Decorum Or Democracy

Sports, politics, religion and money can bring about some of the most uncomfortable, yet revealing, conversations. We begin to label people as competitive or classless. Are the words exchanged between participants snappy banter or trash talk? Are we observing an expression of passion or bullying? The long-term impact of these conversations helps to shape our community and society.

It is remarkable how actions and words are so easily twisted and contorted into different meanings based upon who is saying what about whom. Patrick Henry saying, “Give me liberty, or give me death” is patriotic. Malcolm X saying, “By any means necessary” or demanding that he be given “The ballot or the bullet,” is the same sentiment. All political talk is not necessarily patriotic. There were those who did not agree with either of these men in the timeframe that they lived and would now be amazed at how inspiring and influential what they said would become.

There are people who criticize the Tennessee lawmakers for protesting while applauding the people who entered the capitol on Jan. 6. There was no destruction of property in Tennessee. There was no unauthorized entry into the offices of representatives. There was no confrontation with law enforcement that ended with hospitalizations or death. No one defecated in public spaces or removed property. And obviously, there was no equal distribution of punishment for the legislators in Tennessee.

While the two African American representatives were expelled from the legislature, the white representative was not, for doing the same thing. This discrepancy in punishment is not an aberration in our society. The United States Sentencing Commission has reported that an African American male will more likely have a longer sentence by 19%. This report also shows that this same group is 21% less likely to receive a shorter sentence.

This uneven distribution of punishment and leniency does not start suddenly when people reach adulthood, and is one of the points of contention when trying to discuss the issues in our community. Children in school experience these same unequal outcomes. If a verbal reprimand is the appropriate punishment for a behavior for one person, then it should be the same for another when all of the factors are the same, regardless of race. Let’s make our conversations and actions be led by principles that honor the high ideas of building a more perfect union, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of our liberty rather than ones that strive to have us destroy one another.

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