A growing sense of unease has taken hold in America, as the country teeters on the edge of an authoritarian takeover. The signs are ominous: innocent lives lost in cold blood, toddlers sent to detention centers, intimidation and violence used against citizens, including those who are US citizens or asylum seekers.
The headlines keep shifting, with one story being eclipsed by another – a new crisis here, a scandal there – until the real threat is all but forgotten. The government's attempts to silence and terrorize its own people have become commonplace, while the latest disaster or scandal takes center stage.
But what about the killings in Minneapolis? Two innocent people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, brutally murdered by federal agents. Their deaths are a stark reminder of the dangers facing this country, but they often get lost in the shuffle.
The media's role is to focus on these issues, to keep them at the forefront of our attention. We should be paying more attention to the government's actions than to the latest celebrity scandal or weather forecast.
Some have suggested that a national strike could be an effective way to draw attention to this growing threat. It may seem like a daunting task, but it's been done before – by figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The energy of the people has the power to bring about change.
For now, though, the focus is elsewhere. We're getting "relief" from the news with videos of birds or crows picking roadkill clean. But there's a time for everything, and this may not be the time to distract ourselves from the growing threat to our democracy.
As one writer put it, there comes a point when we need to stop indulging in distractions and start taking action. The question is: will we rise to meet that moment?
The headlines keep shifting, with one story being eclipsed by another – a new crisis here, a scandal there – until the real threat is all but forgotten. The government's attempts to silence and terrorize its own people have become commonplace, while the latest disaster or scandal takes center stage.
But what about the killings in Minneapolis? Two innocent people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, brutally murdered by federal agents. Their deaths are a stark reminder of the dangers facing this country, but they often get lost in the shuffle.
The media's role is to focus on these issues, to keep them at the forefront of our attention. We should be paying more attention to the government's actions than to the latest celebrity scandal or weather forecast.
Some have suggested that a national strike could be an effective way to draw attention to this growing threat. It may seem like a daunting task, but it's been done before – by figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The energy of the people has the power to bring about change.
For now, though, the focus is elsewhere. We're getting "relief" from the news with videos of birds or crows picking roadkill clean. But there's a time for everything, and this may not be the time to distract ourselves from the growing threat to our democracy.
As one writer put it, there comes a point when we need to stop indulging in distractions and start taking action. The question is: will we rise to meet that moment?