What do we value in our communities?

It is too hot (~92℉ right now) for yard chores and too windy (S ~20 mph) to be standing in a cool trout stream casting a fly. So, since lots of folks are talking about disbanding police forces, and what  that means, I'd like to focus on some fundamentals I believe should be considered and, ideally, incorporated into any formulation of public safety departments.

In her outstanding  book Who Do We Choose To Be, Margaret J. Wheatley writes that

Ethics are rules for how to live together. Moral principles mediate our interactions by establishing expectations of how to behave. All spiritual traditions have a clear code of ethics so that people can grow and prosper as a community, restrain individual impulses, and together withstand challenges great and small. This is always the role of ethics, to bind together individuals in trustworthy relationships so we can stay together through the vicissitudes of life.

Ethics are designed to serve us in community; they have no relevance to individuals who live in isolation or self-absorption, where there is no concern for others. Without ethics, there is no social coherence, no community resilience. Without ethics, it becomes a dog-eat-dog world. Such as many of us are now experiencing in this popularity culture.

In a fortuitous bit of serendipity, this morning I had reasons to research the Ojibwe Seven Grandfather Teachings. "Many Anishinaabeg view the Seven Grandfather Teachings as traditional knowledge that collectively represents what is needed for community survival." I respectfully propose that the Grandfather Teachings contain the kernel of much of what is needed to be included in ethics for any public safety department to serve its community. The teachings, according to several Ojibwe / Anishinaabe web sites are:

• Nibwaakaawin—Wisdom
• Zaagi’idiwin—Love
• Minaadendamowin—Respect
• Aakode’ewin—Bravery
• Gwayakwaadiziwin—Honesty
• Dabaadendiziwin—Humility
• Debwewin—Truth

Can you think of a set of values that offers a better basis for community protection? In a similar vein, I was delighted to read today this article in the Strong Towns Journal: "Is It Time to Hit the Reset Button on Policing?" which concludes:

There is no credible argument against dismantling the Minneapolis police department. Nor the police department in Ferguson. Nor the dozens, potentially hundreds, of police departments across the country that—due to whatever cause —do not represent the values of the communities they serve.

the bullet was a girl

Danez Smith

the bullet is his whole life.
his mother named him & the bullet

was on its way. in another life
the bullet was a girl & his skin

was a boy with a sad laugh.
they say he asked for it— 

must I define they? they are not
monsters, or hooded or hands black

with cross smoke.
they teachers, they pay tithes

they like rap, they police—good folks
gather around a boy’s body

to take a picture, share a prayer.
oh da horror, oh what a shame

why’d he do that to himself?
they really should stop
getting themselves killed

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