In America’s pain, hope still remains

Conversations, changes grow with love, empathy, hope and resolve

Looking out across the nation, one doesn’t have to look far to see the pain, confusion, shock, anger and sorrow, sparked by the brutal video of George Floyd’s last moments. It’s in every newscast every day, images of our America in turmoil.

There is a call to action echoing in every corner of every community, including Yuma, a call for equality and a demand for an end to racism and racial injustice.

It’s time America, as a whole, heeds the call and listens, to stop talking about change and to actually make it happen.

It’s time for love, for empathy, for patience, and for understanding, yet we also need resolve – that we can do better, that we should be better and truly make our communities and our nation an equal, unified place.

All is not lost, and all is not darkness. There are examples across America in the last few days that show how this conversation begins: with love, empathy and hope.

One can look to Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in Michigan, who took off his riot gear and stood with protesters. Swanson told Good Morning America, “The community puts a lot of trust and faith in us, and we can’t sit there and hold back -- we need to make sure we do what we need to do to hear the community and to respond.”

We can look to Camden, N.J., where police got involved in plans for demonstrations, and joined in. Camden County Police Chief Joseph Wysocki was out front, holding a banner with protesters reading “Standing in Solidarity.”

We can look to the police officers in Columbus,

Ohio, who, after several days of demonstrations that morphed into riots in their city, decided to take a different approach, and marched with the protesters. The tone changed for that moment, WBNS CBS from Columbus reports, with the Columbus Division of Police Chief Thomas Quinlan talking with protesters. At the end of the march, the police and the protesters knelt together in prayer. Protests in Columbus dispersed peacefully Monday evening, but there was a clash between police and protesters in Columbus later that night. There is still work to be done.

Now is the time to bare our hearts.

It is time for an open mind, and a time to not only listen, but to understand what is being said – and to find a path forward, together.

It’s time, America. Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.