This is just a quickie comment responding to the “law and order” message that Trump is using in his campaign now. I take Trump seriously as a threat to this country, so if this helps on branding our response, then I hope it can. We also saw how well a ‘law n order’ message worked when employed by Nixon in another year that has in some ways been compared to 1968. So, this should not go unanswered.
And the answer is to not just promise law and order. We tried that; and it wasn’t enough. Nixon promised it. It was implemented and furthered under subsequent administrations since, and now we have an incarceration state and police using force with impunity, even against unarmed citizens, despite the 14th Amendment’s explicit promise of no deprivation of life without due process of law, not to mention equal application of the laws.
Justice for All is what must be promised instead. Law and order, without justice, is but another definition for tyranny. That’s what we’ve had these last decades. Justice—equal justice under law, as inscribed on our supreme court—is also the prerequisite and foundation for social peace and order. An unjust order therefore ultimately cannot stand—does not deserve to stand. So, if we truly want to resolve our society’s problems, law and order alone are only a lid, not a longterm solution. Justice, however, is. “No Justice, No Peace”, right?
As a counter to the fear, it would also be helpful to point out that we’re supposed to be the home of the brave, not the home of pants-shitters. Although we apparently have plenty of those too, it seems.