42.2 F
Spokane
Thursday, February 27, 2025
spot_img
HomeCommentaryFerguson - Where’s the truth?

Ferguson – Where’s the truth?

Date:

Related stories

One God. Many world religions. Can that be?

Marking 1,700 years since Nicaea, the author shows how the Baha'i faith sees spiritual evolution with increasing knowledge, which results in uniting all world religions under one divine source.

Trump’s abuse of power puts U.S. democracy in peril

Trump’s actions challenge the Constitution, undermine justice and threaten democracy with abuse of power, attacks on the press and disregard for laws.

Embrace Lent without the guilt: Read a book or share a smile

Lent has shifted from guilt-driven rituals to spiritual renewal, with prayer, good works and reflection. Benedictines also encourage reading a new book!

Shed old skin: Learn the Year of the Snake’s power

In this Year of the Snake, what old skins might need shedding for your personal renewal? The author notes he needs to shed racial prejudice and hostility to snakes.

Could empathy stem from our shared atoms and humanity?

As she ages, the author values efficiency, embraces absurdity and deep questions and finds empathy in humanity's shared atoms.

Our Sponsors

spot_img

[todaysdate]

By Joseph Niemiec Jr.

There are two people who know the truth of what happened in Ferguson and one of them no longer lives. Twelve people have spent the equivalent of two work weeks each, 840 hours total, listening to testimony and sifting through evidence. These 12 came through with a decision that was unacceptable to many.

There is only one person who now knows the “truth” and he must live with the decision he made to shoot on that fateful day. As individuals, we would like to think there is a right and wrong — yet it is obvious there are shades of grey — and interpretation has more to do with any decision than do the facts.

What is the answer? Move forward. At a local level, possibilities may include allowing body cameras, a strong police ombudsman, an education system that educates people for the future in a way which keeps them in school long enough to graduate, and a strong economy that pays well enough for the average person to raise a family.

These are ideas that seem simple and yet they are not being achieved here in Spokane. We can show up and protest what is not “right” in the world or we can create a world right here in “River City” that supports the people living here: providing a quality of life that lifts us not only economically but spiritually.

The earliest gods were created to overcome man’s inability to feed himself and his family and, therefore, those gods became the proverbial “whipping posts” and/or they were given gifts so that they would provide rain, bountiful harvests, good hunting, and so on. Before humans were able to look beyond their own limitations, their basic needs had to be met

Let us, as a community, create an economy strong enough to provide basic needs for everyone. It is time let go of anger and violence and turn to love and respect.

Let us break bread together and honor each other in whatever way we understand God.

Joe Niemiec
Joe Niemiec
The Rev. Joe Niemiec Jr. began his spiritual quest in 1986 when he walked out of a Houston jail and was struck by the realization that his life was in shambles. He began his quest for ‘getting back on track’ with 12 step programs, followed by learning and practicing meditation with a local Redding, California, teacher.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x