I have a friend, shocking as it may seem, who once told me
that politicians should be limited to two terms, one in office and one in
jail. I could not agree more,
especially so, as it pertains to my former opponent, Corrine Brown.
Ms Brown has been charged with 22 counts attributed to fraud,
obstruction and filing false tax returns. We all await the results of the jury
deliberations. Regardless of the
verdict, the case illustrates two sad facts, which are:
In reference to the former stated fact, Ms. Brown, grew up in area known in Jacksonville, FL as the “Northside”, which is an euphemism, code, whatever you want to call it, to paint a picture that depicts the lives of the residents living in this geographic area as challenging due to a myriad of causes. The main cause and effect is poverty followed by low literacy rates and higher crime rates that further perpetuates the situation. Arguably, residents of this community know at least one and possibly many fellow residents that have been affected by crime, whether as a victim or as perpetrator. As a side note, I met many on the campaign trail eight years ago. Regardless, I believe this knowledge of crime and its effects within this community leads to understanding, which leads to tacit acceptance of (& a blind eye to) criminal behavior that I further believe begins in childhood. Ms. Brown through hard work seemed to have broken free from this cycle of crime, but sadly, she fell back in, which proves the old adage, “you can take a [girl] out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the [girl].”
- It is hard to break free from crime and
- We should expect more from our elected officials, not less as referenced by the aforementioned joke.
In reference to the former stated fact, Ms. Brown, grew up in area known in Jacksonville, FL as the “Northside”, which is an euphemism, code, whatever you want to call it, to paint a picture that depicts the lives of the residents living in this geographic area as challenging due to a myriad of causes. The main cause and effect is poverty followed by low literacy rates and higher crime rates that further perpetuates the situation. Arguably, residents of this community know at least one and possibly many fellow residents that have been affected by crime, whether as a victim or as perpetrator. As a side note, I met many on the campaign trail eight years ago. Regardless, I believe this knowledge of crime and its effects within this community leads to understanding, which leads to tacit acceptance of (& a blind eye to) criminal behavior that I further believe begins in childhood. Ms. Brown through hard work seemed to have broken free from this cycle of crime, but sadly, she fell back in, which proves the old adage, “you can take a [girl] out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the [girl].”
In reference to the latter stated fact, I recently saw results
of a Gallup survey that showed that the majority of people believe that
politicians are corrupt.
Using the same logic in my former argument, if people believe that politicians
are corrupt then I contend that these same people expect this behavior whether
they acknowledge it or not, which I further contend is tacit acceptance and
therefore, it becomes reality as exemplified by the situation in which Corrine
Brown finds herself. I find that
unacceptable and so should everyone else.
Moreover, I believe our elected officials should be held accountable for
their behavior to at least the same level as ordinary citizens because they are
role models. Without the rule of law, anarchy can occur, which is not good for
anybody.
Our legacy is what we leave behind when we die is it not? Should
we not seek to improve the lives of future generations so that our spirit continues
long after we are gone? Should not
every successive generation be the greatest generation? It comes down to what
we value is it not? I value a lot of things such as truth and honest, but germane to this situation, I value the
rule of law when someone fails to be honest and commits a crime, how about you?
Hopefully, the jury will see the facts as I see them to convict Corrine
Brown on some if not all counts.
