Because We MUST THINK

I normally do not write about articles in the news. I figure they are incorrect most of the time or slanted one way or another by the writer/announcer/news affiliate. But I just read a blog by a person that I have not met. I follow his blog because the person is thoughtful, a Public Defender, and (mostly) a good writer.

SO...when I read the following blog post I sent it to some of my fellow defense attorneys. I didn't send it to my Facebook account. I thought about it and decided that there would be a lot of negative, vitriolic, irrational, and emotional feedback.

Then I thought again.

Just because many of the people I know will automatically react negatively to the subject matter does not mean that I can't ask them to think about it.

If, twenty years ago, I was to write about gay marriage or any other highly controversial subject, the same response would have occurred.

But people did write about controversial subjects then. And they did controversial things.

They sat at all white lunch counters. They represented hated groups (Burton Allen Joseph, represented The National Socialist Party (off-shoot of the Nazi party) in its effort to march in mostly Jewish Skoki, Illinois). They demonstrated at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

They did things that most people didn't like. That many people believed to be immoral or "unAmerican".

And each of those things changed us. Changed our culture. I think they changed us for the better. Others might disagree. But I have based my life's work on changing our culture of exclusivity, distrust and hate one person at a time.

So, I think I can take it. Because this is important.

We need to remember that we cannot judge something until we have ALL the facts. We cannot hate or despise a person, a decision, an effort until we have looked at it thoroughly and thoughtfully. Until we have looked at it from the "there but for the Grace of God..." standpoint.

So here is the link to the blog. Just think about it.

http://apublicdefender.com/2014/04/01/some-more-thoughts-dupont-heir/