Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome again to another episode of Freedom's Creed. I am happy that you're tuning in, and really to begin with, I must say that the topic that I have chosen to discuss today is not a favorite topic at all, but I believe that it needs to be talked about. And with this topic, it's one that we get pulled on from so many different directions. There's so much information that we have access to. Much of it is not believable, much of it uh surrounds a particular narrative, and it's difficult to weed through all the mess and get to something that we believe is accurate. And by no means am I saying that the things that I say are 100% accurate all the time. But my objective and intent is to be accurate with the information that I provide you, my listeners. But I'm fallible, I make mistakes, and it's not to say that I can never make a mistake because I do. And if I do make mistakes, I certainly want to come back and correct those mistakes in the future. So that's certainly my objective in going forward, not just with today's topic, but with anything that I discuss or talk about on my podcast. The focus of this podcast episode is the consequences of behavior. All of us are probably aware of the statement that says that our choices determine our destiny. I believe that that's true. I look at choices in my life that have impacted my life in a positive way, my marriage to my wife, uh, the choice that I made to obtain my formal education, uh, the choice to be disciplined in my personal behavior, the choice to obey the laws, which is part of living in a civilized society. Naturally, there are choices that I have made in my life that have been not so positive, uh, not so beneficial to the outcome that I had desired at the time. And those choices, I think, are what make us human beings. They are choices that, I mean, we can't all make correct choices 100% of the time in our life, but we certainly ought to be moving in that direction to be able to make the best choices that we can on a regular basis day to day. And it's true, we're not the sum of all the good and bad choices that we make in our lives, but certainly we want to try to eliminate those negative or bad choices compared to the good or the positive choices that we make. What I am focusing on today is what happens when we choose to react to law enforcement negatively. What are the consequences of such a choice? And specifically, I am talking about the black community. That is what is in focus in the news today because we have these incidences of police shootings of black men. And to me, it's a very distressing thing to see happening in our society. And I often wonder why. Why does it take place? The simple answer is that we're human beings, we are not a perfect people, we make a lot of mistakes, and we all want to be forgiven for those mistakes, without a doubt. I think if we were to believe the media, we would all be convinced that there is an epidemic of police shootings of black men. And I, for one, just don't believe that that's the case. Does that negate the fact that it happens? Of course not. It does happen in our society, and it's a terrible thing. People's lives are ruined, and oftentimes for no reason at all. And the question then becomes, why? Why does this have to happen? To answer that question, there are probably as many answers as there are people who are involved in these cases because each case or circumstance is different. And in all the cases, regardless of the differences in those cases, due process must be allowed to play out, and justice will hopefully be served. I'd like to read now a quote from Barack Obama, something that he said back in 2008 on Father's Day. He said this quote, of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important, and we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches, they are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it. But if we are being honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men, and the foundations of our families are weaker because of it. He continues You and I know how true this is in the African American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single parent households, a number that has doubled since we were children. We know the statistics that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of schools, and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves, and the foundations of our community are weaker because of it. And sadly, in the thirteen years almost that Barack Obama said these words, it seems to me that very little has changed in that regard. Now it is true that police shoot people of all races. However, per capita, more black men are shot than any other race. That is true. And if you ask me, it's a terrible footnote on a civilized society. But nevertheless, based on some statistics that I will read momentarily, there is causation. But contrary to popular belief, it's not because of a bunch of racist police officers. Is it true that there are bad police officers and bad cops on the streets? Of course. Anyone with any common sense or a brain can figure that out. And typically we hear this from all segments or corners of society. But how often do we hear the same thing said about the general population? That there are also bad people who choose to break the law. I don't know about you, but I rarely, if ever, hear this. Journalist and author Jason Riley wrote an article subsequent to the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of Michael Brown, and I'd like to read some quotes from that article. He said this quote, Blacks are just 13% of the population, but responsible for a majority of murders in the U.S. And more than 90% of black murder victims are killed by other blacks. Blacks commit violent crimes at seven to ten times the rate that whites do. The fact that their victims tend to be of the same race suggests that young black men in the ghetto live in danger of being shot by each other, not cops. Research has long shown that the rate at which blacks are arrested is nearly identical to the rate at which crime victims identify blacks as their assailants. He goes on to say that racial profiling and tensions between the police and poor black communities are real problems, but these are effects rather than causes, and they can't be addressed without also addressing the extraordinarily high rates of black criminal behavior. Yet such discussion remains taboo. Blacks who bring it up are sellouts, whites who mention it are racists. And finally he says pretending that police behavior is the root of the problem is not only a dodge, but also foolish. Romanticizing such behavior instead of condemning it only makes matters worse. Close quote. Hearing this type of straightforward language is difficult but necessary. It's akin to when we did something wrong as kids and we hated to hear the truth come out of our parents' mouths. Next, I'd