Years ago, John Lennon wrote a song called, “Imagine.” Part of the lyrics include, “Imagine all the people living life in peace…you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one.” Right now, the world appears far from being one. The United States especially is more divided across racial and political lines than ever before. As Americans we imagined that the Declaration of Independence was correct when it stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The word unalienable means impossible to take away or surrender. An unalienable right is something that cannot be repealed by human laws. Someway, somehow, something, or someone has taken away from Black people our unalienable rights. Too many of us are losing our lives at the hands and knees of white police officers, too many of us are losing our liberty to a corrupt judicial system and too many of us are not able to find employment or a fair wage in our pursuit of happiness. It is time for America to Reimagine its Promise and live up to its words.
The death of George Floyd ignited several new movements including how people, cities, and the country are looking at reforming police tactics and the delivery of police services. In Los Angeles there is a loud cry to reimagine how the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and public safety should operate. The term reimagine means to reinterpret imaginatively or to rethink something. As we continue to think about how to reimagine and reform policing and public safety, we are also thinking about other areas that need to be reimagined. Measure J in Los Angeles County was approved last year to allocate at least 10% of the County’s locally generated, unrestricted funds to address racial injustice through community investments such as youth development, job training, small business development, supportive housing services, community-based restorative justice programs, and more. We may not be able to correct all the wrongs of the past, but we can begin to hopefully make things better moving forward.
America must reimagine that all men are created equal. America must reimagine that Black Lives Matter. America must reimagine that the shining city on a hill is not for whites only. America must reimagine its moral authority. America must reimagine that its politicians must be for all its citizens. America must reimagine that one liar can tell one big lie and cause anarchy and a failed political coup.
The French aristocrat, diplomat, and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, once said, “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” If this bold statement was ever going to come to fruition now is the time. America’s faults go way back from stealing this country from Native Americans to putting shackles on Black people and making them slaves. We need America to turn away from hate, racism, Trumpism, white supremacy, QAnon, and the Big Lie and remember “E pluribus unum” which translates “out of many, one.” We must either learn to live together as one or perish together as fools. #america #reimagine #unity
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Visit www.WendyGladney.com and www.forgivingforliving.org to learn more. Wendy is a life strategist, coach, consultant, author, and speaker. You can hear her every Wednesday on Instagram Live at 12 noon PST.