Fear in the land of the free.

Land of the free? Home of the brave?

Once again the eyes of the nation and world alike focus on a city and its residents response to tragedy. Once again everyone is getting it wrong by continuing to focus on what the media sells them as the focal point.

Conservatives will use the violence in Baltimore to scare you; to make you feel as if every person of color who feels disenfranchised is going to come into your neighborhood and burn it down. Their message will be wrong.

Liberals will tell you that this is all the fault of the police; their code of silence amid abuses and corruption have led to this point. Their message will be wrong.

There is nothing commendable about the response in Baltimore. Nothing. Make sure that is clear - NOTHING. Yet, in the wake of unimaginable destructive power, the mayor of the city went on national television and disparaged a group of people in a manner which will only feed the fuels of racist rhetoric. Once again, just like after the riots in Ferguson, the racists in this nation are sitting in a chair, and they are laughing at the destruction. They are laughing that the mayor of Baltimore just disparaged a group of people. While their actions are beyond deplorable, to classify a group of people, most of whom are black as 'thugs' only gives credence to the racist agenda.

In the meantime, those who have been so fed up and frustrated with a justice system that is still historically biased based on race have found their rightful cause subverted by criminal action. Thugs? That is an adjective which has far too much racial undertone, but those people who are looting, and setting fires (arson), and attacking innocent people, they are criminals. The message gets lost in violence and only serves to continue the racial divide our nation is still struggling with over 150 years after slavery was abolished.

Be angry. Make noise. Do not commit crimes. Qadry Ismail posted a wonderful thought today about the reality that there are many fine police officers. In fact, statistics would tell us that the vast majority of law enforcement personnel are wonderful and honest people who do a damn fine job in one of the most dangerous professions one could choose. As a police officer, every single day there are situation which could end in a suspect shooting at you. Just a few years ago, a routine traffic stop on Interstate 84 west of Portland (near the Dalles) saw a man get out of his car and immediately begin firing on the officer. The officer was injured (but fortunately lived) and the suspect died. There is clear video confirmation of what occurred. Police are targets every single day.

And then there are the flip side. Yes, there are bad cops. And when they commit a crime they should be punished. Just as the violence in protesting creates the wrong message for racists, so too does the 'code of silence' among officers create a poor image of public distrust.

I get why the code exists; as a former Marine, you have to rely on the man next to you for your life - literally. That is surely what it is like to be a police officer. However, when the man next to you is garbage, as a Marine, it is your DUTY to make him a better Marine and report his dishonor. Sadly that message is not always what is taught in law enforcement and I personally think it should be. If the officer next to you is unfit for the job, as a peace officer, it is your responsibility to recognize that and make changes that will improve not only your department, but the profession as a whole.

So while the nation once again focuses on the tragic response borne out of centuries of repressive frustrations, we need to dig deeper. Stop with the easy political angry responses and look deeper. This problem will never go away as long as we allow media to dictate our beliefs. This problem will never go away as long as we permit ourselves to be victimized by slogans which do nothing but promote fear and deeper segregation. Stop for one moment and think about something more than a short term fear.

As long as we focus on the short term responses and fear, the long term problem will never be resolved. Is that what we really want? A nation divided into segments of fear? That is not what I want.