like to read something that I found on PBS.org and it originated from a gentleman by the name of Reverend Dr. Frank Thomas, and it's entitled Ten Rules of Survival If Stopped by the Police. And though he directed his comments to black men, it's good advice for all of us no matter who we are. Number one, be polite and respectful when stopped by the police. Keep your mouth closed. Number two, remember that your goal is to get home safely. If you feel that your rights have been violated, you and your parents have the right to file a formal complaint with your local police jurisdiction. three, don't under any circumstance get into an argument with the police. four always remember that anything you say or do can be used against you in court. five, keep your hands in plain sight and make sure the police can see your hands at all times. Avoid physical contact with the police. No sudden movements and keep hands out of your pockets. Seven, do not run even if you are afraid of the police. Eight even if you believe that you are innocent, do not resist arrest. Nine, don't make any statements about the incident until you are able to meet with a lawyer or public defender. And number ten, stay calm and remain in control. Watch your words, body language and emotions. Again, this is good advice for anyone. It seems that oftentimes people have a reason to run from the police and this is never a good idea. If you've done something wrong, just accept it and be as calm as possible and live to fight another day. And even if you believe in your heart of hearts that you've done nothing wrong, just accept what's going on and deal with the outcome later when you're still alive and you can do so. In August of 2020, Willie Richardson, writing for the Patriot Post.us in an article entitled Dear Black Man, Stop Resisting Arrest, had this to say, My father kept our home in order. He regulated the tempo and supervised activity. He made sure law and order was established at a very young age. So what? I'm black. Shouldn't I have an unfavorable disposition toward police? It's all in the melanin, right? Absolutely not. There's not one decision I made in my life based on my skin color. Character is my culture. Culture doesn't have a color. I think that that's an interesting perspective that he would say that culture doesn't have a color. As if to say that as human beings, we have cultures, but those cultures don't revolve around the tone of our skin. I think that that's very profound. I now want to focus on an article that was written by John Gibbs some years ago in Writing ForTheFederalists.com. The article is called If You Don't Want Police to Shoot You, Don't Resist Arrest. He starts off by saying this, Can you believe we've gone from honorable causes like fighting for the right of black people to attend college to defending black criminals who foolishly mouth off against, run away from, and fight with police? Police who are putting their lives on the line to protect us from criminals? He continues with another lengthy question by saying this Can't the protesters at least defend young black men of honor? Quiet heroes going against the grain by wearing their pants around their waist? Refusing thuggery, weed smoking and hustling? Those who marry one woman, have all their kids with that one woman, proactively raise those kids to be successful, productive citizens, and love only their wife and no other woman, those who work an honest job with integrity, intensity, and discipline no matter how menial the work? And then incidentally he says selling illegal cigarettes on the street or bootleg CDs on the corner doesn't count as honest work. He goes on. The police are not shooting black men like me. Why? Because I am not a criminal, and when the police stop me, I politely do what they say, and they leave me alone. I do not run away, fight back or mouth off. It's really pretty simple. Why is no one asking how these men's families and communities failed them so badly that they became criminals or thugs? Discipline happens in the home and it starts early. When it doesn't, the police are left to clean up the mess of deeply broken human beings who were already doomed before their first interaction with the law. It's totally unfair to ask the police to treat hardened criminals with kid gloves. And finally, Mr. Gibbs says this. No matter how much the media attempts to stir up racial strife, the fact is about 70 black people are killed by other black folks for every one killed by a white police officer. White police killings of black people are simply a non-issue compared to what black people do to each other. Unfortunately, despite the prevailing atmosphere of hysteria, I'm not afraid of being killed by the police. Quite the contrary. Sadly, the data shows I'm much more likely to be victimized by a fellow black man than by a white police officer. Listen, the tragedy that happened last year with George Floyd and now most recently to Dante Wright is utterly sad. And we all wish that it would never happen. And these terrible incidences can't afford to be politicized. Yet that's exactly what's happening on nearly all sides. The consequences of our behavior are inescapable. If we choose to do something that we should not do, then we are no longer at liberty to choose the consequences. It's that simple. Running from the cops, resisting arrest, fighting back are all terrible choices, and the consequences of those choices can in some cases be fatal. And it's it's not the right choice to make. I just hope and pray that going forward that people can stop placing blame where blame doesn't belong, that people can look into the mirror and realize that they're in control of their own actions. They can't control the actions of other people, but they most certainly can control their own actions, and all of us should be doing that on a daily basis. And with that, even though it was a very sober topic, as always, I want to end with a positive quote. And this quote today comes from Dr. Ben Carson, who is a world-renowned neurosurgeon, and I think it's very appropriate for what we've talked about. He had this to say in his book One Nation. Quote, unless we are able to apply both condemnation and praise equally and objectively, we will do nothing except exacerbate the social relationships that are vital to a healthy society. The problems facing America are so overwhelming that we can ill afford to expend energy on issues stimulated by bigotry of any type. Unless we are able to focus on the big picture items, like many societies before us, we will be agents of our own destruction. I strongly believe that if we adhere to the creed, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, that we can avoid the pitfalls that have so effectively disabled the pinnacle nations that preceded us. Let us live the words rather than just allow them to roll off our tongues without thinking. If you can plan it, you can do it.