evil is evil
newsletter, opinion J.M. Purvis newsletter, opinion J.M. Purvis

evil is evil

When are Democrats going to stop reacting? When do we stop defending? Yes, Florida Republicans used language in a bill that says somehow, some part of slavery might have benefitted slaves. Yes, it’s sneaky. Yes, it’s despicable.

Our response? To lament the action. To send the vice President down to show outrage. That, is defending.

Our response should be a powerful, public statement of just how evil slavery was. A once and for all, clear and unequivocal statement of just how destructive the institution was, for the slaves above all, but also for the country .. morally, in blood, in destroyed lives, in the endless racism  we are still paying for today. Slavery was evil. Period.

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Memorial day a time to reflect
blog, opinion F.D. Roosevelt blog, opinion F.D. Roosevelt

Memorial day a time to reflect

Memorial Day is a time to reflect, not just about those that have died, but about why.

The original Memorial Day was born out of a terrible inferno that was fought to resolve that other terrible inferno: slavery. Slavery died, but of course it was replaced with Jim Crow, which yielded yet another national struggle, the Civil Rights Movement.

All of this, every bit of every struggle back through our entire history has been part of America’s endless quest to match the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the realities of our lives.

We sit at a fork in the road here in America, a moment as historic as 1860. One path leads forward toward a just society, a time when all Americans share equally in Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity. The other path leads off to division, chaos, and pain.

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