As an individual I can look back on my life and for the most part hurt my arm patting my back on the good I have done in my life. But, of course, there are half a dozen regrets where I have not been the person I aspire to be, a gentle, kind and open human. I have remorse for a few of these regrets, like not working on my relationship more with my late wife or spending more time with my children when they were younger or how I told an old lover about a new one, etc. I don’t try to discard that remorse, I like to carry it with me with the hope it will shape me into a better person.
Hopefully, that remorse will guide me when another regret-making moment is in progress and I will subtly or dramatically change my direction for a better outcome, one that is free of future regrets.
In Ferguson, I would hope Darrel Wilson will one day have some regrets about his part in the shooting of Mike Brown. Perhaps, some remorse will guide him in the future that may give his voice a different tone and be better received.
Of course, we can image if Mike had lived through it, he might have regrets about not focusing his anger on something more constructive. The Mike we see stealing the cigars in the video did not look like someone that was about to make a positive difference in the world; sorry if that is judgmental, but it was not okay how he treated that store owner. If Mike’s story had a happier ending, perhaps one day he would be feeling remorse about his angry days in Ferguson.
Of course, we can image if Mike had lived through it, he might have regrets about not focusing his anger on something more constructive. The Mike we see stealing the cigars in the video did not look like someone that was about to make a positive difference in the world; sorry if that is judgmental, but it was not okay how he treated that store owner. If Mike’s story had a happier ending, perhaps one day he would be feeling remorse about his angry days in Ferguson.
Finally, the looters who did a great disservice to their neighborhood by burning down stores and businesses in their community should one day have regrets about their actions and be filled with remorse. The police and national guard should have remorse about protecting downtown near the police station while putting almost no resources to protect Brown’s neighborhood, perpetuating the different treatment of blacks until the bitter end. Its not okay to loot, and it is not okay for the police to look the other way. The police learning when to yield to a peaceful demonstration and to stand strong when a crime is in progress is still out of their grasp.
And our country should have remorse that after nearly 40 years since Martin Luther King we still are unable to come to grips with our history of slavery and abuse of the black man and other people that are different than us. And, it is just not us white folks, the anger of the blacks in Ferguson, the willingness to remain the victim and to not strive to overcome the injustices is another form of resignation and prejudice. Acting out as looters is childish and hurtful. We should be full of regret and remorse should linger in our bones that this is the best we can do.
Our people should feel remorse all those times we act out of fear and instead of love for our fellow man. For all the times we make laws that are based in distrust for our fellow man instead of a common hope that we shall rise above our faults. We have a nation that still has an incredible legacy and unbounded potential that is spending its time name calling and unwilling to do the hard work of compromise to move forward in the many issues facing this country, good jobs for everyone being at the top of this list.
We are at an impasse created from our fear and lack of courage to reach out and take our opponents hand, trust them and look for common ground in this new world that we find ourselves in. Where is our commitment as Americans to help everyone find a meaningful purpose to their lives and a way to make a good living for themselves and their family. What happened that we are not the most educated country in the world anymore? Any regrets or remorse? What turns in the road have we taken that leads to the destruction of our middle class and the growth of the super-rich. Any regrets about that?
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