Sal's Reflections

It appears that everyone is angry .Republicans are angry,Democrats are angry,Independents are angry and those with no political affiliation are angry. We well know that anger is a secondary emotion so what are the real sources of this anger? I believe the prime veins are a sense of powerlessness and frustration.Despite the group or political leaning people are tirde of do noting politics. Unfortunately this anger blocks reason, and is used against all the groups. Politicians live and die with playing he blaming game, and so our anger is unfocused and unlike the reaction to 9/11 we achieve no significant change by battling citizens with diverse opinions.

It seems incredulous to believe that so many years have passed since that indelible mark on our hearts and souls.Watching those magnificent towers crumbling to the ground created a Grand Canyon of sorrow around the nation. Ordinary people went to work on that brilliant day never realizing that this would be there last moment on earth.The terror that hatred spawned robbed so many of their loved ones ,and in many respects stole innocence from all of us.We could not conceive that this could happen anywhere in America.
The pain is ongoing for many families and closure is a nice concept because life must go on for those who mourn ,but grief does not have a calendar.To remember the fallen is noble. but to take them with us in the quest for building a more perfect union is profound.Our sorrow must be turned into action, and to embrace their memories by making our neighborhoods towns and cities places where community is vibrant, and the core of the principles on which this land was built.We are not powerless, and digging deeply into how we felt toward every American on that horrific day will allow us to stop shouting at each other, and embrace our differences in dialogue not slogans.

In two days we will memorialize one of the most tragic days in American history. It was a day when not a single person focused on the gender,race or sexual preference of the victims. We did not break into categories whose lives mattered more than others. Those heroic cops and firemen who put their lives on the line did not for one second care about the political or religious beliefs of those trapped in those infernos.We as members of the public shed our petty differences and held each other up,and there were no strangers. We were Americans not Democrats,Republicans or other. There were no litmus tests because we were bound with an intense love for country that washed away all that separates us..We did not think in terms of walls to separate us, or which of our citizens deserved full rights.It was us against any who would harm us, and we made room in our hearts for difference .

 I was horrified last year when I saw a cop shoot a man in the back who was running for his life, and there were other incidents like the one in Baltimore that made me wonder about the abuse of power We must always stand up for those who have been abused by the system. However, we must stand also for the men in Blue who everyday provide us with the safety and service that keeps us able to function most times without fear or worry. I have know many cops in Westfield,Jersey City and New York and have seen numerous acts of heroism and kindness.It is time for all of us to stand together.Yes we muse weed out the few who use the badge to abuse others, but we must also honor the majority of cops who need to know that we have their backs a well as all of our citizens. I weep for those who were killed without justification, but there are also tears for the cop who was murdered yesterday.,