The forgotten 700

"This beautiful city, on the shores of Lake Michigan, just had its 701 homicide at the end of November. But who cares, right? WRONG! We should all care!" 

There is an expression which is commonly used today to describe a true injustice in our country. "The soft bigotry of low expectations." And it usually relates to the fact that our education system fails many people of color. Because we refuse to fix our broken education system, we are creating a new generation of people who have been kicked to the gutter. Well, I for one do not think that is okay. It is morally wrong. However, there is something even worse going on, and for some reason the federal government as well as the MSM have been very silent on it. 

I am talking about black on black crime (often violent) taking place in many of our larger cities. It is totally out of the control. But the city which is the "poster child" for black on black homicides is the Windy City. Yes, I am talking about Chicago. This beautiful city, on the shores of Lake Michigan, just had its 701st homicide at the end of November. But who cares, right? WRONG! We should all care! These are humans. These are Americans. They are sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, maybe even moms or dads. 

Imagine just for a minute that a nuclear reactor lost all fail safes and melted down. Before people could be evacuated in time, 700 received a lethal dose of radiation. It would be a huge catastrophe. This would make world wide news for months and months. It would be in the history books. But for 701 people to be gunned down in Chicago? You really need to dig on the internet to find out the specifics. It is like the 700 have all but been forgotten.

President Elect Trump said while campaigning, he was going into our large cities and restore them. Fix what needs to be fixed. And part of restoring them is to make them livable for all. The fact that walking through some areas of an American city is more dangerous than being in a combat zone is just plain crazy. This where people live! Where young children grow up!

No, I take Mr. Trump at his word. He will do whatever it takes to eliminate this "soft bigotry of low expectations" - in all aspects of life. From education, to employment to just plain being safe at home. People in our inner cities have been handed the short end of the stick for way, way too long. Yes, that includes the Twin Cities of Minnesota also. 

Have we all forgotten the 700? No, not all of us. And that includes our new President.

In his famous poem For whom the Bell Tolls by John Donne, remember these lines as it relates to the forgotten 700:

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.