and every person live up to their potential. We have allowed the ‘soft prejudice of low expectations’ to impact on our neighbors and communities.

We’ve failed ourselves and our future. But we’re not done. Now the hard work towards success needs to start.

Before the next bang.