Ferguson Situation Comes Down to Matter of Dignity - Higher Education: On Aug. 9, police in Ferguson, Mo., shot Michael Brown to death, an unarmed Black teenager. The closed way in which the police responded to requests for information on the shooting and their aggressive actions against peaceful protestors in the aftermath of the shooting have opened yet another sore spot in a nation that is splintering from all levels of gross inequality. The fissures ripping at the nation come from race and class, as we struggle to regain our economic footing; the simple ability of Americans to hold a job, feed, shelter, cloth and provide for the health of their families. It boils down to the simple word: Dignity.
A problem with America is the paradox that it can be a nation with high compassion, but also a nation with no empathy. Central American children fleeing violence and in desperation making a long and dangerous journey to the land they think is full of milk and honey, with streets lined with gold, are greeted by angry mobs as their buses take them to detention centers.
