The America I Love Needs to Do Better

[David Lockmiller]

I read an article in The Atlantic this morning by Arnold Schwarzenegger that I thought was all very good, but a few paragraphs in particular stood out for me. It was an insight that I had not considered heretofore.


The America I Love Needs to Do Better
Patriotism isn’t just the blind love of our flag. It is the work we do to improve our country for every American.

The Atlantic
MAY 31, 2020
Arnold Schwarzenegger
38th governor of California


This isn’t an attack on police officers. It is a criticism of a broken system. My father was a police officer. I have always rooted for police officers. But you can be a fan of something and still see the wrong within it. And it is clear that something is very wrong.

My friend Erroll Southers, who has spent his career in law enforcement and served in my administration’s homeland-security department, wrote today: “I still get nervous when I receive the unexpected phone call at an odd hour, hoping my son, brother or relative has not become the next hashtag.”

Think about that. Erroll Southers is a professor at USC, a former FBI agent, an upstanding man in every sense of the word, and because of the color of his skin, when his phone rings in the middle of the night, his first thought is that his son or brother might be the reason for the next march.

I can’t even fathom that experience. If my kids FaceTime me late at night, it brings me joy, or maybe if they’ve been at a party, a laugh. It is completely unjust that for much of our population, those family calls bring anxiety.

It’s wrong, it’s unfair—and that’s why people are marching today.