Well, here we are, folks. My last blog entry was April 12. Being the hopelessly optimistic person I am, I had hoped (and had been confident) that by my next entry, things would be getting better in America and around the world.

I was wrong.

They’re not better.

The pandemic is now ongoing. They’re working to get a handle on it, but it takes time to do it and do it right. In the meantime, people are still afraid. And that fear is leading to some rather ugly displays of human behavior, from people intentionally coughing or spitting at other people and then stating they have the COVID, to customers in masks running customers without masks out of the store.

And speaking of ugly human behavior…

Here in America, we’re dealing with yet another murder of an unarmed black man at the hands of a white cop. This loser is the kind of cop that makes ALL cops look bad. I don’t stand on a soapbox very often. In fact, I try to avoid it. But this is a special case in a special time, isn’t it?

I come from a law enforcement family. My brother is a retired cop. My oldest son is a cop. My oldest daughter is a cop. I have an extended family member, a nephew, who is a  cop. That sort makes me the odd man out at family reunions because I’m a writer. But I did do 20 years active duty military, so there’s that. Point is, in most cases I tend to side with cops, or at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Being a combat vet who’s participated in direct combat operations on three continents, I understand all too clearly the burden of making split-second life and death decisions in combat situations. They call it “the Fog of War”. Been there, done that. Still carry the scars.

But that’s not what happened this time, folks.

We’ve all seen the video. We all know what happened. The entire planet knows what happened. This video will wind up being admitted as evidence in each of the four former officers’ trials. What really appalls me even more than the one cop kneeling on the victim’s neck (which is outrageous enough!) is that NONE of the other three did anything to stop him or pull him off. If they had, perhaps george Floyd would still be alive. But their moral weakness and lack of a backbone directly contributed to this man’s death.

It’s called depraved indifference when you stand there and watch someone die.

So what are we, as artists, supposed to do? You can protest, participate in peaceful marches and rallies. You can attend city council meetings and county Board of Supervisor meetings. Write to your Congressman and/or Senator. Use social media. Make your voice heard. Just don’t get hurt doing it. And don’t hurt anybody else while you’re doing it. Otherwise, you’re making the problem worse.

What else are we, as artists, supposed to do? I suggest we USE it. Use what’s going on in this moment in time. Let it inspire you, drive you to create new content. You can point out and address problems directly through your work, and you can offer up possible solutions. Paint, sculpt, write. Whatever it is you do, do it. Do it with PURPOSE.

Please understand, I’m not bashing America. I love my country. I deployed to foreign lands for it, fought wars for it, killed for it, bled for it, and Goddamned near died for it. But America is not perfect, never has been. And what happened to George Floyd is more than just wrong, it is CRIMINAL. These fired, disgraced, former cops had been handed a sacred public trust. They betrayed that trust in the most horrific manner. I fervently hope they get what’s coming to them when they have their day in court.

America must do better. America must be made better. And it must be made better by US. For if we don’t do it, then who will? No one will do it for us. That much is evident. And if we don’t do it now, then when will we do it?

We can’t trust the Government to police itself because history shows us time and again that it CAN’T. If the Government could effectively police itself, these types of atrocities wouldn’t continue to happen.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and and over and expecting a different result.

There’s a lot of work to do, that must be done, in order to make this country BETTER for ALL people. No matter how you choose to go about doing your part, LET’S GET TO IT. As terrible as the situation is, we actually have been presented with a wonderful opportunity right a whole history of wrongs.

Let’s not blow it.