WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THIS ?

As a child, everything learned about history was  too remote for relevance. I had to become fully adult to comprehend,

The  French Revolution is a case in point .The British government became fearful the abject misery of the poor might morph into rage  and blind determination for revenge. Police departments were created to protect private property and owners. 

The American Civil War was in my grandparents generation.

Immigrants were recruited for the army as they disembarked from leaky boats in New York. Many died cruelly ,fighting the same injustice they crossed the ocean to escape. 

Week-ends seem to be best for informative television. 

Last week W 5 told the story of 8  American "Whistleblowers"  inexplicably punished for steadfastly upholding the country's constitution against government transgressions. 

This week-end four programs were presented. Cave drawings in France between twenty and thirty thousand years old were ours to view in detail.Tiny flutes were discovered that still produced notes.

In a nature program a zoologist studying in Kenya for forty years to determine why lions live in a pride. All other cats are solitary

By studying several generations of lions in a single pride it was discovered whisker spots  are unique to each lion.

In the French cave drawings, whisker spots are clearly Identified on the muzzle of each lion.

Thirty thousand years ago,humans were recording in art for those who came after, the story of their lives and times in precise drawings on cave walls. 

A fourth story at the week-end told of a Canadian Judge convicted by a jury of murdering his wife despite irrefutable forensic evidence showing clearly ,the fatal shot was by her own hand.  

The Judge has spent three years in jail. All avenues of appeal have been exercised. To no avail. 

Canada's Justice Minister has agreed to review the case. 

Some years ago, a child of nine was raped and murdered in  Queensville. A young neighbour in his early twenties  was arrested and charged by York Regional Police ,tried and  found not guilty.

The Crown appealed. The second verdict of guilty was obtained. He spent seven years in jail. 

Eventually DNA evidence proved he was not the murderer.The crime was never solved.The story has no happy ending. 

When government institutions fail repeatedly I think the  accumulation of injustice is absorbed into the collective public consciousness. It erodes confidence and trust . 

Disrespect becomes the mode of reason.

Revenge becomes the coin of reckoning. 

In Ferguson Missouri, an unarmed black youth was shot by police in August 2014.  Strife continues. Even an appeal by the President has not ameliorated the situation.

Last week two Ferguson policemen were randomly shot during the continuing ferment.

Ferguson is a quiet unremarkable law -abiding community of 21,000 people.

Nine months  have passed. Still the community has not come to terms with an unarmed youth being shot by police and no satisfactory answers provided .

It seems nobody has any idea how to restore peace public trust and confidence in Ferguson, Missouri.