A Different Perspective

The recent deaths of two African-American men at the hands of police has stoked racial disharmony, suspicion, and fear. If I were black, I too would be afraid of police, particularly after the Staten Island case. Not indicting any of the officers involved in the death of Eric Garner is a travesty. The Ferguson killing of Michael Brown is a different matter though, as I believe that Brown tried to take Officer Darren Wilson's gun. As a member of a group persecuted for our faith for many centuries, I understand the anger of another group that had been deprived of equal liberty for almost two centuries by a nation that was nominally founded on the notion that "all men are created equal". Those rioting now in parts of America are not recognizing the great strides made in civil rights. This progress should be apparent as we have an African-American in the highest office in the land, that being President Obama.