Life, liberty and property: easy words to say, but often difficult to comprehend and apply to the world we live in. The news I read every single day shocks me. It simply blows my mind how much we take for granted — resources, the society, the environment; but most of all, human life. In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, I talk about the limits of human understanding — and how the mind can indeed grow and acquire more knowledge as we age. But there are certain things about this society and the way it functions that are so acutely set in stone by the people in power, that we dare not question them.
But what is living like for me and you, if others are also not able to live with the same freedom and safety? Recent cases of police brutality have shattered my faith in the system — if one even wants to call it a system. I strongly condemn the violence and trauma inflicted upon the African-American community in this country.
But condemning is not enough. Words are not always enough.
Revolting against the government is justified if life, liberty and property are not protected. And in this case, even just the mere existence of African-Americans is threatened and disrespected. Above all, even beyond race, ethnicity or cultural background, we must not forget that they are also human beings, just like you and me. And to be human — with feelings, emotions, needs, constraints, struggles, in this battlefield of a world, is a complicated thing. But underneath it all, one truth that lies roaring and glaring into the face of this planet is that we are all equal.
More than anything else, each person has a duty to preserve their life — and never is one man’s duty more important than another’s.
Equality and independence are the only foundation upon which a successful, thriving society can develop. Thus, let the Black Lives Matter rallies rage. Let the people speak up for they have been silenced for way too long. God has not made all people naturally subject to a monarch — God has made us to be equal. And it is this pursuit of equality that will bring us together. Let the protests rage on. This is the beauty and resilience of the Natural Law.
At the end of the day, it was the government who broke the social contract by not punishing the police who violated basic human rights.
In this case, there is substantial evidence of the trauma from not just people who are African-American, but also from people who were not directly affected. The world has risen together because the pain has been felt by all. It is a wound that has gone too deep for the world to coexist with. And thus, the process of healing must begin. Healing begins with one thing: the truth. The truth that the system has failed those who were not seen as equal. And it is within this idea we must all introspect: why is it so easy for some to sacrifice an African-American’s life over somebody else’s?
It is in the silence amidst these answers that we learn the sheer insensitivity of recent events.
And may we all introspect and learn to understand what this heavy silence means.