As we approach the 158th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation this September, another great Republican president, Donald Trump, is preparing an equally significant Emancipation Proclamation of his own, this time, for the city of Chicago.
After decades of weekly double-digit murder rates, with an entrenched Democratic political machine that seems unable or unwilling to stop the carnage, President Trump will finally do what needs to be done: send in federal troops to stop the blood bath.
The plan is simple: restore order, and give the people of Chicago living in high-crime areas a chance to go outside, enjoy the summer, and not worry about getting shot.
You think this would be a no-brainer, and politicians of all stripes would welcome this news.
But you would be wrong. Chicago’s Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, initially resisted federal troops, but now she’s changed her tune.
According to today’s Chicago Tribune, Mayor Lightfoot now accepts the troops, but with reservations.
Reservations or not, it’s long overdue.
Doesn’t Mayor Lightfoot believe it’s a politician’s job to ease the suffering of her citizens whenever and wherever possible? Isn’t that what government is for, to provide safety for its citizens? Isn’t that so…basic?
There are two paths you can take in life: you can choose to solve problems or ignore problems.
Our previous President, President Obama, lived in Chicago and was a community organizer there. He was even a Senator. Yet, when he became President he did nothing – that is of note – to solve Chicago’s spiraling violence problem.
He chose to ignore the problem. He also had plenty of folks in his party and the media who were will willing to play along with this charade.
But the people spoke.
And that’s what President Trump was elected for: to solve the hard problems, to show career politician’s that the hard problems CAN be solved, but the there’s one thing you have to do first: you must love the people you represent. And that will give you the will to do what is right, just and proper.
President Trump does love America, and Americans. His action of sending in troops, at great political cost, proves it. He could have ignored the problem, as others have, but he chose not to. He stepped up.
Now, so must we. No longer should we declare problems unsolvable, shrug our shoulders, and say “that’s just the way it is.” Whether it’s violence, education or jobs, we can and should do better, for all citizens.
But stopping the violence is only one part of the solving the problem. We need an approach for jobs and education. President Trump is delivering on that too through economic opportunity zones and providing educational opportunities to the neighborhoods that need it most.
Opportunity plus peace equals prosperity. But first you need peace before anything else.
I’m certain once the people in these subjugated neighborhoods are free from the scourge of violence, they will start to breathe easier, and live again.
And that is when the people of Chicago will realize they are truly free. They will have been emancipated not only from violence, but the “that’s just the way it is” mentality as well.
